​One of the qualities we seemed to have lost in recent years in the United States is responsibly answering our phones. The smart phone (or home phone for that matter) has become a device to hide behind. We look to see who is calling and choose not to pick up most of the time.

If it’s someone we know or we feel like talking or we’re expecting a special ring, we may answer. Otherwise, we let the message slide to voice mail. Then, we either ignore it until the person calls us again, or if we remember and are committed to getting back to someone who has reached out, we eventually get around to replying.

This is not true for everyone. Nor is it true in all circumstances. Based on extensively paying attention to how people from all walks of life respond to my calls in different venues, I would say with extreme confidence that most people fall into the irresponsible phone answering category.
 
It bugs me. It bugs other people I chat with about this issue. It makes friendships harder and doing business effectively more complicated and less efficient. Calling back over and over to get a simple answer or task accomplished makes no sense. Yet you must do it all too frequently to reach many people.
 
Recently I was doing an interview for a magazine I write for. The story dealt with basketball officials who’d been running up and down the court for over 40 years. Each guy interviewed was at least 60-years-old, and two were over 70.
 
Do you think they answered their phones? Absolutely! As I interviewed each and found they picked up their home line or cell phone after a couple of rings, the trend struck me as generational. Raised to answer the phone, each of these men continued to do so, and politely responded to my inquiry.


 
They did not know my number. They didn’t screen the name, figuring it was someone they didn’t know. Instead, they politely listened to my pitch, then nicely answered my questions. To a man, we had great conversations. We laughed. They told stories. We related.
 
As the trend grew throughout the 14 interviews conducted, I started to ask each guy if he noticed a similar trend. They agreed that many people don’t answer their phones right away, but they felt it was courteous and the right thing to do by picking up the line to see who was there.

I understand the pesky calls are a pain. No one wants a robo call or some dang salesman pitching ear wax removal. The slick talking guy trying to get you to donate to some cause you know nothing about irritates us all. It’s easy enough to hang up on those people after telling them you’re not interested.
 
On the other hand, if you’re honestly trying to reach someone for a good reason, it feels spectacular when he picks up the phone on the first couple of rings, listens to what you have to say, and replies, “How can I help?” It’s refreshing.

Those interviews made my day. Their responsiveness simplified my life and made my job easier. We bonded. Some of that was generational, no question.
 
Give it a shot. Maybe you’ll meet some other people like you. 

​It’s not hard to see why so many people are overweight. We stuff our faces.
 
This past weekend, we watched our son run with his team in a cross country meet. Everyone was invited to stay afterwards and bring food for a short picnic before the young adults packed up and headed back to college.
 
My wife made brownies, a special formula that holds mini M&M’s as the unique ingredient. While at the picnic, I avoided her treat. Instead, I had two half sub sandwiches, one really good, the other consumed just because it was there. Chocolate chip cookies went down my throat as well.
 
Typically, my wife no longer makes desserts, with all our kids out of the house. When faced with a mix of sugary delights, they become harder to resist.

Even though I was good right after the meet, her two dishes of brownies weren’t finished. And the team did not take them on the bus. Guess where they went? Back to our house.
 
Getting home, I didn’t think much about the brownies. We’d eaten lunch a little after noon. We arrived home about 3. I was not hungry.

Dinner was light. A bit later I felt a slight hunger and wondered what we had to munch on. It doesn’t take a genius to figure out that the brownie pan got unwrapped and I dug into the chocolate squares.
 
I pounded several while watching TV, then sat satiated with a glazed look.  I thought my fix was over.
 
Not so. Sunday morning I swam for my normal workout routine and came home for my typical fruit breakfast, walking by the brownie tray. Drinking a large glass of water after the fruit, I thought, “Hmmm, why am I still hungry this morning?” Was it temptation or did my stomach ache for something more?
 
I fought the urge. “No brownies for breakfast.” What could be the harm of eating one?
 
Peeling the lid off, there they sat, 10 large squares of chocolate goo and mini M&Ms. I selected a corner slice. It disappeared slowly, as I chewed to draw out the process, tasting each crumble as it rolled around my tongue. The green lid was placed back on the container to ensure no further consumption.
 
After polishing off number one, and thinking to myself, “hmmm, why am I still hungry?,” it became easier to pop the plastic top off a second time and dip into number two. That, too, disappeared slowly as I ate to ensure taste and hopefully to prevent number three from entering my digestive track.
 
As you’d expect, I was a failure in that goal, as my thought process went like this, “I’ll just skip lunch if I have a third brownie.” So I did and I did keep my lunch down to a banana and a few spoonfuls of peanut butter. I felt slightly righteous by the end of the day.
 
We stuff our faces for many reasons. Stress and boredom are the two main reasons we over-consume.
 
Sometimes you just need to eat. You crave it, so go for it. Don’t do it every day. You know what happens.
 
When the homemade brownies call your name, answer the call. Try to keep from eating that third one. It’s the killer.

​We have a large dog park fairly near where we live, and it attracts all kinds (of canines and people). You see every breed – German Shepherds, Golden Retrievers, mutts, Black Labs, Chocolate Labs, Beagles, Greyhounds, Great Danes, Poodles, Irish Setters and Bulldogs. If you visit often enough, you’ll see just about any breed.

