The Answering Machine!

Yes, the answering machine. The greatest thing since; “Sliced Bread.”

I hate to talk on the phone. I dislike chit-chat of any kind; “flapping your lips in the breeze” an old teacher used to say.  Say what you have to say and then say good-bye.  None of this, “What are you doing?” (stop and talk to me)

The telemarketers never reach me. Now there is ‘call display’ which is worth every penny. If I don’t recognize the name, I don’t pick it up. (And it gives me a moment to prepare if it’s from work or the ex.)

It was a very happy day when I found out I could turn off the chat on Facebook.  I would only go on very early in the morning for fear I’d get the pop-up. “HI! what are you doing?”  Seriously? I’m on the computer on Facebook, obviously.  Then try to have a conversation by typing; oh, yeah, drag it out long and slow. It’s not on for my dearest friends because they know I hate to chit-chat. If something is going on, I’ll post it.

It’s not so bad these days with cordless phones but back in the day when you where tethered to the phone by a 3 foot cord, it was torture. I guess that’s the roots of my phone phobia. We had a business so people called us all the time; when the answering machine came into being, it was such a blessing!  ‘Just leave a message and we’ll get back to you’….. YES!

Now I rarely answer the phone. With e-mail and Facebook I can keep in touch with my friends easily.

Just say what you have to say and keep it succinct. The answering machine whittles down all the B.S. and just gets to the point.

In response to The Daily Post’s writing prompt: “Sliced Bread.”