REASON TO KEEP A LANDLINE PHONE

“Call now, if there be any that will answer thee; and to which of the saints wilt thou turn?” (Job 5:1)

“This is the Town of Framingham: due to the impending snowstorm...”
If you live in Framingham, MA and still have a landline phone, you’ve received a number of “Reverse 911” calls in recent weeks. I don’t know who the guy is who does the recordings, but he’s good. His voice is professional and authoritative, but not intimidating. He doesn’t have a Boston accent nor any detectible regional accent. His voice kind of has that “Walter Cronkite” quality that says I’m in charge, what I have to say is important, it’s for your benefit, and you need to listen.

Framingham kind of OVERDOES the Reverse 911 calls, but for the most part they ARE helpful. I think for the latest snowstorm there were at least three separate Reverse 911 calls. One told about a parking ban during the storm. One announced there would be no Board of Selectman’s meeting and no School Committee meeting. One announced that trash pickup would be delayed one day due to canceling trash pickup on Wednesday. And I THINK there was a fourth call announcing no school. At work at the answering service, we get those automated phone calls for all the medical offices and businesses we answer for. It feels like “Storm Central”!

“This is the Town of Swampscott announcing a snow emergency...”
“This is an important message from the Town of Duxbury...”
“This is an important message for all Natick residents...”
and so it goes.

This morning, I could tell who has landline phones in my neighborhood and what households have gone to strictly cell phones. The cell phone houses all had their trash out...about 40% of the households. The others, who’d received the Reverse 911 calls did not.

Reverse 911 calls are not just about snowstorms. Sometimes a Reverse 911 call will come through stating that an elderly man wearing a blue jacket and a New England Patriots cap is missing. He has Alzheimer’s Disease and may be disoriented. Or a call may come through saying a 10-year-old girl with long blonde hair is missing and may be in danger, etc. When I’ve gotten those calls, I’ve actually taken them very seriously and I’ve “been on the lookout”.

We are scheduled to be moving within the next two months...probably outside of Framingham. My wife asked me if we will really need a landline phone when we move. And, honestly, we COULD probably get by with just the cell phones. I will admit that when I’m on the phone, 80% of the time, it’s on the cell phone and not on the landline phone.

But part of me wonders if we’ll be kind of cut off without a landline phone.
Incidentally, did you know that in Massachusetts when you dial 911 on your cell phone you do NOT generally get your local police department? You get the Massachusetts State Police. That is one reason why it is good to know the “regular number” of your municipal police department:
In Framingham, it is 508-872-1212.

There is a big push to get rid of landline phones. Again, I am not sure what I will do when we move, but there IS an argument to keep a landline phone!