I do not currently recall the topic about which I had wanted to write today, so I will write about something I do recall from today.
No one can reach a friend of mine by phone call. At least, no one could until today. You see, after months of calling him on my way between locations in my day, or occasionally on my way home, just to check in whenever something had brought him to mind (which happened a lot for a while, because I worked somewhere that he had only somewhat recently left working), and never reaching him, I decided that he couldn’t always be so busy. He couldn’t have his phone off that often. It just wasn’t real. I don’t even have my phone signal off that often, and I’m kind of weird compared to the average for my age group. (Slash compared to anyone under 80.)
And so I developed a theory. When he himself admitted that I was not the first to say that I always got his voicemail, my theory evolved from the idea that something was wrong with his phone. I learned some details of the “Do Not Disturb” feature on my own phone, and my theory was almost solidified. Whenever I called him, I called him twice in a row, and the phone would ring the second time, and he almost always answered on the second call. Or, at least, he would return the phone call, if he didn’t answer. And that is how I agreed upon my theory that his phone was on “Do Not Disturb” indefinitely.
However, I kept forgetting to share my theory with this friend. And so, he continued to miss calls, friends of his likely continued to grow annoyed at him/his phone, and I increased in my expectation that somehow he might just figure it out without my telling him.
And did that happen?
Well, this afternoon, when he called me immediately back (as I was in the middle of telling Siri to call him a second time, as I always did), I thought the problem had possibly been solved. Alas, no. He had merely been looking right at his phone, and so saw the missed call from me pop up immediately.
After his comment that he needed to take it in to the Apple Store to be checked out, I asked him if his phone was on “Do Not Disturb”. He assured me that it was not. “Are you sure?” I asked. He confirmed his surety. “100%?” As he gave me a number around 99% (it might have been 98.5%, but I don’t recall exactly what he gave), he was convinced to check the phone, just in case. When he asked me where to find it, I knew instantly that my 70-ish percent certainty had conquered his mere 99% certainty.
I explained to him how to check it and how the icon appeared, and he almost instantly began a sort of slew of self-deprecating, astonished declarations. My theory was correct.
😛
I only now imagine myself riding my bicycle at the time with a gleam in my eye, just like Hércule Poirot must have had in the spectacular book I’d just finished reading today (Murder on the Orient Express by Agatha Christie). (She really is a rock star of writing. Actually, that might have been what I’d wanted to share for today. Whatever the case, go read the book – it’s wonderful. I am ever grateful that Agatha Christie decided to keep writing those books and to keep taking a little more money each time, as her friend suggested.)
Post-a-day 2018
hannah ananas 