Path: bloom-picayune.mit.edu!snorkelwacker.mit.edu!americast.com!americast.com!americast-post Newsgroups: americast.twt.life From: americast-post@AmeriCast.Com Organization: American Cybercasting Approved: americast-post@AmeriCast.com Subject: Readers offer remedy for 'sick' work Date: Mon, 2 Nov 92 15:45:13 EST Message-ID: \SE D;LIFE;WAY OF LIFE;WORKSTYLE \SS (WS) \HD Readers offer remedy for 'sick' work \BY Paula Bern \CR SCRIPPS HOWARD NEWS SERVICE Dear Readers: Not too long ago a women wrote to me about her job of answering sex-related phone calls on a 900 number. She said it was "fun," but was disturbed because her friends claimed it was a "sick" way to earn a living. She asked my opinion, so I answered, "The job isn't sick; your callers are." Many of you disagreed with me. For instance: Dear Dr. Bern: You are incorrect about the callers being the only ones who are "sick." Anyone who would apply for and work in such a business must somehow enjoy it. Remember, the writer said she "joked with and teased" the callers, for her part of the business is to encourage this filth. The longer a caller is on the line, the more money is made by the 900 company. If these callers are sick and sexually perverted, then anyone who encourages them is in the same boat! - Nancy Deal, Memphis, Tenn. Dear Dr. Bern: The person who wrote you that her "porno" conversation job was fun must, indeed, be desperate. I would do such a thing only if my children were starving! - R. Sutcliffe, Lawrence, Mass. Dear Dr. Bern: I was an operator on a "sex line" several years ago and it was pretty embarrassing. It sounds easy, but you feel so dirty after a dozen calls that you want to take a scalding shower and hide in your room. Answering the requests of weirdos who use these lines should be only a last resort when you can't find any other work. - J.M., Naples, Fla. Dear Dr. Bern: Instead of telling your reader that her job "isn't sick," why don't you encourage her to hunt for decent, respectable employment? - Tania, Jackson, Mich. Can you see my white flag? I surrender to your perspective that the job, itself, represents a "sick" way to earn a living. * * * Q: My new boss, who was just transferred from our Manhattan office, asked me to set up a "grazing" brunch for the company's quarterly meeting. I don't want to appear stupid, but I have no idea what on earth he means! I checked with the dining room, asked several other administrative assistants in our department and called the local library. No go! Everyone is mystified. It sounds to me as though he intends to invite a herd of cows. Please, answer fast. - Munching in the midlands A: Forget the Jerseys and Holsteins. Your boss is simply describing a variety of buffet tables in basic New Yorkese. One table may have pasta dishes, another may be laden with turkey and ham and a third could be salads and cheeses. If the "grazers" are hearty eaters, the fourth display might be a luscious layout of desserts. Please send questions to Dr. Paula Bern, 1090 Vermont Ave. NW, Suite 1000, Washington, D.C., 20005. This article is copyright 1992 The Washington Times. Redistribution to other sites is not permitted except by arrangement with American Cybercasting Corporation. For more information, send-email to usa@AmeriCast.COM