Lynn’s Phone Problems
Dear  [Lynn],
Well, the problem could be inside your house, or in the wiring coming TO your house from the outside. If inside, it might be the wiring. But it might also be something you have plugged into it – like one of your phones or the computer modem. A procedure I’ve used to isolate such problems over the years is to unplug all devices from the line except a known-good one. Determining which phone is good may take some experimentation. But with just one phone plugged in, if the problem goes away, then you know that the static is coming from one of the phones you’ve disconnected. If not, plug them all back in, one-by-one, and see if the sporadic disconnects resume. Do this until you find the one causing the problem.
No problem on the broken conversation last night. Not your fault. Yes, I am a bit stressed. But based on what you’ve said, I think I’ll keep my job. 
I like the expensive books too much, and the trips to Maine especially. It’s nice to have the money. But I suppose the price of it is an elevated stress level, at least, until I master the stress triggers. If I bother you too much with these issues, do let me know. I do not want to ever lean too hard on you for support. Thanks for being there. It really helps.
More later.
Tom