From today's Times and News-Star
I
try to return all my missed phone calls and text messages, simply out of fascination
that anyone would want to contact me.
But
like you, I can’t always return the call or message Right Then. This is bad
because people will begin to worry about you if you don’t get back in touch
with them Right Then.
When
the phone of your youth went unanswered in your house – it probably hang and
rang from the hall or the kitchen; central location was key – people did not
worry when you didn’t call them back Right Then. They figured you were gone or
just Away From The Phone. It was a simpler time.
But
today, you are never Away From The Phone. These modern days, we are about as
mobile as the air itself. And most of us have a phone. I mean, you need a
phone. But you do not need me to tell you that this is both a blessing and a
curse.
For
starters, we feel as if we must give a reason these days as to why we didn’t
answer.
“I
tried to call and you didn’t answer.”
“I’m
sorry. I was getting a kidney transplant.”
“Oh,
OK. Well, can I borrow your rake?”
Used
to, you didn’t need an explanation. You were just Away From The Phone. That
covered it all, everything from a nap to a hysterectomy.
But
today? Nowhere to run to baby, no place to hide.
Not
everyone panics. Guys, in general, don’t worry if a guy doesn’t answer. We have
a strict Phone Code we don’t mind sharing with you; we feel it might help.
If
I’ve missed a call and the guy didn’t leave a message, I might call back and might
not. By not leaving a message, he is telling me he had a window to talk Right
Then and might not be able to talk when I call back but that it was not timely
or important for Right Then anyway. If I don’t call back, he does not think I’ve
been kidnapped.
Phone
Code. No harm, no foul.
Now,
if he leaves a message, I listen and then attempt to honor whatever request it
was, or simply am thankful for the information. This is very important: this
message device will not work if you do not listen to your messages. Young
people are not big on message listening because they don’t understand that it actually
saves time.
“Did
you listen to your message?”
“No.”
“Well
then why do you have a recording telling me to leave a message?”
“Well
I just thought I’d call you back.”
“And
make me say my message again?”
Let
technology work for you! I call it the ol’ Leave and Listen Code: leave a message
if needed, listen to your message if you get one.
People
used to listen to messages when we had those recorders by the phone at home.
There’s a technology that went by fast, right? Those answering machines are
rare today, but so are home phones, or “landlines.”
But
with people texting while driving or taking calls during the movies or even in
church (we answer the bell on these subjects next week before getting off the phone),
are the landlines really gone?
They
aren’t. The phantom phone still hangs in the kitchen and we’ve allowed the cord,
though now invisible, to knot and twist around us, to follow us wherever we go.
The
phone’s a great invention. But sometimes, we should cut the cord.
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