For Better or For Worse by Lynn Johnston for January 15, 2021

In the first 3 panels, it was YOU who was yakking. April was listening to you. Now that you’ve hung up and is not talking, April starts yakking. It is not that she wants to talk – she doesn’t like the quiet. Perhaps that is why she gets up during the night and bangs her crib. She needs to kill the quiet.

This comic strip is one of the rare “camera in my house” moments for me and it also applies to any noises required to be performed on command. My kids, when they were babies, would go silent if you pointed a telephone at them mainly because they were fascinated by the device. Lynn Johnston captures that moment pretty well.

We have a cat that meows regularly, but never when you want someone to hear it. And of course the classic is the car engine that makes a funny noise all the time except when you are in the repair shop.

reminds me of when my father called his father that he’s engaged to my mother and Mom didn’t feel like talking to her future father-in-law; “you don’t talk much, do you,” asked Granddad when Mom was finally handed over the phone

“from the moment i could talk,i was ordered to listen”…..

Anyone here still have a landline?

I was like her as a child, I hated talking on the phone, still do.

You spend the first 2 years trying to get them to walk and talk, then the next 16 years telling them to shut up and sit down. :)

Grandparents are those who are happy just hearing the breathing on the other end.

I have the same problem with talking on demand. It’s easy to just run my mouth, but when I’m told to speak about something all the rules come into play, don’t offend, don’t lie, don’t tell to much, but tell them what they need to know, keep on the subject, etc… It’s easier to just message them. Maybe with a smiley face. (: … :) … whatever

Flatter them, then just talk about their life. Works every time.

Cell phones are a double edged sword. Convenient and annoying.

Wait until April starts really talking. Then when you get on the phone , she will want all your attention. Mom I need this ,or can you do this for me? She won’t shut up until you hang up and then she won’t need /want anything.

Kids and pets always make liars out of you.

Of course……

I have both. Both my land line and my cell have answering machines. I don’t answer numbers I don’t recognize. I try to have all the numbers I need in both phones so the person shows up on caller id.

Love my landline, $6 month, simple

My land line is designated for cable.

Ah, shaded background return.

I do…and we use it. Just because something is old, it doesn’t mean it’s useless.

We do

I do. Because of my risk of falling, I have a phone in every room of my apartment. Also, the landline has “enhanced 911”, which shows my address if 911 is dialed, so if I wasn’t able to talk, emergency services could still find me. And I love the sound quality. I have a cell phone, but I use it as infrequently as possible.

We got rid of ours when we got about 900 robocalls in 2019