Leave a Message

Last night I made 74 phone calls for the Maine Democratic Party. I've gotten involved in local politics and that includes making calls to registered voters. We have an important US Senate race in Maine - Democrat Tom Allen is challenging Republican Susan Collins. The calls last night were to find out who democrats are supporting, but half were answered by an answering machine. My guess is that most of those machines are always on.

I am a phone person. The phone is my tool of first resort. I can find the answer to any question and solve any problem over the phone. I always answer the phone if I'm home, and I like to talk.
Our family did not own an answering machine before our move to the country. We never needed one. When the children were young I was always home, and when I went back to work I didn't have time to return calls that came while I was gone. When the children were home the phone rarely went unanswered, though messages were not always relayed. Ken is not a phone person, except for work or to talk to his children.

Well, we have an answering machine now. Somewhere along the way cell phones replaced email as the way to communicate with our children, and they started asking where we were all the time. So we resorted to an answering machine which, as my children say, brought us into the 21st century. It's fun to come home to find the red light flashing, especially if it's the voice of a friend or family member on the other end. And I always call back.

So if you call and I'm home, I will answer the phone. If I'm out, please leave a message.