This Is He

The phone rang. I said, "Hello," but there was a moment's silence on the other end.

Hello? a voice asked.

Hello? I said.

Hello? the voice said in a distinctly Indian accent.

Hello, I said.

May I speak to Mr. Hussen, he said, pronouncing Hasan perhaps more like it ought to be pronounced on that side of the world than how I pronounce it here.

This is he, I said.

There was silence on the other end.

I have learned that the construction, This is he, is not well understood by outsourced phone center callers on the other side of the world. And as a result, I have continued to use the construction with vigor, in spite of the fact that this use of predicate nominative has an archaic sound to it.

May I speak to Mr. Hussen?

This is he, I repeated.

Mr. David Hussen? he asked after another moment's silent.

Yes, I said tersely. I was now sure this phone call was junk.

He proceeded into a pitch in which he was evidently trying to sell me long distance service. I confess I couldn't follow what he said, which is saying something about how quickly he spoke, as my ears are well tuned to Indian accents.

I suppose he got two or three sentences into the pitch before I was positive this was indeed a junk call. He wasn't even stopping for a breath between his sentences.

I hung up without saying another word.

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