I'm past due for a new phone. My battery is getting weaker and weaker and I need a new phone anyhow but I just dread having to learn a new one. The one that I had before this one was so "smart" that I had to return it. Plus everything on it was so small and compact that I couldn't see anything so it was slowing me down. It's supposed to be convenient! I don't have a texting plan; I can receive them but if I return one, it's expensive so I guess I'll get w/the program and at least sign up for texting. It bugs me, though, because people text or email rather than pick up the phone and actually talk to me. I've lived alone for 13 years; I like to hear a human voice once in a while. A friend of mine emailed me and our mutual friends and said "I've been emailing Mary and she hasn't answered me. Please call her and see if something is wrong". Now, is that ridiculous or what? She couldn't call me herself? As it was, I had been answering her but she had her settings done in a way that it was sending my email to the junk file. I finally got an email from her that said that she had it figured out and would I please email her again so that she knows I'm alright. I wrote "Here's a radical thought: pick up the phone and call if you're that worried!" She still didn't call. She just recently texted me to tell me that she was probably going to be laid off from her job. Did she really think that I was going to text her back about such a serious subject? Later she emailed me to ask if I received her text!

I think some people use their cell phones to play games, get the internet, text, etc. but not to actually talk. This is why I entertain so much. I like human contact, actual warm bodies, voices, interaction. I've been dubbed the Party Queen but it isn't because I love parties so much, it's because I like people and I enjoy my friends' company. It would be wonderful if they would entertain, too, but they'd rather eat out. They've said that they don't want to make sure the house is always clean and ready for company.

I guess this turned into a rant, didn't it? I'm sorry. I'm just passionate about this subject. I love my cell phone and I'm glad to have it, especially being as directionally challenged as I am. On many occasion I've been lost trying to find some place and having someone talk me in has been wonderful and a lifesaver but cell phones shouldn't take the place of human contact.