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Thursday, March 5, 2015

ARE YOU GOING TO GET THAT?


ARE YOU GOING TO GET THAT?
Years ago, when there was only one telephone in the house, a receiver on a rotary dial cradle, if the phone rang, it had to be answered.  All calls were from actual persons, either someone you knew or a wrong number.  There were no solicitation calls, no surveys, no scams, no machines, only people, and usually someone you knew.

When the phone rang, it would just keep ringing.  It would not go to a message after the fourth ring, it would just keep ringing.  The person on the other end would not hang up, they would ring forever.  They knew you must be home, and they knew it was a long walk through the house to get to the only phone.  The phone ring was loud, it was piercing, and it could not be ignored.

If you chose to not pick up, you were sure to run into the caller the next day.  “Where were you, I called, why didn’t you answer?”

Back in the day, you always picked up.  The call might be important.  There was no screening; you had to pick up to find out who was calling.

Today, when the phone rings, most of the time you know who it is just by the ring tone.  The incoming number is displayed on the phone, or in our case on the TV screen.  You are told the number that is calling and where the call is from.  If you do not know the number or do not know anyone from where the call is coming, it is probably a nuisance call.

Mrs. Cranky is old school.  If the phone rings, she must answer it.

If I don’t know the number, especially if it is coming from some strange state, I just let it ring.  If it is a call to my cell phone I can respond instantly with a message without answering.  I send “I’m on my way” just to confuse the incoming call a-hole.

Mrs. Cranky always answers every call.  If she is sleeping, she wakes up instantly and answers the phone.  At least five times a night we have this conversation.

DOODLE DE DOODLE…DOODLE DE DOODLE… “Hello.”

BLA, bla blob blob blobble, bobble o blob?”

“Please take me off your list!”

“Who was that?”

“Some credit card scam.”

“Why do you even pick it up, you know the call was from Memphis?  Do you know anyone from Memphis?”

“It could be important.”

“Like what?  And they could leave a message if it was so important.”

“Maybe I won something, a car, a bucket of money, you never know.”

“Yeah, maybe, except you haven’t even entered any contests. It drives me crazy that you have to pick up every call.”

“You’re a jerk!”

DING DONG DING…DING DONG DING…DING DONG DING

“Are you going to get that?”

“No, it’s from Montana; I don’t know anyone from Montana.”

“I don’t know how you can just let it ring, it drives me crazy.”

“Maybe I’m just a jerk.”

16 comments:

  1. I'm like you; I'm not one to answer a phone if I don't know who is calling. I remember growing up, everyone being eager to run to see who was calling. Now I'm happy if hubby runs for the phone.

    betty

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  2. By the time i was old enough to answer the phone, we had two. The private number was answered every time. The public one was only answered if Dr. Born Organized Clean was on call. If he wasn't on call, the same phone book that listed our number listed the doctor's exchange number to call, so the person would call that number and a message was passed to the doctor on call. It worked.

    Now, if i don't know the number, i usually let it go to voice mail, and if they leave a message, i know it's important and i listen and call back.

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  3. It is interesting how our phone habits have changed in the century and a bit more since the device was invented.so

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  4. I don't answer call on my mobile from unknown numbers but I always answer the house phone. It's an ancient phone, not even a mobile and I never give out the number so only about 5 people know it so I assume it's important. Unfortunately our number is very similar to a letting agent in town so several times a week people transpose the number and ring me instead.

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  5. I do not answer the phone unless I see it is my family.....or certain friends...maybe I am a jerk to...But I am good with that...No shame in my game

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  6. for a couple of years, about a decade or so ago, i didn't have the phone ring at all. i let the machine get every call and all you heard was a 'click' if the house was quiet. it was all because of my mother-in-law driving me nuts. :)

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  7. I'm a jerk too. If I don't recognize the number I'm not answering. Wait, we aren't jerks, we're smart.

    Have a fabulous day. ☺

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  8. Shortly after my dad died, our service carrier implemented the caller ID on our TV. I had no idea this service was being given to us, and I was shocked when I read on our TV screen that the call we were receiving was from my late dad. If only it HAD been him.

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  9. My husband always answers his phone, even when we're in the middle of some engrossing activity. When he was a kid, an incoming call might mean a new customer for one of the family's several paper routes. He's 72 now but he hasn't outgrown it yet.

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  10. Turn off the ringer!! Let 'em eat phonemail ....

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  11. Remember the party line? Or did you always have a private line, you rich bast--I mean Jerk? You knew it wasn't your ring, but you could lift the receiver and breathe shallowly and listen in on other calls. Not that I would do that, of course!

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  12. Then I'm a jerk too.

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  13. Oh yes, the good old days when the call was always for you--cept for a few wrong numbers that were never unpleasant. Now days my phone has to prove it is a real person or it just goes to voice mail. Sigh.

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  14. I agree with you Cranky. I get literally 5 (sometimes more) nuisance calls a day. I not only don't answer, I block that caller from ever being able to call again. I must have hundreds on my block list. Hey....it's a start. :)

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  15. I have everyone I know in my "phonebook" so if I get a call from one of them, the screen shows me who is calling. If I get a call from an unknown number I may or may not answer, depending on time of day. Calls between 4pm and 8pmare usually telemarketers, any other time it could be my older son who gets a new phone more often than I change my socks, so I never know his number.

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