Hello hello from the soothing gloom of June

This is Lucy Bellwood bringing you a new prompt for The Right Number, a tender voicemail confessional that’s been humming along in the background of my life for the last three years.

This week’s prompt is about grief.

Caring for a parent with dementia conjures grief in many guises. There’s the “it’s not fair” grief, the “I miss him” grief, the “someday he will be gone” grief. Whether ambiguous, anticipatory, or acute, it’s a constant companion to me throughout this season.

Welcome back, friends,

This is Lucy Bellwood with a new prompt for The Right Number, a tender voicemail confessional that’s somehow, improbably, still here.

This week’s prompt is Return, which was my guiding word for 2022. As the year draws to a close I’m thinking about it more than ever. What does it mean to return to projects or places or parts of ourselves (or possibly all three at once)? Working on this odd little thing certainly feels like it grants access to a version of myself that I’d like to inhabit more often. She’s felt far away this year. It’s nice to come home.

As ever, you can dial 1-503-673-6267 to hear the prompt and (if you’d like) record a response. Thank you so much for sticking with me all this time.

Hi,

This is Lucy Bellwood bringing you the latest prompt for The Right Number, a voicemail box that doesn’t always have to be all sweetness and light.

I’m grouchy! Overwhelmed, cranky, depressed, mad, sad, and generally bad. Or rather, I was until the middle of this week, when things finally started to give way. I wouldn’t be writing this otherwise. I recorded a new prompt yesterday afternoon as part of my general attempts to become un-crankied, and it felt refreshing to show up for this project from a place of feeling very…bleh. Sometimes naming the bad stuff is enough to get things moving again. Then again, sometimes it’s not.

So! This prompt is about anger and what we do about it. How it gets through us and out of us and back again. Even if you don’t want to talk about being mad this week, there’s some really good birds in the background. Dial 1-503-673-6267 to listen in.

Hello Friend,

This is Lucy Bellwood bringing you the latest prompt for The Right Number, a thoughtful speaking tube into the ether.

Last weekend, my friend Ally shared a question about practice that I can't stop turning over in my mind. We were talking about the idea that for every difficult situation we find ourselves in, there's a part of us that's really getting something out of being there—a deep incentive for staying stuck, or hurt, or lost. This idea felt really uncomfortable the first time I encountered it, but I find myself thinking about it a lot these days.

Anyway, to hear the question she asked and leave an answer in response, dial 1-503-673-6267. You’ll have three minutes to answer however you’d like.

Hello Caller,

This is Lucy Bellwood delivering the latest prompt from The Right Number, a quiet place to feel heard in the cacophony of the internet.

Yesterday I celebrated an unconventional anniversary in my life—one that didn't start out celebrated, but became so in time. A retconned anniversary. It got me thinking about the things we observe in our private calendars: inner holidays, personal vigils. An ex's birthday you can't bring yourself to forget, a celebration of a seemingly-inconsequential milestone in your life.

An anniversary, as my friend Matt sings it, is a small geography. It can be full of joy or grief or, more often, a mix of both. For this week's prompt, I invite you to tell me about one of yours. What are you honoring? How do you mark it?

Hello Caller:

This is Lucy Bellwood and you're subscribed to the mailing list for The Right Number.

Inspired by something magical I found in a box recently, this session's prompt is about mail.

Greetings, friends:

This is Lucy Bellwood and you're subscribed to the mailing list for The Right Number, an experimental voicemail box and auditory safehouse.

This session's prompt is about refuge.

I invite you to dial 1-503-673-6267, listen to the prompt, and tell me a little about somewhere you feel held and safe. You’ll have three minutes to answer however you’d like. A new prompt will emerge in two weeks' time.

Hello caller!

This is Lucy Bellwood and you're subscribed to the mailing list for The Right Number, an experimental voicemail box now entering its second...season? Life cycle? Coming?

Its second thing.

