Phone People

I think there are 2 kinds of people in this world.

THE PHONE PEOPLE: These are those whose cell phones act as a part of their body. They have their phone with them at all times. Next to them while they sleep, next to them while the shower...I'm sure next to them while they do other things. If they leave their phone in one room and travel to another without it they feel naked. Lost, confused, prone to start rocking back and forth muttering none sense until they and their prized possession are reunited.

THE NON PHONE PEOPLE: These are those who never have their phone on them. You can call them and tell them the world is ending, and it wouldn't matter because they wouldn't get the message. They have an average call back time of 4 days if not more. They are hard to reach, and if you do reach them you feel like you won the lotto.

I am part of the latter. I have my phone on me for certain hours during the day, but most of the time I don't even know where my phone is. I've missed thousands of phone calls and text messages. If I leave my phone somewhere, I think “eh, it will turn up eventually".

After yet another important missed text message the other night (oops!), I started to wonder which one is worse. Someone who is naked without their phone or someone who never has it. Both are annoying in their own right. I remember the time before cell phones. It was the best of times; it was the worst of times.

Best: You were not constantly interrupted by other people on their phone or receiving calls yourself. If you were driving somewhere, that's what you did. You didn't try to multi task by chatting on the phone will driving. I hate it when I'm involved with someone (be it chatting, playing a game, whatever) and they take a phone call. We all have to wait politely while the finish up their “urgent business". While in jury duty the other day, a man’s cell phone rang and he took the call right there. In a dead silent room with 300 already annoyed people. He continued to yap on his phone about who knows what until a government worker asked him hang up.

Worst: Pay phones! Awful! Having to find one, find money for one and then use one. If someone needs to reach you in case of an emergency, they can. In theory. Unless you are like me and your phone is never on you, then it doesn't do much good. If you need to reach someone in case of an emergency you can because you have your handy phone on you.

I guess in the end you can't live with them, and now we as a society have grown to where we can't live without them. I am going to try to keep my phone on me more often though. Now if I can just remember where it is...