Who is this?

Is there anything quite as depressing as a wrong number? It has really been revolutionized with the advent of nearly universal caller ID, where the quiet mystery of getting a phone call is stripped from the act, declaring the caller right there on your phone before you pick up the phone. Except I guess a phone call isn't really that quiet.

If you see a number you don't recognize on your lcd for your fancy phone (or if you're like me, dot matrix style display for the Ol' Soviet Mark II) it could be anybody! It could be somebody offering you a job or saying they enjoyed your most recent witticism or asking if you'd like to get a surprise lunch. It's hope itself, all wrapped up right there in an unknown telephone number in your phone. The sad part, though, is that it's so frequently dashed as a wrong number just seconds later.

"Is this Roger?" The crazy thing is I almost invariably ask, "Who?" as if perhaps I misheard my name as Roger (which doesn't sound much like Roger) or maybe it's somebody I know. I don't know Roger, and he doesn't live here.