Random Bits

I've lived in my house for eleven years. For eleven years this has been my address. For eleven years I've had the same land line phone number.

Previous to my living in this house it was owned by a pair of elderly women - either a woman and her mother, or a woman and her mother-in-law - I was never clear on that. We'll call them Mrs. and Mrs. F. Previous to my having the phone number I have had for the past eleven years it was owned by a doctor and her husband - who lived in my town, just not at this address. We'll call them Dr. and Mr. R.

Now I get calls for the Rs all the damn time. Wanting to buy "my" timeshare. Wanting to discuss an order. Just wanting the Rs. I have to keep telling people this has not been the Rs phone number in over a decade, and I don't *have* a timeshare, or made any order or can give them either R to talk to. I don't know what happened to the Rs. I don't know if they moved from the area, or sold the house they lived in, or divorced. I don't know them at all, and only the area code and exchange tell me that at some point prior to eleven years ago they lived *somewhere* in my town.

So the Fs. The Fs were both elderly, one more so than the other (and by elderly I mean they had elderly points of view - the younger of the women was probably younger than my parents, but I would not describe either of my parents as "elderly" because they have young points of view). And the husband/son/son-in-law part of the equation had died, leaving the two women alone. They were alone for a good number of years, so I'm told, and they were the stereotypically nosy old ladies of the neighborhood. They died about eight months before I bought the house within about a week of each other (so I'm told). I know there is (or was) a daughter in Florida who sold the house to me, and I had to wait for the probate courts to okay the sale and all, so I don't believe they died with their things in order (I also think it was the man who owned the house and the women inherited it from him so it was a bit of a muddle). I never met the daughter.

I get mail for the Fs occasionally (a postcard mentioning it has be x number of years since their last physical, AARP stuff, etc.). Junk mail I discard as soon as it comes. The Fs have left this plane of existence, I don't think I can forward their mail.

Today was a real disconnect. I just got a phone call for the Fs. At least one of the Fs. Um. What? This phone number was never associated with the Fs in ANY way.

What's next? Mail for the Rs?

Every time we go somewhere with the entire team at work we try to do something as a team. Today's meeting they were seriously discussing, while we are in Prague, going ZORBING. I had no idea what the hell ZORBING was, but I was assured that the Czech Republic has an official ZORBING site (go ahead and Google it - there are some youtube vids of people doing this activity).

And then they described it.

Its like a human sized hamster ball, they said. You get in and ride it down a hill! You can't get motion sick, they said. But lately someone died doing it!

...I think I'm gonna leave the hamster balls to the hamsters.