I was shocked by the call for several reasons. First, I have an unlisted number. When I questioned the caller about how he found out the number, he told me the method he went about in finding it. It actually took some effort on his part, but he did indeed discover it. Secondly, I was troubled that a reader of my blog would somehow think it was acceptable to call me. It was unsettling at best and even slightly creepy. I'm not a public figure such as an author or professor who can easily be tracked down via a publicist or book agent. Third, this was an egregious violation of my privacy. After the 30 or seconds or so of being dumbfounded, I immediately ended the call and told the person to never call again.
I appreciate the fact that the person in question took the time and effort to read an article here. I earn no money from my writing with the exception of a rare lecture or two I give locally. I write for the pleasure of it and I'm thrilled that so many visitors (more than 410,000 and counting) have dropped by. But it is entirely unacceptable for this person or any other reader of this Lincoln blog to phone me, unless I request them to as happens when I am hired to lecture somewhere. All readers can find my email address on my Blogger profile which can be accessed by clicking on the "About Me" link on the homepage of this blog. Everyone is welcome to email me at any time. Comments or questions can be added to the individual posts as well.
There are ways to reach me should anyone wish to do so. But to violate my privacy in the way which this person did last night is unacceptable. I know 99.99% of my readers wouldn't dream of doing so to begin with, but I was so bothered by this incident that I felt the need to write this article anyway. I've taken some steps now to hopefully prevent such an incident in the future.
OK. Enough preaching. We now return you to articles about Abraham Lincoln. Thank you for your indulgence.
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