That Was Worth It

Sometimes the internet is a really useful thing.

Tonight I heard this strange sound, an electronic kind of tune-ish thing. By the time I figured out it was my cell phone ringing, whoever called hung up. I checked the number and didn't recognize it.

But I own a cell phone "in case of emergency." Because I'm easily trainable, I have learned to associate "cell phone ringing" with "emergency," and because I'm human, I haven't learned the exact nature of that association. At the moment, "cell phone ringing" and "emergency" are approximately equal. In truth, they are overlapping, but not identical, sets of events. I know this intellectually, but tell it to my internal alarm system.

So I checked the area code and it was Phoenix. I have a relative in Arizona, and although it's unlikely she'd be in trouble in Phoenix and the hospital would call my cell, it's not entirely out of the realm of possibility, so I couldn't quite relax about the whole emergency thing.

Et voila! The internet to the rescue!

A reverse lookup turned up some complaints about the number, mostly related to some contest scam. Not only could I relax about an emergency, I could also feel smart and relieved for not answering.

Sometimes the internet is a really useful thing.