It was only after I was literally on the verge of a breakdown from many consecutive days of 20 or more mortgage solicitations that Sam gave me the go ahead to register. Several people whose opinions we trust had strongly recommended we sign up on the list, and so we did, on both my line and the home line. And slowly but surely, the calls have dried up. For the most part.

Local realtors and some other local service providers seem to be under the impression that the law does not apply to them. Oh, and the Dish Network too. But that's a story for another day. Earlier this afternoon, as I was so focused and approaching a state of mindfulness, I got the following call:

caller: Mrs. So-and-so-and-so?

me: No, that's Mrs. So-and-so. (exactly like it's spelled, genius.)

caller: I'm calling from Such-and-such Real Estate, and we just sold a 4-bed, 2-bath home in your neighborhood for $920k. We know from our research that these sales always come in threes. Would you like to be one of those? Can we sell your home for you? (What research? Grandma's Big Book of Superstitions?)

me: um...no. We are not selling our home. And we are on the Government's Do Not Call List, so I'd appreciate it if you did not call.

I've had this same conversation more than once with someone, calling with the exact same script. I'd guess it was even from the same office. Since we've been on the list, they usually hang up or apologize and then hang up. But not this tenacious little telemarketer.

caller: Just so you know, Mrs. So-and-so-and-so, this is the first time we've called you. We will take your request to be put on our do not call list, but it will take up to six months to process that.

me: Actually, you shouldn't be calling me at all since we are on the list. Can I get the number you are calling from?

caller: You are wrong...

And that's where I'll end that account, because this is a family blog and I won't repeat what I said back to her.

I don't think I was wrong, from my understanding of the law. But I could have been completely wrong and it wouldn't have mattered one bit. Did she really think she could mangle Sam's last name, totally insult me, and expect me to turn around and say, "of course you can sell my house!"

I've heard that as the economy gets better, service goes downhill, since smarter people get better jobs. The economy must be much better than I realized.