The Essential, Indispensable Appendage - The Phone

It's like an appendage, almost. Men don't leave home without their cell
phones the way women have never left without their purses.

Remember when you used to say, "If that phone rings one more time, I'm
going to scream," while rising once again from the dinner table to pick
up the extension
in the kitchen. Or the hallway.

Phones are great. We live in a great society in which we can "connect"
with anyone, anywhere, any time. We are in the advanced age of
communication te...

It's like an appendage, almost. Men don't leave home without their cell
phones the way women have never left without their purses.

Remember when you used to say, "If that phone rings one more time, I'm
going to scream," while rising once again from the dinner table to pick
up the extension
in the kitchen. Or the hallway.

Phones are great. We live in a great society in which we can "connect"
with anyone, anywhere, any time. We are in the advanced age of
communication technology, and we like it. It's so much easier to get
things done,more quickly and efficiently these days, especially when we
have a cell phone (or two).

You probably want one for your personal calls and another one just for
business. And most people like one by their side all weekend -- kids, too.

There's also usually no limit to the amount of calls you get to make,
because phone companies are all dashing around, lowering prices to
compete for your business.

You can drive and be on the phone at the same time. If you're at the
movies with a friend or your spouse, it's so reassuring to have your
phone with you so you can check on the kids, see if the dry-cleaning you
dropped off earlier is ready, and call your home phone to check the
messages you missed while you were watching the movie.

And the array and style and shape of phones are just out of sight! They
can come with either all the bells and whistles you could ever wish for,
or they can be really simple, like those white cordless phones with the
really huge number pads on them, just for the elderly. This business
leaves no one out!

Who ever thought shopping for phones would become an interesting,
fascinating pastime? Phone trade shows get national recognition; they're
even featured on TV news programs now.

But why is it, then, when you go to the office, your eyes bulge every
time the phone rings? We like the phone. It's a GOOD thing, because it
CONNECTS us.

Still, there is an underlying resentment at having to obey an inanimate
object that makes a periodic, shrill sound. No, we don't like the phone.
We hate the phone. We turn our speaker phone on at first so we won't
have to keep picking up and putting down the receiver. Then we just hit
the "Do not disturb" or "Busy" button featured on most modern office
phones and just let the voice mail pick it up. We can't be bothered with
any more calls! We have work to do here! What do these people think we
are, the operator?

No kidding. And what a great feeling you get when you slide into the
driver's seat for your commute back home, relaxing slowly from the day,
and taking out your cell phone to call someone you WANT to talk to. Now,
that's different.

Phones are absolutely vital to our existence, and they are here to stay,
in one form or another. We love our phones, but we hate our phones: It's
an emotional kind of thing.

But don't worry: You know it's just a matter of time, and then they'll
have support groups for that.