What did Aunt Stella eat?

I'm in my 70s and most people of my generation were taught to be very courteous on the telephone, especially to callers. Therefore, it was very hard to learn to hang up on liars, scammers, telemarketers, identity thieves, etc. But we have to. Most of the calls we get now on our land lines come from scoundrels of some sort. And here's some irony: After shutting down our land-line phones, many of us now carry the smart phones that the younger generation is addicted to. You know, we have to stay constantly connected in case we get calls, texts, emails, alerts, social media updates, etc. What a world!

When I was a kid we were on a party line, and some who were on the same line would listen in on private conversations. If you wanted to know what was going on with the neighbors, you eavesdropped. Now we have social media. If you want to know what's going on with almost anyone, you visit their page or read their tweets or texts or whatever. It's like a party line on steroids.

I think having all the phones is great. They keep us connected. They give us something to do while walking, eating, driving, shopping, sleeping, etc. Heaven forbid we should miss some important news, like how many pancakes Aunt Stella had for breakfast or why our friend Bill got his socks mismatched. That's important stuff!

It's a crazy world.

GARY L. GAINES, Cape Girardeau