Cell Phone

This was inspired by reading Angie's post. I have a semi-funny story. This happened a couple years ago, but is still plain as day in my mind.

So I go into a cell phone store to upgrade my Nokia model 100 cell phone.

The store was located in the now destroyed Cottonwood Mall...Just to help you visualize.

College Kid Worker at the Counter: "Can I help you?"

Me: "I need to buy a new phone."

Worker: "What do you want your phone to do?"

Me: After a short pause and most likely a really confused, dumb look on my face: "Call people."

Worker: "Oh! All of our phones do that, but we also have phones that are MP3 players, have internet, cameras, GPS devices..."

Me: I interupt him, "I don't do any of that. I just want a phone that makes phone calls. I do not want to buy any of the extra things because I have a camera and an IPOD."

Worker: "I don't think we have phones that only make calls. Let me check." So he goes into the back room for about 15 minutes. It seemed a lot longer. Finally he comes out with a single phone box in his hand, and he is beaming. "This phone doesn't do anything but make calls!"

Me: "Let me have a look." So I take the phone out of the box an look at it. I pretend to know all about certain things that you need to look for when buying a phone. "How much?"

Worker: "Um, you can probably just have it."

Me: "Are you sure?"

Worker: " Let me call my supervisor." He gets on the store phone and calls someone. I only hear his side of the conversation, but he explains to his supervisor that I only want a phone that calls people and he found an old but brand new phone in a back corner of the storage, that the phone is no longer listed in the books, and asks if he can give it away. He hangs up and says, "yeah, its all yours. And my supervisor says thanks for taking it off our hands."

No contract. No money. Perfect phone shopping experience. Since then however, my work has almost forced me to be more reliant on the phone. I text. I actually like texting only because I don't like talking on the phone a lot. With a text I can get to the point and all of the small talk is not required. Just a simple sentence or two and you are done. While I worked my office position for the Fire Department I was forced to have email attached to my phone, my Outlook calendar attached to my phone, and on and on. Though it was beneficial for my position, I never want that again. I have avoided getting an Iphone, or any other of the new hot devices. Call me old fashioned. I really wish I could phase having a cell phone out of my life, and go back to the days of carrying a dime in my shoe in case I needed the pay phone.

Pay phones probably cost a dollar-fifty now.