Auntie Charo's Soapbox

I remember the hours during the time the 'runaway bride' was missing. They were praying(as I was) that she was 'runaway' and alive and just missing!.....and then....we got what we were praying for and all felt a bit jilted....how could she have run away from 'us' and all 600 family and friends who were invited to celebrate her fairy tale wedding? Alas! We got what we were praying for? No? And while we had problems with GTA...remember the times when the phone lines were down after the typhoons or when it took months to get phones fixed or the new fees to fix the phone lines if the lines were in the house and not 'outside' the house, et cetera? We were tired of the excuses and all the charges for 911 and the 411 charges and we just wanted to get them(GTA) outta our hair and get them privatized? Remember? We just wanted them privatized? Remember when Sam Hill worked with Kuentos and put the entire phone directory on-line and it was easy(and didn't cost no twenty-five cents to get a phone number any-time of the day or night you needed a number, heck, you could even the name of a person whose number appeared on your caller ID.....and not one soul called to thank the man (or the agency) for doing the good thing by making it easy for those with computers to have access to phone numbers while on-line?
So guess what, the first thing on the agenda of the for profit GTA did(yes, that's what private companies do...charge, or take things down so that you have to use their services so that they can charge you for something)was take down their on-line phone directory........yep!
Now, it costs you seventy-five cents for you to find out what that phone number is that you can't remember.......and you threw away last year's phone book because you thought you received this year's.....
I'm thinking that soon, phone books are going to be scarce and that people will be walking away with them just to keep from having to pay for those 411 charges...they do add up!
So dear hearts, when you think 'privatize' for GWA and the likes of other agencies.........think about what it is we're getting now that we'll have to pay for the minute they're 'privately' owned........You'd better be knowing what you're praying for.....lest you be gettin it!!!
Now........in America........those phone companies, also for profit, have found ways to continue to remain in business in spite of the fact that there are 411.coms on-line in all forms.........and there's even competition there....but on this little island with one phone company(a monopoly), the company's too greedy to allow the few with computers to have access to the numbers......their generosity will be remembered........what goes around......eventually.....comes around!