Wobblegong

In my particular case I was raised by people who I would describe as "less terrorized by, yet no more enthusiastic about phones". EAGER early adopters of answering machines who also figured out how to make the phone ring as few times as possible so it would go to voicemail faster. It was completely taken for granted that if someone called while people were home, they'd stand by the answering machine (which was a speaker that relayed its goings-on in real time too) and listen to the message as it was being left by the person on the line, refusing to pick up. Unless it was actually time-sensitive– and in practice nothing was time-sensitive unless it involved dinner plans– calls were for answering Later When It Is Not Now. Why? Because. ♥

On reflection this might explain some of my phone habits, actually.