Next time you are in a crowd or driving down a busy street notice the people who are on the phone. It is funny because a lot of the people who are on their cell phones have someone right beside them or in the car. Yet, the telephone conversation takes precedence over the person next to the phone talker. We were not always so inconsiderate until we could take the phone out of the house.

We can blame the long distance phone call of yesterday. Remember. A family would get a long distance call and all regular activity in the house was put on hold. Let’s be real. If some one from “out of town” was calling, it was costing them  money so you had to answer it.

Remember.

“Auntie, you have a telephone call!”,  you would yell out.

“Tell then to call back, I’m busy cleaning the bath tub!”

“It’s long distance from San Francisco!”

“Long distance!” Then she would hurdle furniture and small children in a scramble to get to the phone – apologizing profusely to the long distance caller when she did.

So the phone call demands our attention – even when Caller ID allows us to see who is calling and there is not a different charge for a local or long distance call. A ringing telephone demands our attention.

“I’m sorry its the bank/mechanic/sitter/dentist office, I have to take this” we say sheepishly.

Or if you’re the one calling, you are chastised for calling at a bad time. “What do you want? I’m in the dentist chair!”

Blame the long distance call for rearranging our priorities. It wasn’t that long ago if  you were walking down the street and heard someone talking to himself, you would think maybe some sort of mental illness. Now it is a status symbol with Blue-tooth technology. “You know, this person on the other end of the line is more important than you are”. That’s what the Blue-tooth phone talker is telling you. In fact all cell phone talkers are giving out that message. Except, the Blue-tooth talker makes a bigger show of it when you mistakenly think they are talking to you. They whisper or point to their device saying, “I’m on the phone, they’re more important than you. How dare you interrupt me?”  

But don’t blame the phone talker, blame the phone company for charging us for long distance. You know it made sense to us: The further you called, the more it cost. Then cell phones started giving “free” long distance. (It wasn’t free. If it was really free you could just make long distance calls and never be charged for anything if you did not call locally).

By the way, if you  foster positive relationships with family and friends during uneventful times, they are more likely to be present during significant occasions in your life.

Russ