Thank you for calling
Sometimes I should just ignore the ringing telephone, since it’s rarely for me. Even when the caller asks for me by name. A few minutes ago, a long distance caller (call display tells half the story, usually) wanted to know if I would vote for a certain Harper. What, did they call an election on the weekend while everyone was distracted by the Olympics?
The question was best answered with another: “Who is this Mr. Harper?” The caller identified him as the prime minister of a country. “What country?”. One can only pretend to be unaware of the sad political realities of these troubled times, so when I mentioned my belief that the prime minister was someone named Chretien, and that I’d need to find a newspaper and update my knowledge of our country’s system, she wanted to know if she should wait, or call back another time. Neither response works for me, thank you very much.
Now, this is probably a case of someone testing the pool temperature with a little toe. My answer wouldn’t sway a big political machine in any way, shape or form. Still, it’s nice of them to call, on a sunny Sunday afternoon when I might be otherwise occupied with napping, or contemplating my navel. A party that cares…
Will any other party call? Does any other party have the budget to do so? Is this a further sign of how lopsided the funding system for wannabe parlementarians has become? I can’t wait for my next opportunity to test the mindset of a stalwart camp follower.
