What about cell phones?

Is it a bird? Is it a plane? It is SuperCellPhone!  Able to find tall buildings with its GPS, take video and pictures to send to the internet, listen to music, find the nearest fast food restaurant and transfer money to the checking account, pay the bills and send party invitations. Sometimes you can make phone calls and actually hear every other word being said without losing the connection.

I am stuck! I admit it. I am not even ashamed of being stuck. I am saddened by those who want to get me unstuck. I liked the phone that was black, unbreakable plastic with a metal circular dial on the face with holes and a stop, attached to the wall with a cord. I liked the simple ring that everyone recognized because everyone had the same one. I liked that I could clearly hear EVERY word the other person was saying and they could hear me. I liked going to the market knowing if anyone was trying to get in touch with me by phone they would call back when I was home. I didn’t worry that I was missing anything. Important news would find me soon enough.

I feel daring some days when I forget my cell phone at home and don’t turn back to get it but continue to my destination. I apologize to people who have called me when I didn’t hear the phone to answer it. The phone lets me know I missed a call and beeps at me until I acknowledge it.  It also beeps at me when it needs to be plugged into the charger.  The ring tone seems to get turned off when the phone is in my pocket or purse but the annoying beeping to alert me to some urgency continues.  For all of this, so called “convenience” more appropriately labeled “annoyance”,  I pay large amounts of money every month.

Perhaps for those younger than myself who don’t remember or were not around for the era of peace and tranquility, pre-Information Age, these technological advances seem a necessity of everyday life. Perhaps they are just oblivious to the stress it adds to life. To all those out there who feel stressed in general, I challenge you to take a vacation from your cell phone. Turn it off for a week. Commit to not using a cell phone. Walk down the street and through the park. Enjoy the scenery. Listen to your thoughts. Notice the people around you and greet them with a smile. Venture out into the world and experience it without the burden of answering to the demanding beeping and ringtones that direct your day. Take the time to talk to people face to face. Ask for directions from real people. Step out of the virtual world of cell phones in cyberspace communication and step back in time.  Let the SuperCellPhone strip down and once again become the phone booth on the corner that Clark Kent used to enter.