I'm not your 'babx' and you're not my dad

By Lisa Shapiro

Staff Writer

I receive random phone calls every once in a while from Indianapolis. I lived in Indianapolis for about two years before moving back to Kansas, then to Texas and I still have an Indianapolis phone number. The following is a few examples of random calls/texts that I’ve received within the last five years.

On March 18 at 9:41 p.m., I’ve received the text “Hay Babx.” The following day I had 10 missed phone calls from a different phone number. The person who called numerous times said “Umm... I’m calling for Vicky. This is Keith Ward’s fiancee and I just thought I let you know (expletive) you got one more time to text my man. I’ve got anything (on his phone regarding) talking about you missing him and missing that.” 

She goes on a rant about Vicky needing to be a woman and pick up the phone to talk to her. She also had to throw out that he was her man and that she was living with him. The woman then says if Vicky doesn’t stay away from her man or stop texting him she will go out and find her. 

I then texted her and explained that I am a married, 34 year old woman who lives in Texas and that there was an obvious mistake. I told her that her fiancé had texted the wrong person. I tried to sound friendly and that I was on her side on the matter. I simply ended the text by saying “Tell your man to stop texting me and to stop cheating.” 

One of the things that I was really wanting to say was why would I want someone who can’t spell, can’t text the right people and is a cheat. I stopped myself from texting that nasty comment because she was pretty steamed about the whole ordeal. 

During that same day, I received a phone call from her man’s phone number. I couldn’t answer it because I was driving to Victoria. I was so angry so I called him back and left an angry message on his voice mail. I basically told him I don’t know who you are and told him I am not Vicky. I said I haven’t lived in Indianapolis in like five years. I told him some woman has been calling me up and saying I’ve been messing around with her man. 

I haven’t received a phone call/text since then.

On another occasion, I received a phone call by someone who claimed to be my father. I was driving at the time so I didn’t get a chance to see who was calling and the sound of the voice on the phone sounded like my father’s voice and he laughed a little like him. So I told him my husband and I were in the middle of moving and I had just got a job at a newspaper. He would say things like “Oh really” and “That’s great.” Because of this I assumed he was my father because he went along with everything I was saying. The whole conversation lasted about 30 minutes. 

He called a couple of other times and I realized that the phone number didn’t match up with my dad’s phone number. During a voicemail message from the mysterious guy who claimed to be my father, I knew something wasn’t right. So I stopped answering his phone calls, eventually it stopped and I never heard from the guy again. 

I also get phone calls from bill collectors and hospitals in the Indianapolis area. Whenever I receive phone calls or texts from the area code 317, I know not to pick up the phone. 

I have a little advice for these people who are calling. Please provide a name and state your business when I pick up the phone. Do not start off saying it’s your father, uncle, boyfriend, fiancé, husband and et cetera. Don’t contact someone unless you are absolutely positive that it is the person you are trying to get ahold of, and please be careful when dialing a phone number so you are not harassing someone or wasting anyone’s time.