RANDOM REMINDER

Press, Volume CIX, Issue 32215, 6 February 1970, Page 16

RANDOM REMINDER

RING OUT. WILD BELLS

It’s funny how one can take every care, make every effort to be considerate, and yet fail others when that is furthest from one’s mind. Take the unfortunate case of the Christchurch man travelling recently in the United States. One of his minor missions was to make a telephone call to Wisconsin, to tell a family there all the news of their daughter, who is spending a year in Christchurch. The Christchurch visitor to America was well aware that the Americans he had to telephone made a very early start to the day. so he made his arrangements accordingly.

He left Instructions with the staff of his New York hotel to put through his call to Wisconsin at 6.30 a.m. He had his chat, trotted out all the facts he had at his disposal about the health and progress of their daughter, and the whole affair was conducted on the most amicable terms. „ The Americans are much more stoic than some will give them credit for being. It was only when he returned to Christchurch that he discovered his telephone call to Wisconsin had raked his American friends from their beds at 4.30 a.m. Of course he had been well aware that there

are time changes when one travels, but never thought for a moment that there would be any difference between New York and Wisconsin which—a glance with our rheumy eye at. a map suggests—are only about 800 miles apart, and thus roughly the same distance from each other as Auckland and Dunedin. But of course he overlooked that a line between them went more or less sideways, and not up and down, ou the average map. He’d like to ring America to apologise and would if he could be certain he wouldn’t, get them up at 2 a.m. He’s lost confidence.