Monday, October 31, 2005

No Phone

I don't have a cel phone. Can't stand the things. They're expensive, easy to lose, and unreliable. Nonetheless, it seems almost everyone else has one.

When people learn I don't carry a cel phone, they get that taken aback look on their faces; when kids ask to borrow my cel phone, they're even more stunned when they find out I don't have one.

In the building where I work, people are glued to their cel phones. Rather than greet the people around them, they scurry about from the sidewalk, through the lobby, and onto the elevator, never looking up, engrossed in cel phone conversations.

Same thing with people in their cars. Whenever someone makes a dunce-headed driving move, the first thing I look for is a cel phone. Most of the time, sure enough, they're talking on it.

The other day, KMOX morning news host Debbie Monterey was lamenting our society's growing dependence on cel phones. What dependence? We survived fine before cel phones. Debbie wishes she didn't have to have one. That's easy, just get rid of it! Leave it on the shelf!

I never miss not having one. I feel freer NOT having one. I figure I'm saving at least $50 a month not having one. Besides, unless I'm on a long distance road trip (very seldom), I'm never more than 5 minutes away from a regular land line phone. What's the rush to have instant phone access at all times?

Uncomplicate your life! Ditch your cel phone!!

2 comments:

Michael R. Allen said...

We have not had a landline for a month during the move, andhave been using cellular phones that our parents have given us as gifts despite our objections. I'm amazed at how attached we have become, and we were not heavy users of the silly gifts before. Now they seem almost useful, so we can coordinate contractors, our schedules, etc. all from one line.

Hmmm.

Rick Bonasch said...

There is no doubt that cel phones can be a huge convenience. Then they're great.

But when they interrupt your driving; when they ring inside of someone's purse during a meeting while everyone else waits for the phone to stop ringing (made worse by the sound of one of those cutesy ring tones); or the times when it feels like everyone is tuning out the world around them and tuning in to their cel phone world (I sense an Impressionist painting coming on...), that they become insufferable.