A Foreign Call On My Answering Machine (nonfiction): Difference between revisions

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Sometime in 1989, or perhaps 1990, I returned home from work to find nine messages on my answering machine.
Sometime in 1989, or perhaps 1990, I returned home from work to find nine messages on my answering machine.


This was unusual: I typically received zero or one or two messages in a day, or possibly three on a rare day -- but never ''nine''.
This was unusual: I typically received zero or one or two messages in a day, or possibly three on a rare day but never ''nine''.


I replayed the messages.  (This was back in the day when answering machines stored incoming messages on a cassette tape."
I replayed the messages.  (This was back in the day when answering machines stored incoming messages on a cassette tape.)


The first eight calls were hang-ups.
The first eight calls were hang-ups.


The ninth call began with a woman's voice saying "Will you accept a collect call from --"
The ninth call began with a woman's voice saying "Will you accept a collect call from "


-- and then a brief pause --
and then a brief pause


Followed by a deep male voice booming: "Turkey."
Followed by a deep male voice booming: "Turkey."


No, I do not know anyone in Turkey.
No, I do not know anyone in Turkey.
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== Nonfiction cross-reference ==
== Nonfiction cross-reference ==


External links:
== External links ==


[[Category:Nonfiction (nonfiction)]]
[[Category: (nonfiction)]]
[[Category:Essays by Karl Jones (nonfiction)]]
[[Category:Fiction (nonfiction)]]
[[Category:Karl Jones (nonfiction)]]
[[Category:Telephones (nonfiction)]]
[[Category:Turkey (nation) (nonfiction)]]
 
[[Category:Essays]]

Latest revision as of 07:20, 16 November 2022

A Foreign Call On My Answering Machine is a short essay by Karl Jones. It reads in full:

Sometime in 1989, or perhaps 1990, I returned home from work to find nine messages on my answering machine.

This was unusual: I typically received zero or one or two messages in a day, or possibly three on a rare day — but never nine.

I replayed the messages. (This was back in the day when answering machines stored incoming messages on a cassette tape.)

The first eight calls were hang-ups.

The ninth call began with a woman's voice saying "Will you accept a collect call from —"

— and then a brief pause —

Followed by a deep male voice booming: "— Turkey."

No, I do not know anyone in Turkey.

In the News

Fiction cross-reference

Nonfiction cross-reference

External links