wrote:

Someone called me on my cell and told me that they called my home
phone, and it just rang and rang.

But I was right here...it never rang, and the machine didn't pick up.

Weird thing is, I can call out. And I can call the home phone from my
cell, and I can answer the home phone and connect even though it isn't
ringing.

I have a Panasonic DECT phone with 3 handsets. I unplugged this, and
still, the wired phones in the garage and laundry room don't ring!

Any ideas?!?

Based on the symptoms you report, I'd give it a 90%+ chance that the
problem is in your SLIC card at the CO or RT, i.e. a telco problem. Plug
a single ordinary phone in at the NID box on the side of the house and
test there, if the symptoms remain the same it's the telco's issue with
the SLIC not sending ring voltage.