By Alison McFerrin

The Selma Times-Journal

Maybe I’m not old enough yet to be starting sentences with, “Why, when I was a kid … “

Nevertheless …

When I was a kid, we answered the telephone in my family. It was just good manners. We figured if somebody was taking the time to pick up the phone and dial the number, it must be something important. And even if it wasn’t important, the polite thing to do was answer the phone.

We also returned the messages left on the answering machine. People didn’t leave a message unless they needed something.

But these days, having your phone call answered the first time through is like magic. I find myself not even knowing what to say when the person I’m calling actually answers — because I was expecting to have to leave a voicemail.

And getting someone to return a voicemail is just as bad. You might as well go ahead and call back.

“Hey.”

“Oh hey, how are you?”

“Fine … did you get my voicemail?”

“Oh, yeah, I just didn’t return it yet.”

Oh, good. Because it’s not like I needed anything from you — that’s not why I called.

How are you supposed to get someone’s attention these days? Maybe instead of saying ‘please give me a call back,’ we should resort to stronger terms. Something like ‘It’s unbelievably urgent that you return my call.’ Or maybe reverse psychology would work. ‘Don’t return my call. Please. Whatever you do, do not call me back!”

I understand we all have busy lives. But these days, you don’t even have to be home to answer the phone. The majority of our world is connected 24/7.

It would be nice if you could count on reaching someone when you dial his or her telephone number. But maybe the “communication age” is less about communicating than it is about saying, “Oh look, I have a missed call and a voicemail. Oh well. Maybe they’ll call back.”