Phone Pests

If I notice a bug flying around our home, I usually swat, spray, or otherwise manage to clear it out. I wish that getting rid of a phone pest was that easy.

Maybe the fact that I grew to adulthood without once living in a house with a telephone has something to do with it, but I have never felt comfortable sitting around visiting on the phone. When I got married and did have a phone in my home, I still looked at phones as convenient tools, not as a way to pass the time.

Now I find myself friends with several people who can't seem to let a day pass without calling to "chat." Because I try to be polite, I am not beginning to feel like a prisoner once I get on the phone with one of these phone pests. I make excuses about things I have to do, or places I need to be, and they just keep right on talking.

I've tried letting the answering machine take the calls, but if I don't return them in a short time, the person calls again, and again, and again.

I've made it clear that I don't really like to visit on the phone. They ignore me and continue their recital of every detail taking place in their lives. Do I hang up on them and lose their friendship altogether?

I've mentioned that my husband would like me to spend the evening with him instead of talking on the phone, and they make some comment like, "Tell him you're helping me solve a serious problem." (As if their problems outweigh anyone else's needs and desires.) The truth is that THEY are becoming a serious problem to me. Are such friendships even worth saving?

Any suggestions?