Long distance isn't a thing anymore — aside from international calls, which can be bypassed by any number of apps or online options.

Even still, I remember the first long-distance call I ever received as clear as a bell.

I was 14 and was outside playing basketball in the driveway with a half-dozen neighborhood kids.

My mother threw open the front door and said, "Jan, you have a long distance call!"

Everyone froze, unable to process that someone would be calling one of our motley crew long distance.

Back then, a long-distance call was validation. Seconds counted. Someone, somewhere beyond the city limits thought I was worth spending money to reach.

After what my mother said registered, I ran inside to the black phone hanging on the kitchen wall. Its long coiled cord stayed tangled. I

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