Tuesday, November 8, 2011

All Thumbs

   I got a text message on my cellphone from a friend ... it said, "Call me." I honestly didn't know how to respond to that. Why on earth would someone take the time to hunt 'n' peck on that ridiculously small keyboard to compose a message like that when they could've placed the call in five seconds? I know what you're thinking ... here's where the old fogey goes into his rant about all that new-fangled technology ... but no, that's not it.
   Heck, I embrace anything that will make my life easier or more fun. I get smart phones ... I get iPads ... I get GPS ... and giant, flat-screen TVs (be still my beating heart). But I just can't get my head around texting. Now, there must be some logic in there somewhere, because everybody does it ... and I mean everybody.
  The other day, I went to pick up Uncle Billy from the assisted living facility for our weekly outing to the convenience store to get his supply of, um, medicine, and lottery tickets. He is sitting in the lobby next to a pretty lady and both are holding cellphones, digits flying. He spots me and says, "Sonny, why are you here?"
  "I pick you up every Thursday, Uncle Billy."
  "But I have a date with Clara ... didn't you get my text?" He pats the knee of the pretty lady. She lowers her phone and smiles at me.
    See what I mean? Okay, enough of this ... you can text me if you want ... I just hope you're not in a hurry for a reply.

9 comments:

  1. I don't get it either! No one uses his phone to make calls anymore. Oh, and I don't even own a cell phone!

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  2. Alex: Ooo ... no cellphone ... you are a man of principle.

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  3. Don't try to make sense of it Chris, it will just make your head hurt.

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  5. Oops ... hit a wrong button ... what I meant to say, Pru, was, "Not to mention my thumbs!"

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  6. Never interrupt a date, Christopher.

    I sometimes text when I don't want to interrupt with a call. If my son is at work and I want to tell him something, I'll text it. That just seems less intrusive than calling.

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  7. Sometimes texting is easier when you cannot take or make a verbal phone call. But, as a parent of teenagers in 2011, texting is crucial for staying in contact with them.

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  8. Margo: I guess that makes sense ... they sure don't listen to you.

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