I’m relatively certain I know his name. He’s either a Senior or a Junior. Various people have called asking for one or the other including, possibly, a debt collector.
One of the two died, probably about two years ago. There were like two or three people right at the beginning who were just trying to find the guy but at the time I thought like maybe he changed his number for a reason? Then very early on, someone called saying they’d heard he had died and was hoping he was still alive and would pick up, because they’d lost touch. I’m also pretty sure he was a churchgoing Christian. I think a lady from his church was one of the people trying to reach out.
That’s most of what I have, but also I’ve never met him or spoken to him. None of it came from anywhere official. It’s just the stuff people say when they think when they’ve gotten the number wrong except they’re all asking for the same person.
I’ve only ever had one phone number and no one had it before me. Bow down before me.
Said the actress to the bishop!
12 years in, and I am still getting debt collection calls for the previous owner. I only know his last name as that is who they always ask for.
Alas, my number is so old that you have to dial it in Roman numerals.
I’ve only ever had two real ones that were mine. The old landline for the house is long gone. My first cell phone number was back in the nineties, and I dropped it in maybe 2001? Ish? Just wasn’t using it enough to merit the expense at the time. The number I have now, we got on an old family plan maybe a year or two after that. It’s stayed with me ever since.
Now, I’ve had short term numbers from Google voice, and the usual burner apps, but those have never stayed active long enough that I’ve gotten calls or texts for whoever had them before.
Some day, my number is going to be set free into the world, flapping it’s little wings and it is my plan to quietly sign up for all kinds of weird shit right before that happens, so that the new owner can have fun.
There is a Chinese food place that almost has my number on their menu. Their number today is my number with a 7 instead of 2 for one digit. Real easy to mix those two up. Got a lot of calls in high school. I would usually put on a really really bad accent and either take the order or say the cook was sick.
I thought those days were long over but just a few months ago I got another call. It had been so long I didn’t even consider doing the bad accent. Wound up talking to the lady for a bit and thanking her for unwittingly reminding me that I still got it.
and take the order
OK, now that’s just Chaotic Evil.
“Guess it’s time to start cooking up some Chinese food”
Not an old number but an old house. When we first moved in we got so much mail for Norman. For years after. Like 5 years at least. Finally stopped arriving and I’d forgotten all about it but like 4 months ago we got a letter for him! It’s been 14 years!!
6 years after I got my current number, and I’ll still occasionally get calls for the woman who had it before me. Including: calls about her children’s doctor appointments, calls asking if her home at [same address each call] is for sale, calls about the Nurse positions she applied for, and more. I know her name, address, job, and could have known her kids names if I remembered. I basically know her life at this point. I think she might keep accidentally giving out her old phone number.
One guy called absolutely pissed that he got Aids from the woman he was trying to call, but that could be a different person or wrong number because he never said their name. When he realized I wasn’t the woman he was calling, he kept trying warning me about said woman but I kept telling him “WRONG NUMBER!”
That’s kinda sad. Line echoes of a life.
It’s been quite a while since I’ve changed numbers, but a few years back I got a lot of calls tearily telling me that so-and-so had died before I could say something to the effect of “I’m sorry for your loss, but you’ve got the wrong number.”
My father’s new phone number was previously owned by a man with the same first name who died not especially long ago. It was apparently very confusing and creepy figuring this out.
Lazy, lives or lived with family members, is or was Russian. I’ve gotten more from the texts than the calls since I’d always just say wrong number when someone started talking in Russian. Has been years since I’ve gotten any of either though.
Was definitely still alive when they changed the number, might still be, I just get zero information now lol
