The Phone Book Plague

It wasn't too long ago when we used to get a telephone directory from our local telephone company. Apparently those days are gone forever. It seems like almost every Sunday I find a new telephone book on my front sidewalk either in a plastic bag or covered with plastic. I made a point to look at these phonebooks and compare them.

Some are large and some are small and I suppose they are all useful. My wonder how it is possible for all the people listed in the Yellow Pages to pay for advertising in all these books. It seems like those listed in the Yellow Pages of most of the books are quite similar. But there is far more in these books then Yellow Pages. As I look at the white pages I see that they are quite exact copies of the white pages on the Internet. The other day I talked to my computer repairman and he said he was not listed in any of the phonebooks although he did not ask for an unlisted number. He gave me his business card which had his number on it but advised me like could not find it in the phone book. I found out that was true it was not in any of the pages in any of the phonebooks or on the Internet. It seems like that when there is an error every one of the phonebooks has the same error.

One of them I received last week with the Verizon Yellow Pages is about 8 1/2" by 10 1/2". That is not too bad except in the middle of the book there are 210 pages of coupons, each of which I assume was made for by the individual advertisers. Especially highlighted are 21 pages of advertising by attorneys in the Yellow Pages section. The next highlighted section is 37 pages of advertising by dentists. The next highlighted section consists of about 13 pages of advertising for restaurants.

Then when I looked at the white pages I found that the numbers were four columns to a page. For a geezer like me it is impossible to look up a number without either bifocals or a magnifying glass.

Another directory starts out with 128 pages of community information before the white pages begin. But the white pages only have three columns to the page and I actually can read those without my bifocals or a magnifying glass.

This directory has an interesting feature called a numerical cross reference guide on which there are 63 pages where you can look up a number and it will tell you the name on the listing. Of course this only applies to the numbers published in this directory. But it is a handy feature if you have a magnifying glass because the numbers are printed 11 columns to the page. It has a special restaurant section and a wedding section before you get to the regular Yellow Pages.

The directory I am most likely to use is only 9" x 6.5" and about the same thickness as the other directories, but the white pages are only three columns to the page and the numbers are in big enough print that I can read them without any assistance. It also has a reverse directory with eight columns to the page and is difficult to read without glasses. It also has many maps of the area and the Yellow Pages while not as extensive or specialized as the other directories are in bigger print.

I have several other directories that I could describe. However I have come to some conclusions. The bigger thicker directories apparently have better salespeople to get all these people and companies to advertise in them. The one I'll most value to me is the smallest one of them. The problem with it is that it was delivered on a Sunday afternoon, left on my sidewalk in a plastic wrap. It was well sprinkled by my long system by the time I brought it in. When I first saw it I thought I should perhaps put it straight in the garbage because it was swollen with water. One of the companies who delivered a directory called me on the telephone to see if I had received their directory. I guess they were checking up on their delivery person but it was also delivered to my sidewalk on a Sunday.

I think I liked it better when the local phone company printed their own directory and delivered it to my front porch. They knew how many telephone jacks I had in the house and would deliver a number of directories so that I could have one by each telephone. I can still have one by each telephone but each one of them are different and some of them are so thick and full of garbage that I am unlikely to use them as long as I can get the information I want from the Internet.

That brings up another thing that I wanted to talk about. There is a frequent advertisement on the television about how handy DEX is and how easy it is to get information about almost anything by using it on the Internet. I have tried it and believe me the advertisements are not 100% accurate. I have a 1991 Mazda Miata that needs a new clutch. I used the Internet to try to find the most appropriate and least expensive way to get these repairs. I've found lots of them and it appears that this program merely regurgitates the same advertising that is in the Yellow Pages. It seems that the more you spend on advertising the better the recommendation is. I suppose that is true of all kinds of advertising but I have a feeling that the person who spends the most on advertising may not be the right one to hire. Draw your own conclusions.

Truth Reflected by a Depression Baby

My Birth Certificate says that I was born at 4:10 P.M. on August 18, 1931. Since I hear that the Great Depression began in 1929, I think I qualify as a Depression Baby. At the time of my birth my father was 28 years old and my mother was 23.

My father was a Boilermaker Welder who worked for the Union Pacific Railroad. My father was sometimes furloughed (layed off) by the railroad, but in spite of that we survived due to the resourcefulness of both of my parents. Dad was a Welder and was an excellent one. Welders made a little more than the average Boilermaker. Those chosen to be welders were chosen on the basis of test welds. Since his welds were far above average he was in demand, even when not working for the railroad. During his times of furlough he usually did welding for an independent Machine Shop.

In addition to that my mother was a "Beauty Operator". She did not go to a school of Cosmetology but learned on the job. She knew one thing that modern beauty operators do not learn. It doesn't matter how skilled you are with your hands and other knowledge, what really matters is how you make your clients feel. Operators make their money not with their hands but with their mouths. During my career as a Social Worker and as a step-father I have sent a number of young women and a step daughter to Cosmetology Schools. None of them were successful in that career because they did not have and did not develop the necessary people skills. Even today when I go for a haircut, I get a haircut and nothing else. I have no reason to return to the same operator because they did nothing to make me feel good. For years after my mother quit working at the the Beauty Salon, Women came to our home to get her special attention. Some even came to her after she moved more than a hundred miles away. I will admit that she did have some other hair styling skills that modern operators are not taught.

I have two nephews who married cosmetology graduates. They are handy to have in the family but I suspect that they are more homemakers and mothers than cosmetologists.

Recently, while staying at a Marriott Hotel in Vancouver, Washington A number of our family members went to the hot tub at night. While there we met a man who was very verbal. He wanted to know about us, where we were from, why we were in Vancouver, etc. He was really full of B.S. and kept up a constant conversation. We found out he was a successful "Hair Stylist" and had just the type of personality to make him successful in this profesision.
When his wife came in we all noted that her hair style was quite messy. Obviously it was not his hand skills that made him successful, but his verbal skills.

Just this year I sent a long letter to the parents of one of my grandchildren, a new high school graduate, expressing my opinion and trying to discourage her from going to Beauty School, because I know her personality, and her chances of success in this field are very low.

Since I am now 76 years old, a certified coot or geezer as my brother would say, diabetic and with congestive heart failure I may not continue this blog very long, but there are a few more truths that I would like to Reflect. I have survived two open heart surgeries and have a Cardiac Ablation scheduled in about two weeks, so it is possible that no one will ever hear those truths.

DWJ