i was at work after 6 last night when the phone rang. "hi," said the woman on the phone, "i hope you can help me. i'm looking for counselling services for victims of torture...is this the right department?" i said uh no, this is graphic design services, but maybe i could give her the number for counselling services on campus.
turned out the woman wasn't a student. in fact, she doesn't even live in canada. she lives in san diego and had somehow gotten my number off the internet. when i suggested she call some services in her area, she insisted that she had tried that, it was no good, and she couldn't explain why.
yes, she had looked in the phone book. no, she wouldn't call the police. no, she had no friends or family she could talk to. and could i please do something, anything...she explained that her dentist had abused her and a member of her family, a doctor, had used veterinary devices to torture her.
veterinary devices? i had to be kind but firm with ms. looney toons. as she babbled on, sobbing and weeping, it occurred to me that if i was too good a listener, she might start calling me all the time. i tried to divert her. i googled san diego counselling services, i suggested the local hospital or church, i suggested she just keep trying until she found someone who could help. i wouldn't have gone through all the trouble, but the thing is, i believed SOMETHING had happened to her. i just wasn't sure what.
"well, thanks for listening," she said finally.
today i found out i wasn't the only one who had gotten a call from the crazy lady. she's been leaving voice mails and email messages for my coworkers, too. "you gotta look at this," they said, "she sent an email saying that the veterinary devices used to torture her are on ebay. she gave us the auction number!"
i looked.
there they were: antique veterinary implements from the 1800s. despite my better judgement, i felt a chill go up my spine.
i'm thinking this woman is delusional. whatever happened or didn't happen to her, she definitely needs help. perhaps the election pushed her over the edge...
turned out the woman wasn't a student. in fact, she doesn't even live in canada. she lives in san diego and had somehow gotten my number off the internet. when i suggested she call some services in her area, she insisted that she had tried that, it was no good, and she couldn't explain why.
yes, she had looked in the phone book. no, she wouldn't call the police. no, she had no friends or family she could talk to. and could i please do something, anything...she explained that her dentist had abused her and a member of her family, a doctor, had used veterinary devices to torture her.
veterinary devices? i had to be kind but firm with ms. looney toons. as she babbled on, sobbing and weeping, it occurred to me that if i was too good a listener, she might start calling me all the time. i tried to divert her. i googled san diego counselling services, i suggested the local hospital or church, i suggested she just keep trying until she found someone who could help. i wouldn't have gone through all the trouble, but the thing is, i believed SOMETHING had happened to her. i just wasn't sure what.
"well, thanks for listening," she said finally.
today i found out i wasn't the only one who had gotten a call from the crazy lady. she's been leaving voice mails and email messages for my coworkers, too. "you gotta look at this," they said, "she sent an email saying that the veterinary devices used to torture her are on ebay. she gave us the auction number!"
i looked.
there they were: antique veterinary implements from the 1800s. despite my better judgement, i felt a chill go up my spine.
i'm thinking this woman is delusional. whatever happened or didn't happen to her, she definitely needs help. perhaps the election pushed her over the edge...
VIEW 8 of 8 COMMENTS
coolheart:
Jeeze........what to say........?
visha:
I just wanted to say that if you live in or near Calgary you should model for LU5T. Im finding new girls for him and I would like you to be one of them. 