Ding-a-ling

First we pause for some important news! Daffodil is released today from Ellora's Cave! Yay, it's finally here. Trot right over there and get your own copy!

And now we return to our regularly scheduled program!

I had a doctor's appointment today. No nothing critical. When you get to be my age, you're on maintenance doses of every medication known to man. And when the prescription runs out, you have to pull up your socks, put on your big girl panties, and go off to the doctor so you can be weighed... and stuff.

One of the pre-doctor rituals is the shower, etc. So I was in the shower, trying to hurry through all the feminine rituals and I heard the phone ringing. No, I didn't rush to answer it. But it was very disturbing to me until I was able to get to the phone to check the caller ID. Now why is that?

I calculated that I receive five phone calls per day. Four of them are bill collectors trying to find people that don't live here, have never lived here, and have never had this telephone number. The other call is either my house hunk or my neighbor. So at five phone calls per day for three hundred sixty five days in a year, that's eighteen hundred twenty five phone calls per year. None of them were emergencies.

So why do I feel like I must rush to the phone to answer it? Hmmm. I think it might go back to unrealistic expectations at work. My last job had a very high call rate. There were days that I had over three hundred phone calls. And I believe that there is some residual effect from that. Phone rings? Pick it up!

I seldom answer my phone and when I do, it's only if I recognize the number on the caller ID. Once Amarinda called me from Australia and it's a good thing that she e-mailed me first. Her e-mail? "Answer the phone!" Heh-heh. Yeah, it's a very good thing that she e-mailed me. Since I have an aversion to answering the phone overall, I fail to understand the whole cell phone phenomena. Why on earth would you want to take a phone with you when you leave home?

Okay-okay. If you have children, I understand that. But really, I raised four children without a cell phone. Actually, I bought my first cell phone (prepaid model) four years ago. I use it so seldom that I have something like $150 credit on it. It rides in my purse and I turn it on if I get a flat. Haven't had a flat in five years. The other time I use it is when I travel out of state to see one of my children. I use it to let them know when we are nearly there.

So, here's my question... who the hell are all these people talking to? And why do they need to talk to that person while they're in a public restroom? Or a restaurant? Or while they're driving?

Am I the only one that finds this a really strange quirk in our society? Have we lost our collective minds such that doctor's offices have to put signs in their windows asking their patients to turn off their cell phones? Some restaurants are beginning to do the same thing.

Imagine if you will. You're in church. The pastor is preaching for all he's worth, leading up to his climatic point in his sermon. And then a cell phone tootles out 76 Trombones. Uh, it's a bit disconcerting to say the least.

Ah, I'll get down off my soapbox. It just seems to me that we have collectively fallen into a trap of our own making. Tell me truthfully. Do you want your boss to be able to reach you 24/7? Do you really need to know that your daughter's boyfriend called? Do you really want to talk to that bill collector? I vote for a move to turn off that silly cell phone unless you're all alone in the desert. Maybe then, you might want to hear a sound other than the wind.

Anny

Since I spent my afternoon at the doc's office and my evening at a chat, I have nooooo idea what my fellow cohorts are up to. However, I recommend checking out their blogs so you can find out! OhGetAGrip, Amarinda, and Kelly. Blessings on your day