CELL PHONE
CELL PHONE
I HAVE A CELL PHONE THAT DOES LOTS OF TRICKS. I LIKE CELL PHONES BECAUSE YOU CAN MOVE AROUND WITH THEM IN YOUR POCKET OR PURSE.
IF YOU WANT TO CALL SOMEONE, YOU SHOULD BE ABLE TO DO SO VERY SIMPLY. HERE IS THE RUB. HIGH TECH POPLE WHO LOOK DOWN ON US DO NOT UNDERSTAND THAT THEY KNOW A LOT AND WILL CREAT EVEN MORE TROUBLES IN THE FUTURE.
YOU GET A GIZMO AND IT HAS A TON OF TRICKS. YOU WANTED TO CALL SOMEONE BUT YOU MAY HAVE TO USE 10 TO 15 STRATEGIES TO GET A NUMBER AND THE TECHIES THAT YOU KNOW DON’T FEEL COMFORTABLE AROUND US, THEY BECOME A BAD COUSIN.
COME ON. DO YOU REMEMBER THE OLD LAND LINE? YOU PICK UP THE RECIVER AND DIAL THE NUMBER. THAT’S IT. ON THE EVE OF 1960, I WANTED TO CALL MY PARENTS AND TELL THEM THAT I WAS SAFE AND WOULD BE HOME IN THE MORNING.
I APPROACH MY FRIEND AT HIS HOUSE AND HE SAID YOU CAN’T CALL YOUR PARENTS, BECAUSE OUR PHONE IS IN WITH MY SLEEPING PARENTS. IN OTHER WORDS, MA BELL THE TELEPHONE COMPANY DEVISED A STRATEGY CALLED THE “PRINCESS” PHONE. ALL YOU NEED IS ONE PHONE AND IT HAD MANY PLUGS IN LOTS OF ROOMS OF THE HOUSE.
I WOULD HAVE TO WAIT UNTIL MORNING. WITHOUT CALLING, I DROVE HOME FOR THE 1ST DAY. OF DECEMBER MY PARENTS WERE BOTH UPSET AND ANGRY. THEY THOUGHT THAT I HAD DIED IN AN ACCIDENT. NEW YEARS EVE USUALLY HAS A BUNCH OF DRUNKS THAT FILL THE STREETS. THEY KILL EACH OTHER.
ON THE MORNING OF 1990, I JUMPED OUT OF BED AND CALLED THEM. I WAS SO SORRY. WELL ONE FLASH BACK 3 DECADES AND YOU CONNECT AT SOME LEVEL OF IMPORTANT ISSUES OF WHAT YOU DID IN THE PAST.
TODAY, I HAVE A PHONE THAT APPEARS SIMPLE, BUT IT’S NOT GREAT FOR ME. IT IS CALLED “JITTERBUG.” IT HAS A LOT OF CHOICES LIKE 10 OR 15. PRETTY SOON I AM LOST AND CALL FOR SOMEONE IN THE HOUSE TO BAIL ME OUT.
PERHAPS IT IS ALREADY ON THE MARKET. I WOULD LIKE A “JITTERBUG JR.” YOU TURN IT OFF OR ON. YOU DIAL YOUR NUMBER AND WHEN YOU ARE THROUGH TALKING, YOU TURN IT OFF. THAT’S IT.
I KNOW, I KNOW. YOU SHOULD CALL THE STORE THAT SELLS THEM AND MAYBE THEY COULD HELP YOU. FOR TECHNOLOGICAL SOPHISTICATES, YOU DON’T HAVE TO LIKE THEM.
PROF. JOEL SNELL