A few days ago I picked up the phone to make a call and heard the lovely voice of Fatima Omar... 'Time to pay the phone bill again', she said on the recorded message. For a few days the phone company lets you receive calls but not make them. Then they shut off the service until you pay.
I think my teen-aged daughters have the telephone glued to their ears from the minute they get home from school until late. I have even had the phone ring at 1 am and have had to tell Nora's friends that they are not allowed to phone her after 9pm. But they call anyway. One particular girl is a nuisance. I have threatened to send my husband to have a talk with her father. At one point we unplugged the telephone and locked it up.
In a way I feel bad because in Libya girls don't have much of a social life. It's not like they can go hang out at the mall together or meet for a pizza. If my daughters want to visit their friends arrangements must be made. You have to take them to their friend's house, make sure that you speak to the other mother to confirm that your daughter is going to be safely chaperoned for the duration and then arrange to pick the girls up. Of course if they visit their friends you have to expect that the visit will be repaid. This is not a just pop over to visit deal... elaborate snacks and sweets must be bought or prepared and it will be a visit that lasts hours. Uuuugh! So maybe a visit via telephone is easier.
Now that the phone is off the girls are holding their school books in their hands instead of their phone books. Soon though I expect the idea of inviting all their friends over is going to pop into their heads.
Should I pay the bill?
