You know you’re not meant to pick up a phone call if, in 4 rings, you had tried to pick it up from the phone next to you and realize that it’s unplugged, so rather than fish around for the wiring, you dash down the hallway into your bedroom to get that phone, except since the hall light’s burnt out at that end of the hall, you can’t see and you don’t want to step on the cat that may or may not be lounging in between the doorway and the bed (one of his favorite spots), so you slow down, step carefully, finally leap onto the bed, and reach over to the nightstand at the far side of the bed for the phone, and your hand doesn’t find the phone because for whatever reason, you moved the phone closer to the wall that morning, and when you finally find and grab the phone and bring it to your ear, before you can gasp out the entire word “hello,” you hear the other end click a hang-up.

I can count on 2 hands how many people have my home #, and count on 1 hand who would call it. My cell didn’t ring after the house phone stopped ringing, so it’s not someone who really wants to get a hold of me, as much as someone just seeing if I’m home. And 10pm is too late for telemarketers.