a leetle surprise for the candidates...

I cannot WAIT until Wednesday. Why, you ask? Because it's the day after election day, which means that all the stupid radio and television commercials and phone calls to my home phone will cease.

Martin and I have been getting an average of three phone calls a day, both automated and from party volunteers, asking us to vote for this person or that person. So, we stopped answering the phone. However, one plucky little volunteer, Simone, from the Immigration Something-Or-Other (an organization that stood by to register new citizens at Martin's swearing-in, which has been downright exuberant with my husband's new voter status and has insisted on calling us once a week since April to congratulate him), actually CALLED BACK when she got cut off by the answering machine's two minute time limit. At which point, I picked up the phone and politely but firmly explained that we had all the information we needed and that they could stop calling now.

Well, they might have stopped, but the rest of the candidates, who seem to have at least five volunteer organizations apiece working on their behalf, haven't. So, I left a little surprise for them on my answering machine.

"Hi, you've reached Martin and Jackie. We can't come to the phone right now, but please leave your name, number, and a brief message, and we'll get back to you as soon as we can.

"Also, we are aware that Tuesday is Election Day. We know who we're voting for, and where we're voting. So, if you leave us a message asking us to vote for you, we WILL hunt you down and sic our dog on you.

"Have a nice day!"