Duress of a Salesman

It took just a few seconds for the North Turkey Creek Road resident to determine that the person who called on the afternoon of Oct. 1 was neither friend nor relation. “No, thank you, we’re not interested” she told the telemarketer. Her admirable civility was apparently lost on the pesky peddler, who immediately called back and got the woman’s husband. “Your wife hung up on me,” he explained, only to be politely brushed off once more. Throwing his copy of “Willy Loman’s Sure-Fire Guide to Closing the Deal” out the window, he called back again: “You’re a tough guy and your wife’s a slut.” And again: “I’m going to come over and slap your wife around.” In fact, he called at least six separate times in less than 45 minutes, prompting the “tough guy” to call for back up. The responding deputy suggested the couple drop a line to the phone company about setting a “phone trap” for the truculent telemarketer.

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