Times Have Changed--Easy to Call

My generation was always told to limit phone calls, since they're expensive. Growing up with family and close friends in Connecticut and New Jersey meant an expensive phone bill for us in New York. And of course, my moving to Israel meant calls were a fortune. We needed an overseas operator and had to decide whether to call person to person, more per second, but then we wouldn't be billed unnecessarily if they person we wanted wasn't there.

My kids are on the phone long distance all the time. They remind me that it doesn't cost any more to call New York than it cost to call "orange" to "pelephone." (Two Israeli cellphone companies.)

Last night after my husband returned home, I first called my "baby" in New York. I sang him our family "birthday song," which I learned almost fifty years ago in Girl Scout Camp. I could barely hear his reaction, because of the noise in Giants Stadium.

Then we called two "shiva (condolence) calls." A friend's mother passed away. They were very "touched" that we called. I usually see them every visit to New York, but this summer they had been too busy. Both of his parents had been ill, and now his mother passed away just three months after his father.

After that I called my Connecticut cousins. My most elderly aunt passed away last week at the age of about 96. They were totally amazed. For them overseas calls are rare. Their kids are in the states, and they don't travel abroad. Actually my aunt used to. She was a university professor and would go on tours sponsored by some professional group. She even visited us in Jerusalem, when we lived there.

I'm glad I called. Email just isn't the same.