Our first prompt of the year is about SURPRISE. Dial 1-503-673-6267 to hear the prompt. You’ll have three minutes to answer however you’d like.

Hey stranger,

This is Lucy Bellwood and you’ve reached the end of the line for The Right Number, an experimental voicemail box which is going into hibernation for the next couple months.

Greetings, Hero:

This is Lucy Bellwood and you’re on a journey with The Right Number, a friendly voicemail box that’s got your back when the orcs draw near.

Psst, hey kid!

This is Lucy Bellwood and you're in cahoots with The Right Number, a friendly voicemail box that will keep your secrets, no matter the cost.

This session's theme is theft. Have you ever stolen something? A friendship bracelet? The last deviled egg on the plate? Someone's heart? A car?

Tell me about it. You can hear the full prompt and leave a message at 1-503-673-6267. You’ll have three minutes to answer however you’d like.

Hello Caller,

This is Lucy Bellwood sending you the latest prompt from The Right Number, a friendly voicemail box that won't replace your therapist, but might offer a nice reprieve when the days are short and dark and things are feeling bleak.

This week I hit my limit and had to ask for help. Being forced to ask for help reminds me that I am spectacularly bad at asking for help. So this session I am inviting you to share your stories of times when you asked for help. Maybe it comes easy to you, maybe it's like pulling teeth every time, but either way I'd love to hear about it.

To listen to the full prompt and leave a message, dial 1-503-673-6267. You’ll have three minutes to answer however you’d like.

Hello Caller,

This is Lucy Bellwood sending you the latest prompt from The Right Number, a secular confessional phone line that is currently open for all your void-screaming Election Week needs.

I considered leaving the box open and promptless this session (because who knows what we're all going to need in the next 14 days), but then I ran across a question posed by Dr. Alexandra Juhasz at a talk I listened to earlier in the Pandemic that felt germane.

This session I am asking you to share hard-won wisdom from your community about how to keep going and look after each other.

Hello Caller,

This is Lucy Bellwood sending you the latest prompt for The Right Number, a friendly, experimental phone line that will be here for the next two weeks, and the two weeks after that, and the two weeks after that. This process is ongoing, no matter what happens on November 3rd.

Hello Caller,

I’m Lucy Bellwood, and you’re receiving this email because you expressed an interest in The Right Number, a friendly, experimental phone line.

This session's prompt is about gratitude. I won't try to craft a pithy introduction because there's already a poem that sums up my feelings on the subject. Here it is.

Thanks

Hello from a backyard full of birds,

I’m Lucy Bellwood, and you’re receiving this email because you expressed an interest in The Right Number, a friendly, experimental phone line.

Good morning,

I’m Lucy Bellwood, and you’re receiving this email because you expressed an interest in The Right Number, a friendly voicemail box with a fancy new website.

I still remember my AP English teacher reading Elizabeth Bishop's "One Art" aloud to our class for the first time. He held our eyes as he paced and gesticulated, jowls trembling in the way they always did when he got worked up over words.

I guess that's something I've managed to hold onto.

Hello, brave cadre of participants!

There's currently 25 of you signed up to receive emails about this experiment. I like that number. It's the size of a solid book tour event—small enough that you can really get to know the faces of your fellow attendees, large enough to feel cozy when bundled into a small shop lined with shelves.

I'm Lucy Bellwood, and you're receiving this email because you expressed an interest in The Right Number, a gentle, noncommercial space where your only job is to be yourself.

This session's prompt draws on author Sarah Manguso's concept of the body as "an instrument for memory."

The Right Number is a gentle, noncommercial space where your only job is to be yourself. Upon dialing 503-673-6267 you’ll be connected to a voicemail box and given a brief prompt. You have three minutes to answer however you’d like.

The Right Number is also an experiment. Future prompts may take different forms or branch out into other types of media. Things could change at any time. That’s life for you.

This email list will push an update every time a new prompt appears on the line—generally every other Monday.