Cell phone? I do, as it was purchased last Friday. Yes, that’s right. A hold out is what I had going on. But after a few mess-ups, one at an airport, Kris and I realized it would best if we both had a cell phone. Kris has had one for years, and we originally jumped on the cellphonebandwagon when Kris began to commute. But I was a hold out. Why?
My first encounter with a cell phone was on a golf course. I was playing with a friend who had fancy, schmancy cell phone but he spent nearly every hole talking to business associates about business deals. He was dealing with millions of dollars, so it seemed important to him. What was important to me was our game of golf, and enjoying our day, and not being bugged by someone when we were out playing golf. So, I took a stand to hold out.

I was also a commuter on the train, and train cell phone talkers bug me at two levels: first, they talk too loud and keep others from their accustomed quiet time for reading and praying; second, they say things that are not public — like lying to spouses and clients and speaking about things that should not be public knowledge. Cell phone conversations in public … well, you all know what I’m talking about. One time I was riding on the train when I got into a seat in a car that was silent. And then when someone got a phone call, the so-called sleepers starting “shooshing” and “sh-sh”ing randomly; it was planned; and it worked. The person put down the cell phone and kept quiet.
Then I have students: their cell phones ring during class (and I try to answer them); they mess around with them in class (I figure they are playing games or sending text messages); and I give them a hard time if their phones ring during class. So, cell phones annoyed me.
And it is dangerous to drive and talk on cell phones. So, I was holding out.
But, it was getting too hard not to have a phone, and Kris’ phone contract was about to run out, and … yadayadayada. So, we went to the local mall’s kiosk, bought two Razr phones with a two-phone contract, and in thirty minutes I had a phone. The sales lady said to me, “This is your first cell phone and you’re getting a Razr?” “Yep,” I said. Two for one hundred dollars is what we paid.
Not that I know what I’m doing, but I will say this. When I was at the airport this weekend, when we landed, I pulled out my phone to see if anyone had called. It seemed the “chic” thing to do as everyone else was doing that: it dawned on me that I hadn’t given the number to anyone but my kids (and now my Dept colleagues) so it is quite unlikely that anyone was going to leave me a message. But, stunned for a moment to realize that everyone had messages but me, I gave it a long look as if I was checking a variety of calls. I came back to reality when Kris said, “Scot, no one is going to call you; no one even knows your number.”