DEAR ERIC: A few years ago, we started seeing old friends. We meet them once a month for dinner. After a month or two, the wife started calling me every two weeks on the same day and time. We have come to realize that they are both self-centered people who go on and on about themselves. I can take the dinner but am tired of the phone calls. I have made excuses for the times that she was calling but she keeps trying new times. How can I get her to stop calling?

– Hung Up

DEAR HUNG UP: You need to put yourself on a one-person Do Not Call list. Tell her, “I notice we’ve fallen into a pattern of regular phone calls, but I find that that’s not working for me. Let’s catch up at dinner instead.”

You are not required to enjoy talking on the phone.

One last thing. It sounds from your letter tha

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