The joy of strangers

I just got off the phone with the nicest operator in the world. Seriously. I am not kidding.

See, I was sleeping and my cell phone rang, and I did not answer it because I was sleeping. People need to understand priorities. But at some point I stopped sleeping and thought for a second of all the people i love and how many of them could be calling my cellphone for a variety of important reasons, so I grabbed my phone and listened to the message and a friend called to say she needed to talk and she was staying at the Hotel Metropole in Lisbon. Of course she was. She read off a series of numbers and told me to call back.

So, awake now, I dialed and of course, this being a friend of mine, the numbers did not work, but because I know how to manipulate the massive Google machine, I figured out the way to call the hotel in Lisbon, which is how I came into contact with the nicest operator in the world.

Operator: "Hello, Hotel Metropole."

Me; "Yes, I would like to speak to room 51."

Operator: "No one is in room 51."

Me: "But my friend left me a message, she said she was in 51 and that I should call back."

Operator: "She was in 51, but she and her, I believe him to be her husband, have gone for a walk."

Me: "They are walking?"

Operator: "Yes, people walk."

Me: "Yes, of course, I know people walk."

Operator: " Would you like to leave a message."

Me:" Is that even possible?"

Operator: "Yes sir, it is Lisbon, we have pens and pencils."

Me: "Oh my, how modern."

Operator: "What would you like the message to say sir."

Me: "Matt called."

Operator: "Matt?"

Me: "Yes?"

Operator: "No, is that the message? Matt called?"

Me: "Yes."

Operator: "Is there anything else?"

Me: "What sort of weather is it there that people are out walking?"

Operator: "It's a beautiful day here sir, a beautiful day for a walk."

Me: "I will keep that in mind."

Operator: "Will that be all sir?"

Me: "Yes. Thank you."

Operator: "You are welcome sir."

We hung up and I thought for a second. What a nice phone operator. I only thought about this because just yesterday I called a local WalMart store to see if they had rectangular portable swimming pools and I believe the woman I was speaking to called mean asshole and hung up. Maybe I should have asked the hotel operator in Lisbon about rectangular pools.