Sorry, Wrong Number

Remember when this was THE phone?  No buttons, no hold button, no second, third and fourth lines, no call waiting, no caller ID?

We didn’t have area codes.  We had exchanges.

Like Hillcrest and Vernon and Alpine and Lincoln and Superior…

You know what I mean.

And we didn’t type on it, use it to find out the population of Brazil, make reservations, put up pictures of the children or pets or rate restaurants.

It was strictly for calling.

Nowadays, this usage has gone the way of the dodo bird.

My kids think phone calls are strictly for the birds.

Unless it’s a real emergency. (Nick)

Or FaceTime. (Natasha.)

I don’t take offense at this.  Their lives are jam-packed with work, children, dogs, snowboarding, spouses, friends and…

And they live in opposite end of the country times zones.

Natasha is an early bird in Boston.  Nick is on Pacific Time in Seattle.  They rarely get a chance to coordinate phone calls with each other.

And I really really hate to bother them.

Just because it’s some down time for me doesn’t mean that it’s AOK in their world to give the phone a jingle.  I feel that odds would be good that no matter what time I call, Nick and Natasha would always be tied up with much more important life events.

So that leaves me with exactly one rapid response communique option.

Texting.

It’s quick, to the point and if they’re busy, they can easily ignore it.

I really do have a horror of interrupting people at a critical time.

And a couple of weeks ago, my hesitation waltz when it comes to make random acts of dialing really paid off.

I had texted Natasha in preparation for my Boston birthday visit to see my grandchildren.

I needed to coordinate some dinner plans with her and I texted her to ask if this was a good time to chat.

The answer came back loud and clear.

NO.

She was walking into a bris.

Oy gevalt.

Now enjoy this.  It always reminds me of the time when my flight in Aspen was cancelled and I was stranded at Sardy Field.

I called Nick – sixteen at the time- because I needed him to come to the airport and bring me home.

You’ll see what happened.

Watch this…