The Call

I am someone who really rather detests the telephone. If there is any way I can avoid being around one,  I do.  Yes, I've had a cell phone since 1999, but mostly for emergencies, and I just got into texting within the last year. A very select few people have my cell number. Anyone can call our home phone as we have a listed, searchable number, but if someone actually answers it, be surprised - be very surprised. Those who know Julie and me well know that we rarely answer our telephone.

My wife uses a phone for her living as a service advisor in the automotive world. She has to take calls all day long to book appointments, arrange for parts to be on site, hear complaints and sad stories. She is no bigger fan than I am when the phone rings at home. "Are you going to answer that, Cate?" "No." And the call goes to voicemail.

We have the same experiences that anyone in the general public has with telemarketers, surveys and robo-calls. We have caller ID so that, of course if it's a sibling or child we answer or call right back. We are not anti-social (at least not completely yet!), but if you can e-mail or message us via social media, we are guaranteed to respond in a more timely manner.

There are other exceptions of course. I have chatty days now and then, when hearing that certain person's actual voice is a delight, and conversation, not mere small talk, flows back and forth effortlessly. Those calls, whether initiated by me or the other party, fill my spirit when I'm low. A good laugh shared is irreplaceable, as are words of genuine empathy. A short newsy update is not amiss when the other party is not a Facebooker or e-mailer. But what can one offer by way of response if the caller seems only to want advice that they would never take, or for me to somehow affirm their belief that they have been grievously wronged by their spouse/child/boss or some corporate entity? You can only say, "I am so sorry that happened to you" so many times.

All this said, I was reminded recently by my dear Anne McMahon, my cousin Kevin's wife, of a call we would both dearly love to make or receive. With the Christmas season upon us, and warmest memories of how our late parents loved and celebrated the December festivities, she commented that she would so love to pick up the phone and call them. A catch came into my throat on reading it. How I would so love to hear Dad's or Mom's voice over the phone again! Dad, after many years of being on call at the clinic would pick up with a "Smith speaking", and Mom would follow her cheery "Hello?" with "What are you doing right now?" and be genuinely interested. Anne says it is almost automatic when she dials from Quebec to her brother in Truro to dial 1-902-893 . . . and almost call her folks' number to this day. When I moved back to Colonial Avenue almost 15 years ago, I actually asked Bell Aliant to keep the Smith phone number that they had had since the 1960s, and so, when I phone home, I am phoning HOME.

To all who are missing some certain loved ones, whether at this time of year or anytime, just imagine the flood of emotions and sheer joy if we could pick up the phone and hear those voices again! That is the call I would answer with no hesitation.