"in4mation pls"

When I was very young, my father had one of the first phones in our neighborhood. I remember well, the polished old case fastened to the wall & the shiny receiver on the side of the box. I was too little to reach the phone but used to listen with fascination when my mother would talk to it.Then I discovered that somewhere inside the wonderful device lived an amazing person & her name was "In4mation Pls" & there was nothing she did not know. My first personal experience with this genie-in-a-bottle came one day while my mother was visiting a neighbor.Amusing myself at the tool bench in the basement, I whacked my finger with a hammer. The pain was terrible but there was no one home to give me sympathy. I walked around the house sucking my throbbing finger, finally arriving at the stairway. The phone! Quickly, I ran for the footstool in the parlor & held it to my ear. "In4mation Pls," I said into the mouthpiece just above my head. A click or two & a small clear voice spoke into my ear."In4mation." "I hurt my finger," I wailed into the phone. The tears came readily enough now that I had an audience. "Isn't your mother home?" came the question. "No," I blubbered."Are you bleeding?" The voice asked."No," I replied. "I hit my finger with a hammer & it hurts." "Can you open your icebox?" she asked. I said I could."Then chip off a piece of ice & hold it to your finger," said the voice. After that, I called "In4mation Pls" for everything. There was the time Petey, our pet canary died. I called "In4mation Pls" & told her the sad story. She listened, then said the usual thing grown ups say to soothe a child. But, I was inconsolable. I asked her, "Why is it that birds should sing so beautifully & bring joy to all families, only to end up as a heap of feathers on the bottom of a cage?" She must have sensed my deep concern, for she said quietly,"You must remember that there are other worlds to sing in." Somehow, I felt better. Another day I was on the phone. "In4mation Pls." "In4mation," said the now familiar voice. "How do you spell fix?" I asked. All this took place in a small town in the Pacific Northwest.

When I was 9 years old, we moved across the country. I missed my friend very much. "In4mation Pls" belonged in that old wooden box back home & somehow I never thought of trying the tall, new phone that sat on the table in the hall.As I grew into my teens, the memories of those childhood conversations never really left me. I would recall the serene sense of security I had then. I appreciated now how patient, understanding, & kind she was to have spent her time on a little boy.

A few years later, on my way west to college, my plane put down in Seattle. I had about half-an-hour or so between planes. I spent 15 minutes or so on the phone with my sister who lived there now. Then, without thinking about what I was doing, I dialed my hometown operator & said, "In4mation Pls." Miraculously, I heard a voice I knew so well. "In4mation." I hadn't planned this, but I heard myself saying, "Could you please tell me how to spell fix?" There was a long pause. Then came the soft spoken answer, "I guess your finger must be healed by now." I laughed, "So it's really still you," I said. "I wonder if you have any idea how much u meant to me during that time?" "I wonder," she said, "if you know how much your calls meant to me. I never had any children & I used to look forward to your calls." I told her how often I had thought of her over the years & asked if I could call her again when I came back to visit my sister. "Please do," she said. "Just ask for Sally."

Three months later, I was back in Seattle. A different voice answered, "In4mation." I asked for Sally. "Are you a friend?" she said. "Yes" I answered. "Sally had been working part time in the last few years because she was sick. She died 5 weeks ago, Wait a minute. Are you Paul?" "Yes." "Well, Sally left a message for you. She wrote it down in case you called wen she was too sick to work." The note said, "Tell him I still say there are other worlds to sing in. He'll know what I mean." I thanked her & hung up. I knew what Sally meant.


Never underestimate the impression you make on others...

~ this is one great story from unknown...

jazzie, thanx