Uh, being on call usually means that you have to be within range of handling whatever the emergency is (i.e., no trips out of town for the weekend). It also means the possibility of being interrupted while at a move, the opera, a concert, or important family dinner. You risk doing those things but usually do not mind if you are getting paid for it, albeit a very small percentage of your regular hourly pay. Most places, if you have to take call, you get your on-call pay and then get regular (or OT if you’re lucky) if you are actually called in and have to take care of something.
Sorry, Deb, but if you’re at the opera or a concert, your phone needs to be OFF. The people on stage have a job too and they work their asses off to get it done. And the people around you paid big money not to see your phone (or any phone) light up and ring.
Reminds me of when Al Pacino stopped one of his performances, asked a lady to turn her phone over to him. He picked it up and said: “Al Pacino here. I’m working right now, please call back.” The audience went wild.