My first year in my current job, a colleague signed me up on their website as a joke, with my work phone number. Even though I've finally gotten around to forgiving him, the calls continue to come, even on the weekends when I'm not here. It's been over five years now.

This will probably only make sense to the UK contingent, but when I was a kid I always thought they were 'Hovis Witnesses' whose mission was to make people eat Hovis.

Yeah, I'm not sure how we got on that call list -- nothing against the Jehovah's, of course. We once bought a present in the baby department of Toys 'R' Us and, since then, I keep getting baby mailings, including a small case of Similac. Course, that's not as bad as the mausoleum mailings I now get ever since my gallbladder surgery two years ago. Hello, it was just a gallbladder.

I occasionally get calls asking for T**** R*****. He is, or I should say was, my husband's dad. Who has been deceased for over 2 years.

I kinda feel sorry for the jumk mail callers as they sputter and apologise after I tell him that the person they wish to speak to is no longer with us.

OTOH I really enjoy telling the Mormon missionaries that my husband used to be a Mormon till they kicked him out. Comedy gold.

Hovis... is that anything like halva? (Halva's quite yummy, by the by.)

when I was a kid I always thought they were 'Hovis Witnesses' whose mission was to make people eat Hovis.

I lol'd.

bunnyfire, that is hysterical with your husband :)

I think you should go. You could really mess with their heads. If they feel so led to call and annoy you, then they shouldn't complain when you go and annoy them.

I just found out recently that the Jehovah's Witnesses were founded in my neighborhood, just a few blocks away from my house. So you can blame Pittsburgh, next time they come calling.

You mean they aren't Larry Hovis' Witnesses?

I'd been getting worried about the possibility of being hassled by the mormons who've taken to hanging out at my train station of an evening - but then I worked out that unless I'm an Asian female below 5'8" and the age of 24, my soul is not that important.

DAMN YOU ALL!! I'M A J'S WITNESS!

I'M TAKING THIS TO META[CHAT]TALK!

;-) Kidding. Did I scare you?

Phone calling is unacceptable. I used to invite the Witnesses in and offer them coffee when they'd come to my door, and I'd listen politely till they finished a five or ten minute shpiel. I figured they had guts to do what they believed in and witness and try to save me from hell, etc. But not if they don't have the guts to do it in person.

bunnyfire: My father died 12 years ago, and I still receive mail for him. Still. STILL. I've occasionally called people to inform them he is deceased, but it never works. Best part? All the mail is from extremely right-wing religious organizations. Like, you know "Jesus Camp"? Yeah, these folks would think those folks were destined for hell.

To be honest, that mail is almost as offensive to me as racist mail would be, because it is subtly racist and blatantly sexist and many other things.

Pips, maybe it's time to get on the national do not call registry? We've been pretty successful with it.

Yeah, I meant to look into that, the do-not-call registry, that is.

Heh. Shane, I'd have been flattered for the attention. : ) My father actually did invite in two young men with the Mormon church who came to our door. After several hours of listening to my father's theory of everything, I'm sure they regretted ringing our doorbell. At least they got a nice spaghetti dinner out of it from my mom. They were very nice young men. They nodded well.

bunnyfire: My father died 12 years ago, and I still receive mail for him.

I read that as "My father died 12 years ago, and I still receive mail from him." Wow, that'd be cool.