It Just Didn't Gel

My husband was convinced I was making a mistake sending money to someone I knew nothing about, in expectation of receiving merchandise in the mail. But I was desperate. I had been suffering with a skin irritation which creams and lotions hardly alleviated, and the pain was getting unbearable. Then one day I saw an item in the newspaper describing an imported gel made of aloe vera which could possibly give me relief. I called Mr. H. whose cellular phone number was listed in the paper. He sounded quite sympathetic, even offering to give me the name and number of an alternative medicine practitioner who had helped him. He said the gel could make me feel better. I sent my check and two days later received his call thanking me for my order. I was informed the package would arrive within several days. I waited impatiently, but when two weeks had elapsed with no sign of the item, I decided to call Mr. H. An answering machine told me to leave a message, which I did. Mr. H. did not return my call. I called several times after that, only to be told that the answering device was full and couldn't accept any more messages. My husband was now giving me the "I told you so" routine. I didn't know what to make of all this and began to think that perhaps he was correct. My husband suggested contacting a government agency dealing with fraudulent mail practices. I was undecided. About four weeks after placing my order, I received a call from Mr. H. He was very upset and apologetic and told me my package had just been returned to him by the post office. Apparently some postal clerk couldn't read my address which had been written in English. Mr. H. promised to remail the package immediately. When I asked why he hadn't returned my call, he told me he had changed cellular phone numbers and never got my message. This time he gave me his new number, and his home number as well. The item arrived several days later (now with my address written in Hebrew). Soon thereafter, I received another call from Mr. H. asking whether the gel had arrived and whether it had helped me. He turned out to be a mentch after all!

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