Stories for October 2003

October 20, 2003

Sorry, Wrong Number

We got home the other night and there was a message on our answering machine: This is [garbled] from “Dr. X’s” office. Your insurance company has approved your prescription for Vioxx. You can call your pharmacy to arrange for…

October 12, 2003

Politics as Unusual

Please settle a bet (the loser has to cook dinner). My wife says Arnold Schwarzenegger is only 5 feet 8. I say he’s taller. Who is right? P.C. Kearns, Utah Parade Magazine It’s the beginning of a new era…

October 6, 2003

A Chance for an Encounter

The glint from his flesh-colored earpiece and its thick spiral cord first caught my eye. Otherwise his dark brown suit would have kept him hidden amongst the other dark suits walking down Pennsylvania Avenue. He was broadcasting HIGH LEVEL…

October 1, 2003

Call Waiting

As my family sits down to dinner I’m waiting for the phone to ring. The other day I wondered why political and charitable calls at dinnertime were exempt from the Federal Trade Commission’s “Do Not Call” list. Now I…