Along with some other SCA folks, Lisa, Jeff, Sev, and I (commonly referred to as 'the Sinister gang', though we prefer the hipper term 'posse') answered the phones last night for the pledge drive at the local university's PBS station. As the camera switched on for the first TV spot of the evening, I couldn't help but think, "Wow, there must be 30, maybe 40 people watching us right now!" Really, with cable TV offering channels like Discovery, Animal Planet, The History Channel, and the History of Animals Channel, hasn't PBS outlived its usefulness? Though the lack of commercials is somewhat soothing during my occasional insomnia outbreaks. Anyway, after my experience last night, I'd like to offer the following:

An Open Letter To People Who Call PBS Pledge Drives For Any Reason Other Than to Make a Pledge

Dear Terribly Lonely Person,

I'm only a freakin' volunteer who just showed up for one night, why are you surprised that I don't know the full name of the guy in front of the camera? And, by the way, stalking him over the phone lines is just as illegal (not to mention incomprehensible) as following him around in person. And no, we don't know what's on next after the current program, why don't you buy a damn TV Guide, maybe reading it will take your mind off the fact that, oh-my-god, the BBC World News is going to start 10 minutes late tonight! And don't bother to call the pledge drive to say how terribly angry you are that PBS dares to interrupt the programming with commercials - hello, they do it twice a year so the rest of the time, there's no commercials! And again, we're not high-powered station management, we're volunteer phone answerers, so your irate call and abrupt hanging-up has zero impact. So don't pick up that phone and don't call now, unless you are indeed going to donate some cash.

On second thought, do keep calling. Your lunacy kept us in stitches, and has insured that we will all volunteer again next time so we can laugh at you again.