Excuse me! Your Phone ...

Suppose you are in the middle of having meal.The meal is so good after pretty long time, prepared in your kitchen.
Your phone rings. If you look in to the caller ID, it may be one  of your good friend, a respected people or may be some unknown number.
The phone ringing is not the problem. The problem is what the consequence may be. If the person is sensitive enough to feel that s/he may infer that you are ignoring her/him. Its going to be a huge problem. Just pick it up. Meal can be re-heated or even re-cooked!
;)
If the phone is from a talkative person who talks too much round and round in circle. Meal is important. Enjoy your meal. But the question is how many times can you miss the phone? Eventually s/he may become sensitive and the relation will be cold. Pick it up before the missed call  exceeds the critical limit. You can just tell her/him that you were in the middle of something and will call her/him back. and never call back!
If the phone is from a respected person: a professor or a senior or very very close friend then you gotta pick it up.
If it is from unknown number, it depends on your mood. Specially in this time of the year many friends from Nepal are coming to US. So, its going to be an interesting conversation.
I had seen in Nepal that many people are just amazing, they make their mobile phone to ring on the spot.For example in the seminar, conference and/or even in library.
I was able to witness a great man to receive his mobile in the middle of his talk in a formal program!
However,
sometimes you get to miss it, because you were busy talking to another person, to apologize  afterwards.
But what if you were in the kitchen and you are used to charging the cell phone in your room?
For me,
I have been missing so much calls in this duration. The worse is that they keep calling to record the number of miss calls to quarter dozen and some friends just don't leave the number on voice message. They just leave a buzz.
I think missing a call has developed as a culture. I am enjoying it. and by the way, its not a big issue!