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Communication
Frustration

L

ast month I described to you a
2.5-hour phone session I had
with John from the Philippines,
a tech support representative for my
cable provider who patiently walked
me through the installation of my
new upgraded hardware. Since then,
I’ve become one with my TV remote,
which I can now talk into and ver-
bally change channels. Although I
must enunciate in
slow motion for it
to recognize my
command to turn
to the Smithsonian
Channel, as in
“Smiiiiithhhhhh-
sooooon-iiiii-an.”
However, not all
Alan Muskovitz
is copacetic on the
technology front. I’m
now in the throes of
a cell phone issue.
Actually, I should
say I’m in the “throws” of an issue
because I’ve been “this close” to
throwing my cell phone out the win-
dow.
My iPhone has lost its ability to
recognize the wifi connection in my
home, hindering access to the inter-
net. So, of course, I called tech sup-
port. And that’s where I engaged in
a two-hour phone conversation with
Steve from the Philippines. (I forgot
to ask if he knows the aforemen-
tioned John from the Philippines.) If
you’re keeping score, I’m now up to
4.5-hours of tech support in the last
30 days with folks in the Philippines.
Thank God the U.S. helped the

Philippines free themselves of the
Japanese occupation during WWII
or who knows where we’d be getting
our tech support from. Oh, wait, that
would be India.
Steve from the Philippines walked
me through a myriad of problem-
solving steps, sadly to no avail. He
advised me to go their closest retail
store for further assistance. I want
you to know I’m very satisfied with
my cell phone carrier, and I wish
them no ill will. So to be fair I’m
going to use a pseudonym to protect
them from undue criticism. That
being said, off I went to the nearest
“Horizon” store.
Upon my arrival, a thorough
inspection of my iPhone was con-
ducted. The results showed I had full
wifi strength in the store; suggesting
to the “Horizon” representative that
the source of my connectivity issue
must be my cable modem. He recom-
mended I contact my cable provider.
I’ve decided I’m not up for another
marathon phone call. Instead, to
expedite the tech support process,
I thought it would be more prudent
to just book a trip to the Philippines.
I’ll make sure to write because my
phone probably won’t work.
Meanwhile, I’m happy to report
I’ve resolved at least one additional
communication challenge. A year

ago, I purchased, but had yet to set
up, a new two-line landline phone
to replace the 40-year old one in my
home office. I vaguely remember,
but I believe the first words I uttered
into this relic of a device were: “Mr.
Watson, come here. I want to see
you.”
I’ve procrastinated setting up the
new phone because it came with a
223-page/177 section user’s manual!
Eighteen pages alone dedicated to
“Getting Started,” which intimidated
me into not getting started. My son,
visiting from out-of-town, finally set
it up for me last week in less than 10
minutes. Now I can sell my carrier
pigeons.
I close by wishing my cousin Harry
in Toronto a happy, healthy 98th
birthday. Harry, a Holocaust survivor,
is simply the sweetest, most inspir-
ing man on the planet. Our family
sent him a bouquet of flowers that I
ordered through 1-800-Flowers. The
salesperson could not have been
more accommodating. While I can’t
recall his name, he did confirm to
me that he was located in … the
Philippines. Emmis (true). •

Alan Muskovitz is a writer, voice-over/acting tal-
ent, speaker, emcee and a regular guest host
on the Mitch Albom Show on WJR AM 760.
Visit his website at laughwithbigal.com and
“Like” Al on Facebook.

letters

Clarification

Thank you for running my op-ed
(“New Plan Needed for Kotel” July 27,
2017). I’d like to make one important
clarification for your readers:
It was not until I actually read my
op-ed in the paper that I realized that
my opening sentence could be inter-
preted as referring exclusively to Jews.
It would have been better had I said
that “Israel should be a place where all
— not just some — Jews are welcome,
appreciated and treated with respect.”
Because the subject of my com-
ments was an intra-mural dispute

Everything is...
Great?

You see a friend or acquaintance and say,
“Hi, How are you?” The expected and
usual answer is, “All is great thanks – so
and so just graduated, the kids are great,
ladida, ladida . . .” This is the standard
answer – even when things are not so
super. After all, if you bump into Bill
on the street and say, “Hi Bill, How are
things?” - you certainly don’t expect him
to say, “Awful. I’m behind on my house
payment, buried in credit card debt and
have a lingering tax problem that causes
me to lose sleep, fear the mail and the
phone. Beyond that – life is cool.” It’s
QRVXUSULVHZHGRQ·WVKDUHRXUÀQDQFLDO
“mishigas” with our friends – and there is
no reason to – for two obvious reasons.
First, you don’t want to become a news
item due to your friend who pledges
privacy but can’t resist the pathetic lure
of being a gossip. Beyond that – your
friend is not the person to seek counsel.
You need a professional who can identify
the path to solving your problem - at the
least possible cost and in the quickest
manner. That’s what we do. Everytime,
we hear our clients say, “I wish I came
in sooner.” There are solutions that work
and end the pain and anxiety. Oh, and of
course, needless to say, your business is
always a private matter. Call us for Free
Consultation – anytime. We’re here to
help.

THAV GROSS has been solving

within the Jewish community, I unfor-
tunately did not think to make it crys-
tal clear that I believe Israel needs to
treat everyone with justice and respect,
without regard to religion, national
origin, ethnicity or political opinion
— that includes Jews of all denomina-
tions and movements as well as those
who are secular, whether Ashkenazi,
Sephardi or Mizrahi, and also adher-
ents of any other faith, Palestinians,
immigrants, refugees … In other
words: everyone.
Nancy F. Kaplan
West Bloomfield

CORRECTION

Janet Ray

The photo that
accompanied
the profile of Sue
Goldsmith in
“Forever Mentshen”
(July 18, page 92) is
of Janet Ray, com-
mittee member of
Corner Shower &
Laundry.

problems since 1982. Be sure to tune
in to Law and Reality – Sunday
mornings at 11 AM on TV20.

thavgross.com  lawandreality.com

30150 Telegraph, Suite 444
Bingham Farms, MI 48025

000209210

jn

August 3 • 2017

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