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By Bob Ann Breland
Columnist

I have something really bothering me…actually driving me crazy! A constantly ringing telephone! I am usually not one to fuss publically about things, but here goes!!

I had none of these calls for quite a while, but they appeared all of a sudden and haven’t stopped! It seems my phone number is on one of these lists that goes to people who call on and on and on! My phone number is not secret and if we still had telephone directories and I still a house phone, my number would be listed.

Anything you do, you have to list a phone number: doctor, dentists, any official paper, internet connections, etc. People can get them anywhere. How does one keep them secret?

The calls became much worse this fall and during the closing weeks of Medicare enrollments and changes. What a nightmare! From just before 8 a.m. until after 8 p.m. my phone was ringing constantly.

The scam calls were bad enough, but then there are national associations asking for donations…and then: salespeople with Medicare plans! I told several my insurance was fixed and to please stop calling. They didn’t stop.

I have an older cell phone. It works fine, so I keep it. It does not have a way to block calls or else I didn’t find it! Anyway, callers change numbers and the phone keeps on ringing. I kept getting calls from one town with similar numbers and I know I talked to them!

Most of the time, I just let the phone ring or hit the silent button and I figured if they didn’t get me to answer, they would give up. Nope! They kept calling. A nightmare! Some days I had as many as 40 calls on my phone. It kept me busy deleting.

Actually, who has time to answer all these calls? So many days I turned off my phone and every once in a while I would turn it on to check actual calls and messages. No older person should have to turn off their phone to find peace! A working phone is something needed for well-being!

Thankfully the Medicare calls are over, but how many older people were constantly getting all these calls? If they didn’t quit for me, they didn’t for others! Not to mention the other calls and spam? I checked with some people I know and found there are many! It is ridiculous!

One elderly couple I know was so confused by all the Medicare phone calls and television messages, they didn’t know what to do and were constantly worried. Some had to be constantly reassured by relatives that they were okay and to not pay attention to any of them.

I know all these calls are tough for anybody, but for really elderly people, they should not happen. Life can be confusing enough. These salespeople know how to “swindle” some older people who have trouble dealing with ordinary things.

Since Medicare “sales” are about over telephone-wise, I am still getting over 20 other calls a day. They are a little slower on weekends but other days so aggravating. So what is the answer? What does one do to get their telephone free of aggravating calls!

Frankly, I think there should be a law about these insurance calls to elderly people. Call legislators? Call Medicare? Does anybody care how older people are surviving this barrage of Medicare madness? What about next year?

Life does get over-bearing sometimes. So we shout! Maybe somebody is listening.