Answering the Phone

It occurred to me that I'm part of the last generation of people who remember what it was like to have the phone ring and have absolutely no idea who was on the other end.  That seems like such an odd thing now in our days of Caller ID and instant redial.

We have become so accustomed to checking ID when someone calls and then deciding if we want to pick up or not that I forget what it is to just hear the phone ring and just grab it.  I never do that anymore. If I don't recognize the number or it's an unknown caller, then I let the machine pick up as I listen in to see if it's someone I should talk to.

Blair has recently decided he's going to make an effort to pick up the phone whenever it rings, period. I'd like to say I'm joining him in that effort, but I doubt I'll hold to it.  I am not a phone talker to begin with (friends and family know this).  If you call me for a reason and then we end up chit-chatting, that's okay.  But I am not the one you want to call just to pass the time.  I actually get a headache if I'm on the phone for too long.  I much prefer in-person or e-mail conversations.

When Blair and I were first dating, he travelled a lot with his job.  Friends thought it odd that we were so in love, yet on the weeks he travelled we only talked for about 10 minutes on the phone each Wednesday night.  My response is thank God I found another non-phone person to fall in love with.

We know one couple that live and die by their phones.  I was over at her house once when her husband was on the way home from the airport.  He called to let her know the plane had landed.  Fine.  Then he called 10 minutes later to say he had his luggage and was on his way home.  Okaaaaaay....

Then he called fifteen minutes later to say he was about 10 minutes away.  At this point I would have pulled a gun and had it aimed at the door when he walked through.  I mean, Dear God, you're on your way home.  I get it!  Now shut up about it!

I'm also (bearing the wrath of many here) NOT a fan of it being legal to talk on cell phones in a car.  And you can yap at me all you want to about speakerphone and hands-free models, my position remains unchanged.  It's an unneeded distraction when you're traveling in a machine capable of killing you and others.

Now, in full disclosure, yes, I have occasionally used my cell phone while driving.  But rarely and I'm working on making it never.  With approximately a billion places to pull over and place a call, there's really no need.