the F-word or sitting down to join my
parents for a glass of scotch.
My amazement quickly turned to
horror when I realized it wasn’t just that
one renegade friend who could answer
the phone in such a carefree manner, but
everyone, and that my parents were
clearly playing some big practical joke
on us. Our objections were met with the
standard, “When you pay your own
phone bill you can answer it any way
you like.” So the years passed, our
indignation slowly getting watered down
by habit.
I don’t remember exactly when the
mutiny happened, but eventually we all
started answering the phone like normal