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Tuesday, January 28, 2020

Phone Panic


Phone Panic




I wonder if I am the only one who panics when I am without my cell phone.  There is no reason to get antsy without the phone, after all I spent over 30 years of my adult life without a cell phone.

Just yesterday as I was on my way to the gym, about half way, maybe four miles from home, I realized I forgot my cell phone.  I almost turned back to retrieve it but thought how silly, for years I lived without a cell phone and it never bothered me. 

Why do I really need it anyway?  

If someone is trying to reach me they can leave a message and I will see it when I do get home in a bit over an hour.  Years ago, if I was away, people could not even leave me a message.

I could have some kind of emergency or a car problem where I would want to call Mrs. C for help.  No problem, if that did happen, and in the last 50 years it has never happened, but if it did, I could just walk to the nearest gas station and call from there.

Wait…I don’t know Mrs. C’s cell number.  That would be unheard of in the old days, but these days all my numbers are in the phone.  I never dial them.  I’m pretty sure that if I used a gas station phone or borrowed a strangers cell, asking the phone to “Call Karen” would not work very well.

I could call my own cell that I left at home, I do know that number, but would my wife pick it up?  Half the calls we get are bogus robocalls, if we don’t know the number we usually will not pick up.  Often we even block the number.

I guess I could call 911 for help.

“911, what is your emergency?”

“Ah, I left my phone at home and need to call my wife.”

“That does not sound like an emergency sir.”

“Well my car broke down and I need a lift, I am 4 miles from home.”

“Sir, that is hardly an emergency.  If you don’t hang up we can send a squad car, but I don’t think you would like where they take you.”

“Oops…sorry!”

Besides, how would 911 find my wife's cell number?

Then I thought, if I really needed the home number it is on my phone app screen in the car.  When ever I do call from the car or get a call, the number is displayed.  I checked the phone app menu to see.

Duh!  The menu gets it’s information from the Bluetooth connection to my phone which is at home and out of reach.

“Damn” I realized, “now I am forgetful and stupid!”

I continued to the gym.  I never felt comfortable until after I finished my workout and finally got home.

First thing I did was write down a few numbers on a sheet of paper, fold the paper up and put it in my billfold which I never leave without.*

Of course, when I got home Mrs. C had to ask if I got her text to pick up some eggs at the supermarket.  She asked with my phone in her hand,  always a ball buster.


*I know and I don't care, "Without which I never leave"  sounds stupid.  No one talks that way and the whole preposition at the end of a sentence rule is false.  If people can "conversate" I can end a sentence with a preposition.

From Google:

Ending a sentence with a preposition such as "with," "of," and "to", is permissible in the English language. There are theories that the false rule originates with the early usage guides of Joshua Poole and John Dryden, in trying to align the language with Latin, but there is no reason to suggest ending a sentence with a preposition is wrong. Nonetheless, the idea that it is a rule is still held by many.


16 comments:

  1. Smiled at this. I was always wary about leaving home without a list of phone numbers. Eventually, just in case I forgot to take the phone with me, I wrote numbers on my clothing. I reckoned I was unlikely to lose a number that way.

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    1. Do you have numbers on several pieces of clothing or just one favoured item with all the numbers on it? What if you forget to wear that piece on a day when you leave your phone at home?

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  2. It is funny how we panic over it. My first thoughts always go to what if I get in an accident.

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  3. Yeah, they have become a body part and what I call my second brain, only smarter and doesn't forget stuff. ;-) I forgot mine just walking to the top of the hill yesterday and felt uncomfortable as all get out. Less because of the lack of contact, more because it was a beautiful sunrise and the phone is also my camera. Yeah, taking photos is part of the second brain and I get to see and share things that I wouldn't otherwise. Damned things are a nuisance, but have become indispensable.

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  4. How did we ever last without cell phones? I wonder myself. As I don't want my phone to rule over me, I often don't carry it into stores when I go in but keep it in the car in case I need it for emergencies. I figure for brief periods of time I can be unreachable :)

    betty

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  5. I purposely leave me phone at times because it angers me that I am so needy about my phone. I am trying to ween myself of this stupid need. I don't need it as you stated, leave me a message and I'll get back to you when I get home. When we had an accident in the old days a cop let me call whomever, cops just showed up on the side of the road. We all survived. We all have first world problems don't we? :-)

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  6. Gosh I did read your mind didn't I. That was funny and too true. We are so dependent. You are smart to write the important phone numbers down. I have no ones number committed to memory these days.

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  7. I was so happy when you figured out to use the car to get the number. Then not. Darn that technology! I also panic when I forget my cell phone. Even though I'm only going 10 minutes to town. My main worry is that my car will have an issue. Or that one of my kids will need me. Though I don't know how I could help them from several hundred miles away.

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  8. You just need to take your phone with you wherever you go. It's safer, Joe.

    Have a fabulous day. 😎

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  9. I always take my cell phone with me; also I take the letter box with me, just in case the postman has a letter to deliver when I am out of the house.

    God bless.

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  10. It's not panic, especially as i do know a few numbers (husband, Grandma, Grandpa, children), it's wondering how many times Sweetie will call and what kind of lecture i will get when i get home because he couldn't reach me right away.

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  11. I used to carry a beeper in the old days so the hospital could get the message to me about an emergency surgery. When I got my first cell phone I was in heaven. Even if it was as big as a telephone booth at least I didn't have to stop and find a phone to call the hospital back. I felt free! At the time not many folks had cell phones and I remember feeling embarrassed when I would use the thing!

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  12. "Without which I never leave" does sound stupid and I'd never write or speak that way myself. You're also right that we can get along without our mobile phones most of the time, the exception being when a spouse leaves you a message of some importance. Good idea to carry a list of necessary phone numbers.

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  13. I don't panic so much if it's during the day and I'm just around town but at night around town and on any trip heading out, I definitely panic.

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  14. haha your conclusion made me laugh dear Joe

    what a great idea to skip visiting market lol

    i think husbands and sons are pretty smart to do it already haha
    when cell phone were new ( around 2000) i used to be panic when without phone
    but now i am not that hyper and it is okay to leave it behind :)

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