Cell Phones

Cell phones, like many inventions, are a blessing…and a curse. It’s great for people to be able to reach you right when they need to, and to be able to pick up the phone and call whenever you have a question.

But, like house phones or other means of communication, they’re really more of a blessing when you are the caller, not the callee. I’ve long said that’s why I love e-mail. You can contact me when it’s convenient for you, and I can reply when it is convenient for me.

But, I digress. I was talking about cell phones.

We’ve all been in places where a phone should not ring, and one rings. That’s when they are real nuisances.

Jordan Funeral Home has gone so far as to have a sign printed to remind people to turn off their phones as they enter a service. That’s good. Most of us have the manners that we don’t want our phone to ring, but we are human and might forget. So the reminder is appreciated.

At the beginning of each Jasper County Commission meeting, Chairman Carl Pennamon reminds everyone to turn their phones off or to vibrate. Invariably, however, one rings aloud during the meeting.

Running a business as I do, I have my cell phone number posted on the door to my business, and elsewhere, for emergencies and news tips. And it is also posted beneath the office phone number.

For some reason, that’s the one some people seem to prefer. I’ll never forget I was sitting in the airport in Baltimore, Md., towards the end of a trip to visit with Jimmy’s family, and my phone rang. I answered it, hello, and the caller asked, “Is this The Monticello News?”

I hesitated just a moment and then answered, yes. I don’t recall what the caller wanted. I think it was a typical business call, wanting to know a deadline or guidelines for submitting something. I wondered why they had used this phone.

I certainly use my cell phone for business. But, when calling a business about a business purpose, I usually use the land line to the other business’s land line.

I’m constantly astounded when I’m out in public and meet someone carrying on a conversation with no one. Then I realize they must have a hands free phone, and they really are talking to someone, not just the air.

Sometimes I wonder if we’ve lost general niceties that we typically exchange with those we meet. We’re each wrapped up in our own little world. What do we miss out on while excluding strangers from our purview?

My step-daughter and her husband, like many others, decided they no longer needed a land line. They each have cell phones. But, I’m confused….what phone do I call my grandchildren on?

I have some friends who kept their land line, but use it rarely. They cut out all extra services, so they don’t have caller i.d., etc. They still get lots of junk calls. So they don’t answer it. I’m always confused… I’d like to call the house and talk to whoever answers.

Although cell phones are improving, it’s been my experience that land lines actually transmit more clearly.

Where I live, like so many in Jasper County, the cell phone is an iffy thing. It works…most of the time, if you hold the phone to your right ear while learning your head toward the west while standing out on the front porch. Heaven forbid you forget and take a few steps.

Beep, beep, beep…call was lost.

And, if it’s cloudy, forget it. Searching for service…. Needless to say, I am not likely to get rid of my land line any time soon.

I think of a cell phone as a personal item. For example, if you want to talk to me, you call my cell phone. If you want to talk to my husband, you call his cell phone. If you want to talk to either of us, you call the house. I guess I’ll get used to this new-fangled concept that each has his own line one day.

Not long ago, Jimmy and I thought we’d slip off on a little vacation—a long weekend—that’s all we can consider doing what with work and the garden and all the other obligations.

So, we take off on our little trip Friday morning. I would really like to just turn my phone off, but I know that’s not feasible. I’m connecting with my husband this weekend, not the rest of the world.

As we’re traveling, my cell phone rings. I chose not to answer it. I felt sorta guilty not answering and not returning the call. But, I also have a sense of freedom when I ignore the phone. I read a well-written article one time about how we are slaves to our phone. You’re at the dinner table, enjoying a nice meal, the phone rings….you answer it. Never mind there’s a perfectly good answering machine that can handle the call and you can call back after dinner.

Remember in our child/teen-age hood when calls were NEVER taken during dinner. It was before caller-I.D. and answering machines. It was answered, usually. But, whoever answered the phone, said, “I’m sorry, she’s having dinner, can I give her a message?”

That’s the joy of the cell phone. Callers can leave a message. You can see who called and didn’t leave a message and determine if you want to return the call.

It’s my understanding that many years ago, it was scary when the phone rang. Phones were almost exclusively used for bad news. I’m glad we’re way past that. But, let’s face it, the outcome of very few things will change if you talk to the caller now or in half an hour. We really don’t have to drop everything to answer every call that comes in.

Cell phones are great. But, it’s time to use cell phones like they were designed…for the owner’s convenience, not to interrupt every personal interaction that occurs, and not to be a nuisance to others.