Under the rubric of the category "Hackie Unplugged," I reflect on the most recent Hackie column. This week's column, "Please Mr. Postman," is a tragic tale about an unfulfilled promise of a check in the mail. Oh, the humanity . . .

The basic plot:  A couple of times a year, I arrive with a customer at his or her destination, and - oops - no money, and no way to get any. So, I give the customer my mailing address, and they swear, under oath, to send me a check.

Guess what? The check never comes.

Rereading the current version of this fiasco, I had a revelation. Why not ask the customer for his or her phone number? This way, when they fail to send the check, I can call them and say, "Remember me? Send me the check. Thank you."

Isn't that brilliant? And it took me a mere 25 years to come up with this.