Wednesday, June 11, 2014

The Wrong Number

  


 
Once upon a time before there was Caller ID, a young man named Stuart would call our house and ask to speak to Bonnie. I would tell him that there was no one here by that name, say goodbye and hang up. A week later he called again and we had the same conversation. My mom overheard us talking and said, "Would it kill you to be Bonnie?"

I was 23-years-old, still living at home, and on the verge of becoming an old maid. "No, I'm not gonna pretend to be someone else. We don't even know anything about this guy except that his name is Stuart, and he doesn't know how to dial a phone. To which my mom replied, "Well, he seems nice."

This was at a period in my life when I was working at a job that I loved, but I was in between boyfriends; while my mother and grandmother both had steady beaus of their own. Hence, my grandma hatched her own plan.

My grandma decided that she was going to fix me up with her friend's grandson, after discussing it with his grandmother on the bus. She had never met the grandson, and barely knew the grandmother, but what did I have to lose? I thanked her and told her that I wasn't interested. Although that didn't stop her from handing out my phone number.

He called a few days later, and we laughed about how funny the situation was. The fact that our grandmothers were desperately trying to fix us up, was hard not to find amusing, Since our conversation went so well, we agreed to go out on a date.

I remember that we went to see the movie This Is Spinal Tap, and out for a nice dinner afterward. It was a fun evening, but we parted friends. We fulfilled our promises to our grandmothers, who may have sat on opposite ends of the bus from that point on, and nothing more. 

My mom waited up for me to find out how our date went. I told her that we had a good time, but that I wasn't interested in going out with him again. Then she said that she had a feeling we weren't going to hit it off, but not to worry. Before I could question why Mom announced, "Stuart called again, and I told him my Bonnie would call him back tomorrow."


*This is a repost from April 2012.


31 comments:

  1. There's always someone trying to HELP us isn't there? Remind me to tell you how I met my hubs some time.

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  2. Never had that problem that goodness. There's a prank they used to play in the UK where someone would keep calling and asking for Bonnie (or whomever) and eventually someone else would call and say "This is Bonnie, have there been any messages?"

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  3. LOL. So have you heard from Stuart lately? How's he been?

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  4. Hi Julie,

    Good old Stuart. I remember this post and it's just as Bonnie as before :)

    Gary :)

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  5. At least you saw a really good movie!!

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  6. Delores - I would love to hear how you met your hubby! You should definitely blog about it!

    Jo - Now that sounds like a fun prank!

    LG - Sadly, I never heard from him again. Hopefully, he and Bonnie eventually found each other!

    Gary - Ha! Thanks Gary, and your stories are always Bonnie too!

    Alex - It was a good movie, and he was also good company. It just wasn't meant to be.

    Julie

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  7. Yikes! I hope she found a good Bonnie to call him. ;)

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  8. This Bonnie chick must have given Stuart a random number instead of telling him she didn't want to go out with him. Pity you didn't meet him - a guy that trusting might have been the perfect boyfriend. I hope you remember all the great songs in the Spinal Tap movie. 'Lick my Love Pump' is my personal favourite.

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  9. Shannon - He just needed somebonnie to love!

    Gorilla - For some reason that song slipped my mind. Catchy title though! It's been so long since I've seen the movie that I think I'll appreciate it even more now.

    Julie

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  10. Hi Julie - determined grandparents ... and funny story even more so with Gorilla's comment! Happy memories though .. cheers Hilary

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  11. Now the tune of "My Bonnie Lies Over The Ocean" is ringing in my head... LOL

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  12. Reading your story with the bright orange phone started my day off with a happy smile. Thanks.

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  13. I see now where your mom got her "helpfulness" from... your grandma!

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  14. Oh my! We used to get calls from a guy looking for another guy. Can't remember the names, but he never had the right place. It happened off and on for years. I'm so glad my family doesn't care that I'm an old maid. LOL!

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  15. Hilary - Yes, my grandma was very determined! Gorilla is always the life of the party! Thanks Hilary!

    Arleen - I think you're onto something! What a great ad for Match.com!

    Michelle - I never realized that the song was about Bonnie Prince Charlie from Scotland. It's a real toe tapper!

    Yvonne - I had a bright yellow phone just like the one in the picture. Glad it made you smile.

    Robin - Yes, she does get her "helpfulness" from my grandma! They both knew exactly what to worry about!

    Cherie - That "old maid" nonsense died out long ago. Now many successful people are perfectly happy being single.

    Julie

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  16. Hi, Julie. Got a good chuckle out of that one. : )

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    1. Susanne - I don't think that my mom and grandma thought that it was as funny as I did at the time. They took their matchmaking very seriously! Thanks Susanne!

      Julie

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  17. So funny! I wondered if the guy was going to call you and say, "Hi, this is Stuart. My grandmother gave me your number."

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  18. Haha! Why is it everyone else always thinks they know better than we do what we need or want? :)

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  19. Carol - Now that would've been funny! If only my blind date was more like Dave Krizak!

    Connie - As a mother, I'm finally starting to get it now!

    Julie

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  20. So Bonnie, how did it go with Stuart?? - LOL , wonderful story.

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    1. Rhonda - Ha, ha! Whenever I meet someone named " Stuart," I always wonder if it was him! Thanks Rhonda!

      Julie

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  21. I love this story, and all I can think of is "Call Me Al" by Paul Simon.

    "I can call you Bonnie, and Bonnie when you call me you can call me Stuart."

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  22. Matchmakers like no others. Really loved the story, Bonnie.

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  23. HA! I sincerely hope this is all based on a true story. Love it!

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  24. Bryan & Brandon - That's such a great song, though it could be combined with "Just hop on the bus Gus," from Fifty Ways To Leave Your Lover, for my grandma's role in the story. Thanks B & B!

    Lee - I think their matchmaking business closed down shortly after this episode. It had something to do with not being concerned about the safety of others! Thanks Lee!

    Susan - Sad but true. Do you think I could really make this stuff up? Thanks Susan!

    Julie

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  25. Your mom makes for golden writing material. I remember this story. I enjoyed it even more this time, especially the line, "Would it kill you to be Bonnie?"

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    1. Robyn - I'll have to ask her if she's forgiven me yet! Thanks for re-reading this, Robyn!

      Julie

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