Even with Caller ID, you still can be surprised
Caller ID makes it easier to protect ourselves from nuisance phone calls and unwanted solicitors.
Today, I'm wondering what impact, if any, dialing four more digits will have on local telemarketing. But that's another story.
I'm not sure why I pick up the phone when unfamiliar names and numbers appear on my Caller ID. But I usually do.
And sometimes callers catch me off guard.
"Would you be willing to take a seven-minute opinion poll about full-service restaurants?" asked a woman caller recently.
Since two of our children are employed by the hospitality industry, I embraced the educational opportunity.
What's more, local restaurant success affects Naperville's Special Events and Cultural Activities Fund, known as SECA, funded by a citywide 1 percent food and beverage tax. I could learn something.
"Please identify your age category," the caller continued. "Are you between 18 and 24?"
"No," I answered.
"25 and 34?"
"No."
"35 and 49?
"No."
"Is it OK," she asked, "if we call you another time when we're surveying your age bracket?"
Another call came from a single woman who said she lives with her dog and that I live in La La Land.
With all the talk about the things I like to do, trying to keep folks apprised about local happenings, the caller thinks I have unrealistic expectations for Naperville.
No disrespect intended, but the conversation began to serve as a reality check.
She noted changes in the community, reminiscing about the days when she didn't lock her doors, knew all her neighbors and walked downtown to meet up with familiar faces.
She said her dog barks every time there's a stranger outside on the sidewalk. I told her I could relate since our 10-pound Papillion is a barker, too. The squirrels in our yard drive Karl nuts.
I tried to counter the caller's comments with consideration for her points of view -- acquiescing about the need for vigilance. I also said I hesitated to let fear run my life amid all the challenges that confront change. Education is key.
She suggested I sounded like a defense lawyer and concluded: "I suppose you have one of those Blackberries to keep you safe and in touch all the time."
"Ma'am, I really don't mean to be argumentative," I said, "but I don't even have a cell phone, much less a Blackberry."
Education
The good news is that it's Crime Prevention Month, a time to raise awareness about many aspects of public safety under your control.
Today officer Jim Sakelakos of the Community Education and Crime Prevention Unit will lead a presentation titled "Becoming a Tough Target -- Personal Safety for Women" from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. at the Kroehler YMCA, 34 S. Washington St.
The program will feature ways for women to reduce vulnerability through life-saving self-defense moves and strategies.
A complimentary lunch and babysitting, if needed, will be provided. For last-minute registration availability, call (630) 420-6270.
Other events are posted at www.naperville.il.us under "Public Safety Month."
Sing-along
Some of the fears expressed in that second phone conversation I had resonated early Sunday morning while I watched the 1958 film version of the Rodgers and Hammerstein classic "South Pacific" on cable.
One of the songs, "You've Got to be Carefully Taught," published in 1949 for the Broadway musical set on a South Pacific island during World War II, heightened my awareness about what we've learned since Oscar Hammerstein II wrote the lyrics.
"You've got to be taught To hate and fear,
You've got to be taught From year to year,
It's got to be drummed In your dear little ear,
You've got to be carefully taught.
You've got to be taught to be afraid,
Of people whose eyes are oddly made,
And people whose skin is a diff'rent shade,
You've got to be carefully taught.
You've got to be taught before it's too late,
Before you are six or seven or eight,
To hate all the people your relatives hate,
You've got to be carefully taught."
You've also got to have a dream. Otherwise, how are you going to have a dream come true?