Some of the dogs are huge, some tiny. There is thick fur and tightly packed shiny fur. Big jaws and loud barks, tiny mouths and small yips. There are aggressive breeds. Others like to circle the pack and herd and herd them into place.
 
Owners bring balls to toss. Dogs grab sticks to play and taunt others with their find. You see their personalities and how they prefer to interact.
 
Amazingly, there is peace. Is it absolute? Not quite. You’ll get the occasional put down. The teeth will come out sometimes to demonstrate to one of the other dogs who is boss or to cut out the shenanigans, but an extremely high percentage of the time, they all get along and enjoy the sniffing, chasing and tug-of-wars.
 
A few weeks back a young boy was there with his mother. He stared in awe at the kaleidoscope of breeds, and said, “Mommy there are so many different types of dogs here.”

The mother responded, “Yes, and they all get along.”
 
One question. A short answer. Yet so profound. I looked over and thought, “Yes, why can’t we take a lesson from the dogs?”
 
There are all so different. They are bred to do different things – point, herd, hunt, retrieve. Despite those differences in their gene pool, size, temperament or looks, they get along. We humans should take heed.
 
Sometimes territoriality takes over and one of the dogs needs to be put in its place by a wiser furry beast, but that occurs quickly and dominance is known. You’ll see the referee come in at times, the dog who chooses to stop the fight and insert itself into the squabble to separate the opponents, letting them know it’s time to cut it out and get back to sniffing and running.
 
There is something to be said for being outside and cutting loose with your body. All us humans should be doing that on a daily basis. We too are animals. Use your body or it goes into hibernation. Why do we let ourselves grow stagnant? We’re supposed to be the smarter ones, but the more I watch animals, the more I start to wonder.
 
Run for the sake of running. Play because you want to. Sing. Wrestle. Dig in the dirt. Roll around in the grass. See how it feels.
 
When the young boy asked his mom that question, it made me think how many of those spontaneous things we do when we are a child. If you hold onto them as an adult, you’re physically and emotionally healthier. You have less anger and frustrations. You let go of petty slights. There’s a lot to be said for retaining your child-like (dog-like) side.
 
Whether you have a dog or not, head out to a local dog park. Check out the action. Enjoy the interaction. Talk to the owners. Throw a ball or Frisbee. Make a friend (human or dog).
 
Let the dogs lead you. You’ll pick up a few tricks yourself.

​For those of you who saw the Wonder Woman movie this summer, you’ll remember the unique powers of her golden lasso. For those of you who didn’t, the short story is that if she encircles you with her rope, she pulls it tight. The power she has over you forces you to tell the truth. No lying.
 
You probably know where I’m going with this. There were many great scenes in the movie. But to me, one of the most amusing ones was watching those wrapped up in the rope continue to try and struggle and not tell the truth. Their gyrations and statements as they tried to stop themselves from uttering the truth made for great inside comedy.

Imagine that power in today’s world. Compelling business leaders and public officials to tell the truth would give incredible abilities to solve problems, find solutions and cut through the crap as people obfuscate and distort the truth to their own ends.
 
Toss that golden lasso on Kim Jong Un, North Korea’s nut job leader.  “Kim Jong, have you killed people in your country for political reasons?”

“Arrgggh, no….,” he would respond, vigorously fighting the rope, trying to escape. “I didn’t…..” His eyes start to bulge. It looks like he’s about to explode and his flat-top haircut pop up into the air like in the cartoons, with a huge TOOT sound. “Yes, yes, yes, I admit it. I have killed many who didn’t agree with me. They were dangerous though because they believed things that I didn’t.”
 
He would sigh and sag after this admission. Finally released from his lies, perhaps he could become an honest leader who draws power from people believing in him.
 
Wonder Woman could then sling it onto Russia’s leader Vladimir Putin and see how much meddling he’s done into the affairs of other countries, whether he’s vain or he just likes taking his shirt off while on vacation for selfie shots to promote himself or whether he’s just getting a tan.
 
She would need to save a personal visit with Lance Armstrong, to clear up all the lies he’s thrown into the public arena over the years. “So, Lance, can you admit that you used performance-enhancing drugs while you were at the peak of the bicycle powers?”
 
“Ummm, no…., OUCH, this thing hurts, pull it off me. Stop it.”
 
 
“No, tell us the truth.”
 
“I can’t. I can’t admit it. I was the champion. No, stop pulling that so tight. Okay, okay, I admit it. I’d never have won those Tour de France titles without the drugs. Now take this damn thing off me.”
 
There’s almost too much work for Wonder Woman and too many buried truths to unearth. Politicians, of course, of all stripes. Masters of saying whatever they want, they would be held accountable by the golden lasso.
 
Think of what it could do to all the pundits who manipulate us daily through their television rants. NO MORE! They can’t send the viewer down a road of lies because Wonder Woman stands poised to stop them. Tremble in fear, you people! Your power wanes.

We could all get back to lives where we know the true backdrop, we have the facts, people can’t use agendas to hide things. Are we ready?