Frazz by Jef Mallett for April 15, 2016

I’ve been wondering that myself lately!

The kid is not the only one.

Hey, there are still some of us old people who are not comfortable talking to a machine that need all the message composition time that we can get.

Once I got a “leave your message” recording that said, “You know the drill [beep].” I’d use it myself, if my cell provider would let me.

The real reason goes to when Cell phones charged by the minutes used.

True and all but not all message systems do it the same way. I tried once to leave a message to a system in Quebec.

“Hi, this is MacGyver. We all know how these things work, so when you hear the beep, go for it.”

I haven’t changed my greeting on the answering machine for almost that long. I don’t use the message line nor the caller ID. Leave a message and we’ll get back with you if we want to.

What you mean “we,” eight year old kid?

a better question: why do people have messages that say “leave a message” when everybody just hits redial & asks “did you call me?” & never listens to the message?

Answering machines have other after effects. Had a friend who called another and got answering machine. Later told me he had spent a long time with phone company accountant trying to get the $1.29 charge dropped because he did not actually get to talk with the person he called. Tried to explain that he was connected with the number and that is all the pc has promised. Reminded me of the movie, ‘The President’s Psychiatrist,’ a spy spoof, where the pc turned out to be the villain. Hilarious shot at the one company that actually does affect almost every human on the planet.

I still remember, at our first apartment, the “message” that consisted of a few seconds of silence followed by my grandmother’s shocked-sounding words, “It’s a RECORDER!” She couldn’t imagine having such a complicated thing at home.

The same reason we give email addresses with “.com” or say “www”.

In the same category: Why do flight attendants continue to show us how to fasten a seat belt?

That’s why I end my voicemail greeting with, “…you know what to do at the beep.”

Because people like my boss, who once asked me if e-mail addresses are case-sensitive, are still allowed to use technology.

My favorite answering machine message was “life is an intelligence test”…. beep

Still remember the call we got on my husband’s business answering machine “Hi, I’m sorry Paula but I can’t make it to our date.” No name, nothing else.

I use a different rhyme for every month. February’s goes:Roses are red, valentines are tooWhen you hear the beep, you know what to do.

We have to spell it out because some people do not pay attention.