I took my vehicle for an oil change the other day. Don’t give me a hard time because I don’t man up and do the job myself. I’ve screwed up enough times to know better than to work on a car. At any rate, I checked in and found a seat in the waiting room. Most folks sunk themselves down into the lobby furniture and either looked out the window or watched ESPN on the television on the wall. One couple, however, decided to spend their times revealing too much of their personal lives to the rest of us. When they weren’t hugged up, the two of them were jabbering on cell phones. They were annoying.
For most of the time, the male sat on the corner of the couch and talked to his friend. His language was crude, at best, and he talked with no regard to anyone else in the room. Miss Pleasant had no better vocabulary; the two of them cursed freely and dropped several “F bombs,” much to the displeasure of two women sitting in one corner of the room and to the disgust of males there.
The girl soon rose to take a smoke break. As soon as she exited, her boyfriend began a tirade about her. In rather unpleasant terms, he carped about her being a control freak who demanded too much from him. At one point, he referred to her as a garden tool, a “hoe,” and questioned why he even bothered staying with her. The rest of his conversation dealt with sharing drugs, dealing with women, and giving away a dog. They also griped about people who came in after them and left before. Never mind that those folks had earlier appointments or different types of work done.
I’ve grown weary of dealing with people and their cell phone conversations. In grocery stores folks walk the aisles and chat away while pulling items from the shelves. On too many occasions I’ve spoken to someone who passed and said something to me, only to realize that she had that Bluetooth piece stuck in her ear and was yakking with a friend. Then the individual has the gall to look at me as if I’m some pervert who is trying to hit on her.
In checkout lines, people infuriate others when they yammer on their cell phones while trying to complete transactions. They try to empty carts, retrieve a fistful of coupons, and pay for groceries with their attention divided between that task at hand and the latest gossip being shared. These cell phone addicts are rude to cashiers as they are too caught up with phone talk to answer questions with anything but nods or shakes of their heads.
On the road, cell phone use brings on drivers’ ire. Motorists stick phones in their ears and lose all driving skills. Cars poke along in passing lanes, and most often, the driver is blabbing on the phone. When these people have a phone in hand, they ignore such useless things as turning on signal lights or looking in mirrors before changing lanes. Their below limit speeds result in long lines of cars behind them, but these morons are oblivious to what their phone calls are doing to traffic flow.
Yes, cell phones are modern advancements that have made our lives better. Teens out for the evening have contact with parents, or maybe it’s that parents have contact with teens. If an emergency arises, individuals can punch a few buttons and help will be on the way. I get all of that. What I don’t get are folks who pull out phones to talk as they are backing out of their driveways. What conversations can be that important?
Someone asked me the other day what we did before cell phones. I told them we talked face-to-face or spent time with ourselves and our thoughts. Maybe the problem is too many people don’t like themselves enough to be alone. That’s sad.
Technology is a wonderful and necessary part of our lives. However, when it comes to cell phones, I long for the earlier times of rotary dial phones and party lines and face-to-face conversations between family and friends. Go ahead; call me old fashion. I’ll confess to it.
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