Call him — or her — the Unknown Legislative Spouse, the unlucky person who fields constituent phone calls, takes on all the child-raising duties during the session and spends plenty of nights alone while the devoted mate settles matters of great urgency in Augusta. She — or he — has spoken, anonymously, so as not to lead voters in any particular district to think it is their dinnertime phone calls that rankle.

Unknown Legislative Spouse, in a recent letter to the editor, asks the following, modestly and with every assurance that few things make this political family happier than an angry constituent call at 6:30 on a Saturday morning.

1. Call your legislator in Augusta while the Legislature is in session. (They don’t have telephones at their desks, but receive messages quickly.)

2. When calling a legislator’s home, ask first if it is a good time to talk. If they say they only have a minute, respect this. It’s better to have your legislator’s full attention, and their family will appreciate your respecting that they are about to have dinner, etc.

3. Try to be brief. Remember that you are calling someone at home.

4. Keep in mind that legislators don’t have assistants or their own secretaries to help them, that they have either 8,100 (representatives) or 35,000 (senators) constituents, and that constituent work is unpaid.

5. Consider writing rather than calling.

Some constituents will read this and think, “Tough. My legislator wanted the job — he can put up with my phone calls whenever I make them.” It is to you that the anonymous letter was written.

The political parties already have a difficult time finding candidates for all districts. Finding good candidates is even harder. Rude or inconsiderate behavior scares off candidates, perhaps the good ones in particular, who have other things to do. It’s bad for democracy.

So strengthen the Republic; use phone manners. The message center numbers at the State House are, in the Senate, 1-800-423-6900 and, in the House, 1-800-423-2900.