The Good Old Days

Whatever happened to telephone etiquette?

I'm not talking about rude cell phone usage--that's a topic that could go on forever--I mean regular old telephone courtesy?

Last night, I didn't get to bed until nearly 10:30, which is late enough, but what really made things bad was the phone call I got last night. At 11:05. I was nearly asleep when I heard it ring. It was a wrong number, but the damage was done--I didn't fall back asleep until after 1am.

It used to be that you never called anyone before 9am or after 9pm. If something was important, you could push it a little, but if the phone rang after 10pm at night, the immediate thought was: OMG, someone died. Now, it seems like people call any time of the day or night, completely unconcerned with such niceties like people sleeping.

When did this change?

I'll confess, I hate the phone anyway. The proliferation of email and the ability to handle things online is something that I love because I don't have to use the phone. :-) It's possible I might be slightly biased against any phone calls.

I know my dad has received phone calls from lodge guys at all hours, too, and these are older men who you'd think would follow the unspoken, old "rules" about calling.

I miss the days where people adhered to never calling anyone, not even your best friend, after 9pm. Sigh.

Another confession: I have caller ID and I only answer phone calls if I feel like it. :-) The phone was installed for my convenience, not the convenience of the caller. Of course, it still breaks my concentration (Or my sleep) because I have to get up to check who's calling, but it's better than killing myself to get to the phone only to find out someone is trying to sell me something.

And now for something completely different. ;-) It poured here yesterday afternoon for a really long time. Lots of lightning and a little bit of hail too. My poor lilies were mostly protected from the pounding, but we got so much rain that there was standing water in the tree ring. :-( I can only hope they don't drown before it can drain off.

The severe weather drove me off the computer and the sky looked funny enough that I tried to figure out what I'd need to grab to take to the basement if the tornado sirens went off. They didn't, thank goodness, but the storms and the lightning lasted for a long time so I was off the computer for a long time. There went my plans to work on a proposal or to even answer email.