It's still okay to leave voicemails

If you’re calling from an unknown number and I don’t answer, leave a voicemail.

I know in this day of text, instant messenger, Snapchat and more apps and social media functions than I can keep track of, that probably seems like an outdated way to communicate to some.

But if it’s important, if you or your company really want to talk to me, then that’s what you need to do.

I get a lot of unknown number calls. Sometimes, if it’s an area code I recognize and I’m expecting a call, I’ll answer if I can.

But the nature of my job is that I’ve shared my contact info with a lot of people in the nearly 20 years at the Daily American Republic.

I would love to say I have a memory like a steel trap, but let’s be honest, I barely remember everything I did yesterday.

And since I started carrying a cell phone, I have no memory at all for phone numbers. If I was stranded on the side of the road and my cell didn’t work, I’d probably have to call the office my mom retired from and see if anyone there had her contact saved. Pathetic, I know.

But my head is too full of other things right now, like the dates for basketball districts and changes in publication dates for two special projects we’re working on, or who is covering what events next week for the daily print edition.

I added it up for our print editions the week of Jan. 22, including one special section, and we had over 90 local news items, from obituaries and police reports to sports and news stories, and an eight-page section featuring the history of service members from the Butler County area who served in the Korean War. And that’s just in one week. Multiply that by a month and year, and the names, dates and facts add up.

When I was in middle school, I could easily tell you the phone numbers and birthdays of everyone in my immediate family and many beyond. But life was a lot less complicated then.

So, back to my meandering point, I’m sure I want to talk to (most) of the people behind the unknown numbers that pop up on my phone, but sometimes it’s also my internet company trying to sell me an upgrade in the middle of a work day.

So if I’m not at a point where I can roll the dice and answer, please leave a message or even send a text. A missed call from an unknown number may not be enough to get a call back.

Donna Farley is editor of the Daily American Republic. She can be reached at dfarley@darnews.com (and by voicemail).