I had a friend who was a psychotherapist.
She told me the story of her encounter with a telephone operator in Israel.
“This operator was driving me crazy. And I was driving her crazy.
Both of us were speaking English. But you would think we were speaking two different languages.
I hung up in disgust.
And then a little voice spoke to me. "Asshole, you’re a therapist,
You’ve handled more difficult situations.
Act like the ‘grown up in the room' and call her back."
My friend called back the operator.
And in a helpless voice, asked her, “Can you help me?”
The operator’s voice came shrieking back.
“HELP YOU? HELP YOU?????????????
OF COURSE I CAN HELP YOU. WHY DIDN’T YOU ASK ME THAT IN THE FIRST PLACE!!!!!!!!!!”