Please leave a message at the beep…..

I am not so sure as to exactly why Alexander Graham Bell invented the phone, but I am quite sure, that he didn’t think people would be wearing them like an article of clothing.

I remember when my dad purchased and placed in use our “family” answering machine. Everyone practically stood around staring at it waiting for the phone to ring so we could see how it worked. As kids we would rush home to “check the machine” for messages that we would have from missed calls. It was also great for dinner time when believe it or not everyone had to be at the table and no one was allowed to answer a ringing phone. Now my dad, who set the rules back then, is probably the first one to jump from the table to answer a phone call. Go figure!

Out with the old and in with the new. From tape machines to digital to voice mail, email  and now texting, we have become a nation too much in touch. There are phones everywhere you look. We even have laws now that are in place to protect us because people have to be told when too much phone use is enough. In movie theatre’s we have short skits to remind us how rude it is to hear phones ringing and someones conversation while we are trying to watch a movie.  But even with that, we found a way around ringing phones, we developed texting. We just have so much to talk about!!!

I used to find it funny how some people had phones installed in the bathrooms of the home, so they wouldn’t miss answering the phone even when nature called. Now, there are some who don’t have wired phones at all, in their homes. Just a cell phone.  One phone does it all.

So how did we become a nation of people who can not be out of reach no matter where they are? What has become so important that people wear a blue tooth device like its an accessory? I remember doctors wearing beepers because they could stay in touch in case of an emergency. Somehow that made sense to me, but the blue tooth on a real estate agent in a funeral home, I just don’t get it.

I figure I am just an old fashioned guy, trying to hold on to the simpler things in life and somehow gadgets like these just keep getting in my way. Cell phones, like most technology, were supposed to make our lives simpler, less complicated and give us more quality time to spend doing the things we enjoy. Like with most technology, that just doesn’t happen. We become more dependant on these gadgets and our work days no longer end at eight hours. In the past, at ten o’clock at night, no one would call you. It was just unheard of unless it was an emergency. Then we got voicemail so they could call and leave a message. Now we have email and texting so phones don’t have to ring ( although you still might hear” you’ve got mail” during the episode of House your watching ) anymore and you can still get your message to someone. And that’s really not the bad part. The bad part is that we answer the emails and texts late at night as if it is a matter of life and death.  So in reality we are never out of touch. No one can wait until the next business day anymore to deal with business, because it is now being done at times when we used to relax and unwind after a long days work. Isn’t life just grand.

I use a cell phone and I can see the good in having one. I especially think its great when your on the road and break down in your car. Couple a cell with AAA and you have a lifesaving tool at hand. I also know when enough is enough and I can shut my phone off and not worry that someone is trying to call. I like to put an end to the day and not answering a call is one way I do it. I still fight the good fight in hopes that I can have my “simpler life”,  so if I don’t answer my phone, please leave a message at the beep……..

The Regular Guy