The World Is Going Mad. (original) (raw)

You would think that with all of the lay-offs, business closures and what not happening around the country, that the people still working would have some sense of urgency about them concerning their jobs. I�m not finding this to be true.

In fact, I am beginning to think the world is actually going mad. Slowly, but surely.

We finally sold our house, it took almost two years, but we did it. Yesterday I called the storage place where I have a storeroom. I asked them if a five by five was the smallest they had. They said yes it was. I asked how much and they said it was sixty dollars a month. I told them I already had a five by ten at their place and it was only costing me fifty dollars a month. They guy didn�t bat an eye and said� �Yep, doesn�t make any sense does it�but that�s the rates.� I believe I will stick with what I have.

Took my laptop in for repairs. They said they could have it for me in about four or five days. I told the folks that I was going to be out of town for a couple of weeks and for them to take their time. That was a big mistake. I called yesterday to see if I could pick it up and they said � �in a couple of weeks�.we�re running behind.� Why tell me four or five days, when it�s going to end up being a month? This will be the last time I go to this place.

After you sell a house, you have to find someplace to move. So, I call a new apartment complex just down the road from us. The lady answers the phone and I tell her I am looking for a two bedroom with two baths. She says she has it. I ask her how much and she tells me they start at 1400amonthandgoto1400 a month and go to 1400amonthandgoto1900 a month. I ask her how big these units are. She tells me again� �They are two bedrooms with two baths.� I tell her I want to know the square footage of the units. Obviously, two bedrooms with two baths in 2,000 square feet is a lot different than two bedrooms with two baths in 600 square feet. The young lady didn�t know and rally didn�t seem to care that I was asking.

I called another realtor to ask about a house for lease. His company had one for lease in the paper, but did not list the square footage. I call him and ask how big the house is, he tells me. I tell him it�s too small. He says �OK� and hangs up. Doesn�t take my name or ask me what size I was looking for. All of the realtors have access to databases that tell them where the houses are, so it wouldn�t be any big deal for him to type in my size and pull up the listing that might work. I guess in today�s economy he must be making so much money he doesn�t need anymore.

Now when you are looking for a house to lease, you do the same things that you do when you are buying one. You drive around neighborhoods and write down phone numbers of the houses that have �for lease� signs in the yard. This is not rocket science. Then you call the agents whose names are listed on the signs and you say something simple like� �Can I see the house you have for lease at 1234 Main St?� More often then not, you get someone�s voice mail with a message that � they will get back to you as soon as they can�. This usually means about forty eight hours or not at all. When they do return your calls you have to listen to a variety of excuses as to why they can�t meet with you anytime soon. Their excuses range from�. �My son has tee ball this afternoon� to � I have to get my hair done� to 'I don�t know if I have that listed or not��

Sometimes I feel as if I would get more intelligent answers if I were asking about some television program such as �24� or �American Idol� than something to do with real life. How do these people make any money�..or better yet�do they?

Some how I don�t think so.

� Peary Perry
Letters From North America January 28, 2009 column
Syndicated weekly in 80 newspapers
Comments go to pperry@austin.rr.com
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