Cell Phones

So, I went to the store this evening, and was contemplating the idea of just driving around for a bit; listening to some music, windows down, away from the house.  Within a few moments of leaving the store, I realized that I didn't have my cell phone on hand.  After a frantic search of the "regular" places, I knew that I did not have my security blanket, and an internal argument began.

Now, the funny thing is, it can be strangely freeing to not have your cell phone on hand.  My cell phone also happens to be my home phone, and, if I don't have it, I won't feel obligated or rushed to return phone calls that are not likely emergencies.  BUT.  "Emergencies" is a key word in that sentence.

A friend of mine will sometimes text me at very early hours of the morning, and I'll often grouchily point to the fact that I'm not normally up at 7:08 a.m. on a Saturday.  Or even a weekday, most times (the bane of the Unemployed).  She asks why I do not turn off my phone when I'm sleeping, and of course, it's because there may be an emergency somewhere, somehow, when least expected.  I have gotten the call after Midnight that a family member is ill, I have gotten the call from the police station, so I know.  I'm not just being paranoid.

As I started towards my regular "fresh air and thinking" driving route on back country roads, I immediately started considering that my car might break down in the middle of nowhere.  Now, there is no real reason to consider that my car would break down, it is less than five years old and in decent condition.  However, there is that small chance something could happen.  The thought of trying to change a tire in dueling banjo country with no streetlights and no road shoulder did not seem an appetizing thought.  So, I turned around and headed home, slightly annoyed with myself.

It got me to thinking about what we did in the "olden days" when we had no cell phones.  If I had broken down, I would have either had to wait for some passerby to help, or would have had to walk to find it.  And what was the likelihood that a random passerby would be a good samaritan, rather than an ax-wielding, human-skin-suit-wearing maniac?  And, if I had decided to walk for help, do people even go for the whole "my car broke down, can I use your phone?" story?  Who would believe that I didn't have a cell phone?  And then I further started thinking about having AAA, and the fact that it was pretty useless unless one is stranded at home (or, have a cell phone).  Fat lot of good AAA does you when you're stuck in a snowbank in the Alaskan wilds with no cell phone.  And no, I don't live in Alaska, but it sounded better than "New York wilds."

While I am pretty averse to some modern day technologies, I have to say that the cell phone is one item for which I am certainly thankful.  My sister Libby and I were discussing recently that the cell phone gives an extra feeling of security when your children are wandering around in the Big Wide World.  You no longer (usually) have to lie awake in bed, wondering why Johnny is an hour late.  Johnny no longer has to make sure he has a dime (or a quarter, or whatever it costs these days) to use a pay phone, which is probably fortunate since pay phones are a dying breed, anyway.  At any given time, if your kid is in trouble, and has a sufficiently charged cell phone, you can be there to help.  Or at least you cant text him to tell him to get his butt home.

I'm sure that some day I will be writing a post regarding the olden days, with maybe even some more positive thoughts on modern technology.  Don't hold your breath on that, though.  If it were up to me, I'd be living in a farm house somewhere with no phone at all.  (I would need the Internet, however)  In the meantime, if it's not an emergency, and if your name is not Spenser, Joshua, or Mom, do not text or call me at 3 a.m.  You have been warned.