I had a phone call yesterday afternoon from someone who was definitely not a happy camper.

I receive calls and e-mails of this kind from time to time. It is part of the job. We are not perfect here in Iola. We try our best, but we do make mistakes.

Sometimes things we do aren’t mistakes, but some people simply don’t like it. I hear it all.

That’s life. That’s fair. That’s part of what I am here for.

Yesterday’s call was a little different from the usual because the individual talked and talked and I finally had to ask him why he was calling me because he never got to what I could perceive as the reason for the call. This didn’t make him happier at all. I could hear it in his voice.

I apologized for what he experienced even though precisely what he had experienced I was not sure of. What was clear was he had said he had talked or contacted in some fashion a number of people but could not identify them, at least until I pressed him and he mentioned Answerman Alan Herbert, who has been a well-known figure in Numismatic News for 40 years with Coin Clinic and Odd Corner.

So I helpfully jumped in and said to him to give me a call directly next time and that might prevent future problems.

“Who are you?” he asked.

Ouch.