Helping Rhonda

About six months ago, I got a new phone.  Clearly the number used to belong to Rhonda because I immediately starting receiving calls for her.

I don’t answer the phone when the number isn’t immediately recognized and so – when I didn’t pick up – quite a few voice mail messages were left for me.  In spite of my “This is Jan Edmiston, please leave a message” intro, my messages sounded like these:

Rhonda!  Girl, where the @#% are you?  Don’t think you can get away with this.

Hello.  This call is for Rhonda ___.  Please contact us immediately regarding your back payments for ____.

This call is for Rhonda ___.  This is the third warning regarding your credit card payment.  Please make full payment by ___ or call us at ___ for further arrangements.

You can’t hide from me, girl.  I am going to find you and when I do I’m going to *%^# you and your dog.

Rhonda is clearly in trouble.  I got another call for her just yesterday.  State Farm Insurance said they’ve been looking for her for several months and  – in the mean time – they promise to remove my number from her contact information.

Somewhere in this country, there is a woman named Rhonda who is hiding or trying to escape or feeling overwhelmed with debts or all the above.  She is not the only one.  There are thousands of Rhondas out there.

But this Rhonda is my special concern.  We share a phone number.

I pray she is not alone in her burdens.  I hope she is safe.  I ask that – if you are in a position to help a person in trouble this season – you will help.  The person you assist might be my Rhonda.  Thank you.

I’m keeping my eyes open for a Rhonda this season too.

Image of The Women’s Building on 18th Street in San Francisco.  The mural was originally painted in 1994 by Juana Alicia, Miranda Bergman, Edythe Boone, Susan Kelk Cervantes, Meera Desai, Yvonne Littleton, Irene Perez, and others.