Mushroom Soup Friday

mushroomsoup208

Busy with a deadline…so not much posting here today and I didn't watch the Republican Debate last night. I probably wouldn't have watched it even if I'd had nothing to do because those things aren't debates. They're theater…and not very good theater at that. From all reports, it was all about Trump and I pretty much know what I think about Trump, including my belief that nothing he says now has any bearing on what he'd actually do in the White House, except maybe for the things that benefit people in his income bracket.

We're receiving lots of nominations for the Bill Finger Award, including quite a few for folks who are ineligible because they've already won…and three so far to give the "posthumous" award for writers who are ineligible for that one because of the silly technicality that they're still alive. Please understand that many are worthy and that each year, the judges aren't saying that only the chosen recipients are deserving. Especially with the posthumous one, it's usually a matter of which of many will get it this year and which ones will have to wait for another time.

I continue to get incessant, unsolicited phone calls from contractors — or in many cases I'm sure, people who know nothing about construction work or remodeling but are trying to earn some bucks making cold calls for contractors. I have developed a nice repertoire of fibs to tell these callers…fibs which seem to get rid of them faster than telling them, "No, I'm not interested." One calls me the other day and, since he has not only my phone number but my address, he tells me, "We'll be out on [name of my street] tomorrow because several of your neighbors have asked us for free estimates and we can swing by your place to give you one on any home improvements you have planned."

I laid one of my little lies on the guy and he laughed and said, "That's not true. Come on, gimme a chance to give you a bid on some work." I said, "Hey, you lied to me about being out on my street tomorrow because neighbors of mine wanted estimates from you." He said, "You're right" and hung up.

But now I have to get back to my script. I wonder if that contractor guy could build me a better second act.