Mr. Magness.

There is a customer who calls in on a very regular basis and asks to be connected with
different people on his phone list. He is a favorite among operators because before you
connect his call, if your patient he always says in the sweetest and most sincere old man
voice, "and thank you for heping me." (Heping not helping.) It makes all the people who yell at me or call me
stupid worth talking to just to get one call from him. Not sure who knew I needed it, but
I just got off the third call with Mr. Magness today. There is a note on his account that
says he often calls in and asks to be connected with random people in the nursing home.
Such was the case today I think. Each time he called, he asked to be read his list and then
would find a person he thought he should probably ring to check up on. He may or may not
be the sweetest man on the face of the earth. It broke my heart today as I read through
Mr. Magness' list and came to the name Tusome. As I read it and started to move on to see
who it was that Mr. Magness would decide to be connected with, Mr. Magness paused and said,
"Now that name, Tusome, that's my little brother. He died in June. Would you please take him
off my list?" It was so genuine and so sincere. I couldn't help but feel my heart ache for the
loss of this little brother. I deleted the record and told Mr. Magness to leave his phone on and
closed for 2-4 hours so that number would disappear. He said, "Tusome will be gone?" I almost
couldn't speak, "Yes, Mr. Magness, Tusome will be gone." I offered my condolences and expressed
my sorrow for his loss. I didn't want to move on but I had to. I finally read a name he thought
would be nice to ring and I put him through.
Before his calls I'd been thinking about a lot of inevitable changes that will be occurring in
my life in the next few weeks and months. I'm moving on. Changing. Finding something better than
what it is that I have. It will not be an easy change. But it is a neccessary one.
I have loved living in my house and have loved the people I have surrounded myself with.
I will miss the life that I have. And yet, I know that it is what I need to do. I don't know
where I'm going yet. Or really what it's going to be like.
Mr. Magness taught me though that there are always people to care about and always something
worthwhile. YOu just have to take the time to find it and to make it worthwhile.
Also when you judge a book by its cover you miss out on the book.

Goodnight, dear void.