Author: john.mitchell

The daycare called my cell phone Tuesday afternoon to say pickup was late and asked if I could confirm the authorized person. We’re outside Owensboro, Kentucky. I’m fifty-six, I don’t …

THE DAYCARE CALLED ME ABOUT A CHILD WHOSE FAMILY HAD MY LAST NAME Read More

I got a notification on my phone that somebody had logged into our Amazon account from a device in Bowling Green, and we live forty minutes away. We’re outside Franklin, …

I FOUND 211 AMAZON ORDERS MY HUSBAND HAD BEEN HIDING — ALL FOR A CHILD I NEVER KNEW ABOUT Read More

My son borrowed my mower in the spring and brought it back with a receipt taped to the handle like a joke because he’d had it serviced. We’re outside Terre …

THE MOWER SHOP SAID MY HUSBAND HAD BEEN SERVICING EQUIPMENT FOR YEARS AFTER HE DIED Read More

The barn on my mother’s place had a chain and padlock on it since before she died, and I never had a key. We’re outside Sikeston, Missouri. She always said …

THE BARN HAD BEEN LOCKED FOR YEARS — BUT SOMEONE HAD BEEN USING IT SINCE MY MOTHER DIED Read More

The water department dug up the meter box at the road because the reading had been wrong for a year. We’re outside Anderson, South Carolina. The man came to my …

THE WATER DEPARTMENT FOUND A SECOND HOUSE USING MY WATER — AND IT HAD BEEN EMPTY FOR THIRTY YEARS Read More

The volunteer fire department did a mailing about the new tanker and included a list of donors from the past ten years. We’re outside Elizabethton, Tennessee. My husband gave a …

MY HUSBAND DONATED FIVE THOUSAND DOLLARS TO THE FIRE DEPARTMENT — FOR SOMEONE I’D NEVER HEARD OF Read More

The trash company raised the rate and I called to complain like everybody else did. We’re outside Zanesville, Ohio. Thirty-one dollars a month for one can at the end of …

THE TRASH COMPANY SAID I’D BEEN PAYING FOR THREE ADDRESSES SINCE 2014 Read More

My father is buried at the national cemetery, and I ordered a copy of the interment record for the family history. We’re outside Anderson, Indiana. He passed in 1988, my …

THE CEMETERY RECORD SAID MY PARENTS HAD ANOTHER DAUGHTER Read More

The florist called in the spring to thank me for continuing to use them, and I hadn’t ordered anything since my husband’s funeral. We’re outside Poplar Bluff, and that funeral …

THE FLORIST SENT ME A THANK-YOU NOTE FOR A FUNERAL I NEVER ORDERED Read More

The woman said she was Verna’s sister. I thought she’d misunderstood me, so I asked her to repeat it. She gave me Verna’s maiden name, the name of the street …

MY AUNT LEFT INSTRUCTIONS FOR HER FUNERAL — BUT SOMEONE ELSE WAS LISTED AS HER FAMILY Read More