Hello

I got a call from a friend tonight. I didn't get to the phone and she left a message on my voicemail. The start of her message was "man, you got me, I thought it was you that was saying hello...."

I laughed because Jim did this on his cellphone voicemail. It was a simple "Hello" but in the tone that you would speak as if you were answering the phone, not like you were about to say "hello, leave a message".

So often, people would leave him and message saying "hello Jim, how are you? Jim?" and then you would hear them on the voicemail maybe speaking to someone else saying "I thought he answered but I don't hear him, okay, Jim is this is a message, it's Uncle Benny, call me back....I guess that was his machine, I don't kno..." click.

I shut Jim's cellphone down just several days after he died and I am sorry I did. I wish I had kept it on for a little while longer. Long enough to get a copy of his voicemail (somehow).

The "hello" that I use is very much a copy of his, in honor of him. Most of my friends have heard it and even this friend knew it but said she forgot that it did that.

Ah, the little memories that make you smile.