Saturday, January 11, 2020

MANY ERRORS MAY LEAD TO DISCOVERY

     I have been trying to sell my skates and skis on Kijiji. People reply to my adds. I give them my phone number to contact me. Most of the time they don't contact me.

     We also get very many telemarketer calls. We have call identification so if we don't recognize who's calling we don't answer. If there's a message being left and we know who it is we can quickly pick up the receiver and answer. If it's somebody who really wants us , they can phone back.

    So the other day we got a call and I did not recognize the caller. A few days later I suddenly thought that the caller could be someone replying to my add so the Micro Manager called the number.

    The person who answered was confused because she hadn't called and didn't want any of my stuff. She had been away in Mexico. Some how the Micro manager started chatting with this lady. The Micro manager had given our name. 
The lady suddenly asked if I was the teacher who taught at Eastview. Well yes. She said he was my teacher in 1972!

     So I got on the line and had a very delightful conversation with a student from 1972. She'd lead an interesting life. At about age 30 she had gone to University and got her teaching degree. She'd taught music in the system when I was still teaching but we didn't make contact.

     So sometimes if enough dumb mistakes are made  we end up with an interesting discovery. However, I don't recommend using this method.

41 comments:

  1. Well that was fun! Hope you had a great visit!

    ReplyDelete
  2. Wow, what a story! These days I don't answer calls from numbers I don't recognize. They can leave me a voice mail if it's important. So, it's unlikely I'll ever discover a student from 30 years ago. :-)

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. You follow my policy of answering the phone.

      Delete
  3. How funny! That really is quite a coincidence when something like that happens. It is nice that you got to visit with a previous student.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I'm sure that it's a once in a whole lot!

      Delete
  4. That's an amazing bit of serendipity! And while I agree that this method has drawbacks, there have been some important scientific discoveries (like penicillin) that have come about the same way - by chance - as I'm sure you already knew :)

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Yes, but if you start lookng mathematically at chance it's scary. How about the chance of winning the lottery?

      Delete
  5. It is a small world. It is nice story. I do not answer my phone unless I recognize the number or name. They can leave a message. Enjoy your day, wishing you a happy new week ahead.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. It's a small world here. I still live in the same area as I taught in. Many former students end up living in their home area.

      Delete
  6. That certainly turned out to be a nice surprise.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Yes, we had a 15 minute conversation and there was lots of loud laughing.

      Delete
  7. That's a neat story. So glad you were able to reconnect with one of your students.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Since I live in the same area as the school I taught in I sometimes meet former students.

      Delete
  8. I tend to get calls in the other official language. They don't seem to be odious but generally misplaced. Perhaps a francophone owned my number previously.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. They're calls that are still a nuisance.

      Delete
  9. Lucky for you. The only people who call me are ones who want money!! Somehow or other they think I am very rich...

    ReplyDelete
  10. Sometimes it is pretty funny when former students suddenly appear in our lives and we find out how they turned out and hear some of their life story. Often better than we thought it might and unfortunately, at times not the way anyone wanted. It is good when they do remember us and say nice things about the past though. :-)

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. The older I get the rosier the glasses become. Thanks for visiting Hiawatha House.

      Delete
  11. Nice coincidence. But I like your last paragraph.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. My luck on lotteries isn't that good. So much for luck.

      Delete
  12. I love this story! What a wonderful connection with a former student who became a teacher.

    ReplyDelete
  13. How amazing! I love connecting with former students, too.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. It's always cool meeting former students.

      Delete
  14. This is really fun! You just never know who might call!
    We kept getting calls for the wong number. Thankfully it stopped.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Things are much different with call identification.

      Delete
  15. You never know what tricks the universe has up its sleeve. :-)

    ReplyDelete
  16. Now that was an interesting phone call you'll never forget. :)

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. You're right that I won't forget this one.

      Delete
  17. Replies
    1. Odds were pretty long for this one happening.

      Delete
  18. That is amazing. Most phone calls don't turn out that good. We sell on Craigslist, and most of the people who call and ask if something is still available, never call back. Strange.

    ReplyDelete
  19. Wow, that's pretty amazing! At least some good came out of it :)

    ReplyDelete
  20. wow this is amazing story dear Red :)

    how wonderful to meet accidentally someone from past :)

    i bet it was uplifting experience
    i agree sometimes our wrong turn into best for us :)
    blessings to you days dear friend!

    ReplyDelete
  21. That is absolutely amazing! Your micromanager sounds like a really friendly lady.

    ReplyDelete