Random Connections

I remember a phone call I received a few years ago while working at the U.S. Mint. *Did you know folks who collect coins are called “numismatists”? That was one of the first things I learned there…lol. Well, I received a phone call from this obviously distressed, elderly numismatist, complaining about some coins he hadn’t received. The older gentleman was very irate and as much as I tried to help him with his situation, he refused to accept what I was saying. So, I just let him talk ….

Now, in the customer service arena, our instructions were to try to diffuse any confrontation so we were allowed the time needed to make this happen. This particular call lasted just over 1.5 hours. Eventually, the older gentleman got around to asking me more personal questions and telling me about his life. I answered his questions, as random as they were, and he eventually got around to talking about his living arrangements and the conditions he was living under. Now, I’d realized a little early on this man may have, at minimum, some mild mental issues when he begin telling my all about the antics of his white pet squirrel, who he kept in a birdcage. (I still think, somewhere out there, there’s a dead squirrel in an old man’s apartment!).

The “mild mental issues” suspicions kind of grew when he proceeded to tell me about the people who were watching him through his wall and were sending micro-electronic mind waves through his head every other night. I continued to actively listen to his stories and he finally asked me what race I was. I laughed and asked him what race did he think I was? He said, “You sound like a black gal” (yeah, he said “gal”) and he then asked me what did I think he looked like and I told him he sounded like an old(er) white man and he confirmed my guess and we both had a chuckle.

Within those next few moments, he told me how much he’d enjoyed talking to me, how his family never came to visit him, and his plans on how hw would prevent the “others” from attacking his mind-waves. He also told me he was going in for surgery the upcoming week and how nervous he was about it. I told him I would call him back to check on him the day after the surgery was due. He appreciated that and I did call him back.

This time the conversation was much briefer; about 5 minutes, but he told me he appreciated me reaching back out to him. I told him to call me anytime he needed to and he said he would. I never heard from him again. I’m praying he just never needed to.

Sometimes complaints, harsh words, prolonged disagreements are the only way some folks can get “connections” to the rest of the world.

Be kind when you can.