Cellphone tracking blues
Is it just me or are there millions out there who long for the days when we were uncontactable? While I agree that cellphones serve a vital purpose in situations where you have become separated from your husband while shopping and need to trace him before he gets lost in the hardware department, or you have left your shopping list at home and need to phone for a quick recap, the worst aspect is that everyone expects you to carry it with you at all times. Try going to the bathroom without it. You will hear it ringing incessantly and find 4 missed calls before you are finished. Even going outside to do a bit of gardening can create havoc – I once planted a new tree and the phone must have slipped out of my pocket into the hole. When I couldn’t find it, I got my son to call my phone and lo and behold!, it was underground and I had to dig it up again. Fortunately I hadn’t yet watered the plant!
A large part of the problem is that women’s clothing doesn’t have pockets for cellphones, unlike men who are always or mostly wearing pants. And we don’t always take a bag with us, especially if it’s a quick walk down to the rocks to look at the waves. The major part of the problem is the reaction from my family if I don’t answer my phone; They suffer from momisntansweringhercellphonephobia. It’s an all-persons alert and the phone lines buzz as the 3 of them phone each other to find out where I am – my husband I suspect just wants to make sure I’m at home and not out having coffee with friends or maybe something a little more exciting, my son usually just wants to know what’s for dinner, but my daughter always suspects that I’ve slipped and broken my hip! The last time she couldn’t reach me, she was on the point of sending out the police to look for an old woman who had had a heart attack walking near the lighthouse! I ask you! How incompetent do they think I am?
So I long for the days when nobody ever knew where I was and didn’t have to worry about it.