A recent event had me examining my cell phone use and my lack of interest in investing in a super phone. Seems like I am totally out of touch with the 21st century. And you know what? I don't give a damn.
My brother and I were supposed to meet half way between his house and mine so that I could take my niece to my house for a few days. I was at the fast food place on time, 5:00. He wasn't there at 5:30, 6:00, 6:30, or 7:00. Had he been late leaving the house? Bad traffic? Accident? Lost? I was worried, but couldn't do much about it. You see, my phone was dead. I'd not used it the week I was on vacation, and it never occurred to me to charge it until I wanted to find out where the heck my brother was. Finally, I figured I needed to get home and use my land line to make some calls. It was a forty-five minute drive. When I got to my house, all the lights were on. My friend had let him and my niece into the house. He was apoplectic with anger. He was literally foaming at the mouth and screaming at me for not having my phone charged. He told me I was stupid, crazy, had Alzheimer's, etc. I told him to get out of my f-g house. Seriously? He was beyond livid because I didn't answer the phone?? Whatever happened to common sense? Why didn't he turn around when he realized he'd missed the restaurant? Why didn't he ask for directions when he realized he'd missed our meeting point? He knew I was there. Wasn't he the "stupid" one to drive on stubbornly to my house knowing full well I would not be there? The couple of people I spoke to about this seemed to be in agreement with him; well, why wasn't your phone charged????
Because I don't use it that much. Because I don't have any desire to be tied to a phone. Because now that my parents are gone, there are very few reasons that I have to be reached immediately by anybody. I disabled my texting feature years ago after getting spam porn texts that I had to pay for to figure out who was texting me. Who needs that nonsense?
Though I don't intentionally want to offend anybody, I have to say that people with phones attached to their ears annoy the hell out of me. I don't care to hear your personal conversations while I'm buying my groceries. And don't you dare admonish me to mind my own business when I roll my eyes at you for blocking the aisle while you've stopped to respond to something someone said to you over the phone. If I am at the movies, I'm annoyed by the light of your phone and the one-sided conversation about your boyfriend gambling away his paycheck that you think you're so quietly having. I want to get out of your car when you insist on driving and talking on the phone. It's dangerous, and it is rude! If we're having a conversation that is constantly interrupted by your cell phone, I may pretend that I don't care, but I don't like it. If we are at a meeting and your phone rings, do you really think it's polite to talk on your phone while someone is speaking to the group? Or to tap out a text before asking someone else, what did she just say? I saw a YouTube thing recently where a bride interrupted her wedding to answer the cell phone she had tucked into her cleavage. Maybe it was a fake, but with the way people are about their phones anymore, it was hard to tell.
So, I guess I am totally out of touch with the telephone technology so many of you enjoy. Frankly, I'm fine with it. After this recent incident, I have vowed to myself to keep my phone charged. We'll see how that goes. Just remember, if I don't answer immediately, it's not the end of the world. And if our land line phone call mysteriously gets disconnected while you're simulataneously conversing on your cell phone, it probably wasn't a mistake.
Am I the only one who feels this way? Is there anyone else in America not tied to their cells? If you can relate to this blog, I'm glad to not be alone. But please, don't call my cell to talk about it. Odds are, I won't even be able to find it in the mess I call my purse before you've hung up in utter frustration.
Don't feel like the Lone Ranger! I use my husband's cell phone only when I take a trip alone, otherwise it sits on the charger. He only uses it if we're both away from the house (evenings, weekends). Our kids badgered me to carry it; the few times I heard it ring, I did not recognize it as my phone and kept looking around to see whose phone was so annoying. Needless to say, I gave it up.
ReplyDeleteWith the exception of solo travel, I have never felt the need to call anyone spontaneously. Well, except for the time I knew the answer to the call-in radio quiz - my lack of phone cost me a free meal at a sports bar.
What really bothers me, though, are the cell phone addicts who feel they have the right to admonish me for not having a phone. While I think that much of their use is ego driven, I would never think of deriding them for their choice. Life is too short to get your panties in a knot over how someone else lives their life.
p.s. I know your brother - he's a jerk
I never wanted a cell phone. I resisted for a couple of years back in the cell phone "pioneer" days. Then I was stranded in Washington DC on 9/11 with no way to call anyone. The next day I had a cell phone before going back to work. But I swore I would only use if for emergencies and never get attached to it. Now twelve years later my phone is attached to my head so to speak. I chat, I talk, I take photos, I connect to the internet. And I am always excited when the new Iphone udates come out.
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