As distasteful as it might seem to spend the whole holiday working, it was a pleasure to get through the day and get so much work done and not once be interrupted by phone calls. The Boss didn’t call, which is always a good thing. But the best part was that there were no calls from telemarketers, creditors or customers (happy or otherwise).

I get a dozen or more of these kinds of calls on a normal Monday, but not one today, not even from my old college alumni association, which has been trying to reach me for months but will not leave a message. I would probably give them my annual contribution if they’d contact me by mail, but these calls at all hours, day after day, several times a day are wearing on me to the point where I’m inclined to stiff them this year.

Of course, I could answer the phone one of these times and be done with it all, but my back is up and there’s a principle at stake. I think I’ve forgotten what exactly that principle is, or why it’s important, but backing down is out of the question. For some reason.

Memorial Day note: I grew up in the Vietnam era. We lost a close family friend in that war, and it’s his memory that I chose to honor today. Revisionist history is trying to tell us that those of us who opposed that war were somehow unpatriotic. We who lived through that era and remember it clearly know differently, but the fact that so many veterans of Vietnam were dishonored when they came home is one of the most shameful episodes of our recent past. But it taught us that we can and should support our men and women in the military, no matter how much we hate the current war.