Staying in Touch

My phone service failed at the beginning of the year, and my reaction was, "what a blessed relief from the modern world and its impertinences!" It wasn't for nothing that - how does the story go? - French Impressionist painter Gauguin, on a visit back from the South Pacific, made fun of Cezanne because Cezanne jumped like a lackey when his (at the time brand-new device of the) telephone rang. My phone failed partly because they replaced the "box" down the street, and my phone was not properly wired up. Nevertheless, today it's all fixed! Hooray! And the first call I received, after two months of losing touch, was a bill collector! All hail progress!