​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.