“The answers to our problems don’t lie beyond our reach.  They exist in our laboratories and universities; in our fields and our factories; in the imaginations of our entrepreneurs and the pride of the hardest-working people on Earth.  Those qualities that have made America the greatest force of progress and prosperity in human history we still possess in ample measure.”

President Obama, 2-24-09, address to Congress

Standing in line in Starbucks, I felt my phone ringing in my pocket. I hesitantly looked to see who was calling. “DANNY TAM” flashed on the screen of my iPhone. Oh God, I thought, I can’t deal with DANNY TAM right now. He’s one of those dudes who kisses his guy friends on the cheek. The kind of guy you best avoid.

I screened his call and put the phone back in my pocket.

Two seconds later I felt a tap on my shoulder and turned around to see Danny Tam also in line at Starbucks.

“Yo, thanks for answering my call,” Danny Tam said, clearly bummed out that he actually witnessed me screening his call.

I tried to act positive, “Danny hey! Good to see you!”

“Dude why’d you screen my call?”

“Listen man, I’m really hungover and just not in the mood to talk on the phone right now,” I answered.

Danny Tam. walked out of Starbucks sulking.

I’m a sensitive type and ran after him, “Danny c’mon man, I’m really sorry, seriously!”

And I had to sit there and talk Danny Tam off the ledge for freakin 15 minutes.   As we finally wound down the conversation, Danny Tam kissed me on the cheek and got crumbs from his Maple Nut Scone, drops from his Chai Latte, and spit from his mouth caught in my 3 day stubble.

I’m super touch sensitive and can barely deal with a kiss from my Grandma let alone nasty ass Danny Tam. But I had it comin’.

*****
It’s one thing to turn off your phone when you need private time. And God knows we all need a lot more private time. But when your phone is on and you screen calls, I’ve come to believe it’s wrong. Screening calls is wrong. This attitude of avoidance is what ails our nation. We avoid paying a parking ticket. We ignore dealing with jury duty. We hide from the annoying caller.  Who has time to deal with such things?

In the maddening velocity of life, we’ve all learned to duck, shuffle and dodge in order to survive. But shuffle the cones in the parking lot and waste another’s time putting them back in place.  Dodge a bullet and it’s bound to hit something else. Duck from paying your taxes and a city worker loses a paycheck. The “individual” may or may not be responsible for the recession, but each and everyone of us needs to take responsibility for the recovery.

If each individual contributed her passion, skill, and honest tax returns, in a very short period we could see, if not a complete economic recovery, certainly a moral one. So next time that annoying name flashes on your cell phone, it’s a symbolic moment. I challenge you, as I challenge myself, to answer the call.   Answer the call to work harder and not complain about it. Answer the call to be nicer to the snappy waiter you know is struggling to make ends meet. Answer the call to deal with someone or something you would have avoided in the past.

Because the only thing worse than a sloppy kiss from Danny Tam…is a piercing scream from Uncle Sam.