Necessary Evil

Do you remember when the only phone you had was attached to a wall and had a cord that only went so far unless you were one of the "lucky ones" whose parents got the extra long cord?
I grew up when most homes only had 1 phone and if you had more than one, you were something special. And then came those amazing inventions known as cordless phones and they changed lives! You could walk around your house, go in any room and not get whiplash from a phone cord! It was an invention for the ages! And then came another invention we never would have ever imagined: the bag phone! My Dad had one and those suckers were expensive and making calls on them cost you about a week's salary at least. And then came that incredible invention that we all ooo'd and ahhh'd over when we saw it on "Saved By The Bell": ladies and gents, I give you the Zach Morris phone:

Of course, this phone was only for those preppy rich kids in California. I can't remember ever seeing one of these here in Hicksville, US of A!

Later on, the cell phone was born and here we are today. We can be reached 24/7/365. We can walk anywhere, even foreign lands, and chit chat back to MeMaw in Rat's Ass, Arkansas about the pretty canals in Venice, Italy. Aren't cell phones a total wonder?

I HATE THEM.

Ok, yes, I do believe a cell phone is a great thing to have and yes, I have one but who doesn't besides my 98 year old Grandma? I am probably the absolute worst cell phone owner. I come home from work and that sucker stays in my purse. I don't want to hear the "bing" from a text or hear it ring even though my ring tone is "I've Done Everything For You" by Rick Springfield. When I get home from work, I want to turn off.

I very rarely give my cell out to clients or those whom I do not consider friends. One time when I did give it out, a client called me at 10:00 at night. Uh...no. That is not acceptable at all! The only time someone should be calling me after 7 p.m. is if there's an emergency or if I've won a crapload of money otherwise put me on your do not call list. I know most realtors keep their phones on them 24/7 but you know what that does? That makes people think they can call you 24/7 and next thing you know, someone is calling you at 2 a.m. to ask about a house 300 miles away. I know it's not the "realtor" thing to do but I'm sorry; I'm not going to be at someone's beck and call all damn day.

Another thing I hate about cell phones is people who carry on conversations at top volume in a store or restaurant like the location is their home so why not discuss Aunt Virginia's hysterectomy in the toilet paper aisle at Target? And please talk about your baby's dirty diaper while standing in line at Starbucks because everyone and their uncle can't wait to hear about it! One time, I had to call my sister when I was at WalMart on a Saturday morning and I stood in the corner of the toy department nearly whispering into the phone because I didn't want to bother anyone. If my phone rings when I'm in a public place, I send it to voicemail as I don't want to talk in front of strangers because my call is none of their business plus IT'S EFFING RUDE!

And people who put their phones on the dinner table drive me bonkers. SERIOUSLY? Can you not sit down for 1 stinking hour without your phone being 2 millimeters from your hand? Listen, I'm not perfect; I've done it, too, but 99 times out of 100, that phone is in my purse when I'm at a restaurant or a family deal.

How about those people who are yapping away on their phones when they're checking out of a store. I swear to God; one day I am going to just slap someone's phone out of their hand while they do the one-handed-put your groceries on the belt crap. You're taking twice as long to get your sh*t checked out because you're busy being rude and chit chatting with BFF Becca about 2 for 1 margarita night at the cantina in the next town over. STOP IT! How about you don't call someone while you're in the store or if they call you, answer and say, "Hey! Can I call you back? I'm checking out and will be done in about 5 minutes!" How hard is that?

I think those younger than the age of 30 would disagree but I believe cell phones make people a lot less social and that's frightening. Let's have an hour long text conversation but in person? Mutes. Some of the younger generation can't carry on a conversation in person and that's sad. How are they going to deal with people the older they get? Maybe schools should now teach a class on how to be social in the cell phone/texting age. Thing is, kids think they're already being social by texting! NO YOU ARE NOT!

Yes, cell phones serve a purpose and they really are an amazing invention but they've taken the human-ness out of people. Heaven forbid you leave your phone in the car when going out to eat or going to a ball game. Look; I am the first to admit I take photos when I go to concerts because I grew up when you couldn't bring a camera into a concert so it's pretty damn cool that I can preserve those cherished RS concert memories. But I refuse to video a whole damn concert to re-watch later. Uh, you're at the show so enjoy it while you're there! Just save your money and watch a concert on YouTube then if all you're going to do is record the whole damn thing!

I recently spoke at one of our CBB offices about the Foundation. I hate public speaking but, as a board member, it's part of my responsibilities to the board. So I"m up at the podium with my notes and Power Point and look out in the audience and over half the people were looking down at their phones. I don't know why I didn't just stop and say, "I can tell you people don't give a crap about any of this so I'm out." It was truly one of the rudest experiences I've had in a long time plus it told me a lot about those people.

I just think people need to put down their phones sometimes and live in the moment. We don't need to be at everyone's beck and call every damn minute of every damn day. How about having a face to face, in person conversation with someone every once in a while? Isn't that a novel idea!