Some phones have auto reply choices for those times when we can’t pick up the call. Mine has a choice of:
- I’m on my way.
- Can I call you later?
- Sorry I can’t talk right now.
- <custom>
- Really? Now?
- Bathroom break. Honestly, you don’t want to hear this.
- I may call you back. I may forget. Give it a few days.
But the text I really want to select will stop the caller immediately with this:
I can’t talk right now. I meant to turn my phone off but I was too distracted to remember that I even owned a phone when I walked into the candlelit room. I’m being kissed right now and . . . well . . . it’s not a good time . . . well, it actually is a good time . . . for me . . . I just mean it’s not a good time to talk with you. And . . . ahhhhh . . .
Tap that choice and my phone powers off automatically. Immediately. No more pings. No more dings. And no more rings. (Even vibrate mode isn’t necessary in this moment.)
The caller is left to their imagination and I’m left with my reality. A sexy lover. A lovely afternoon. Or evening. Or both. Or – whoa – maybe a morning. Hell, an entire day.
My turned-off phone can magically text any other incoming calls with:
I’m utterly, happily, amazingly unavailable. I can only be reached in person. By one person. And that person is already within reach. Thank you.
Perhaps the caller will turn to their lover, hand them a TiffinTalk card with their own handwritten note, and phones around the world will, one-by-one, power down.
More real connections.
Heart2Heart.
It’s a start.