In the early ‘70s, my brother and a buddy leased an apartment just off the sand in one of the beach cities – Hermosa or Manhattan, I cannot remember. Being young and full of life, the two roommates enjoyed hosting their comparatively landlocked pals and engaging in many kinds of seaside hijinks.
In the early ‘70s, my brother and a buddy leased an apartment just off the sand in one of the beach cities – Hermosa or Manhattan, I cannot remember. Being young and full of life, the two roommates enjoyed hosting their comparatively landlocked pals and engaging in many kinds of seaside hijinks.
One of their stunts went like this: As my brother entertained friends down by the surf, his roommate would come running across 100 yards of sand from the apartment, shouting my brother’s name and holding a telephone receiver high in the air with one hand while carrying the body of the phone in the other. The phone was attached to a cord that went all the way back to their place.
Nowadays, our phones go everywhere and take us anywhere thanks to communication towers and the Internet. These ever-present mobiles are connected wirelessly; the only cord you need is the one for the phone charger.
I know plenty of people love the ability to stay in touch over their smartphone. Friends, relations, and business associates reach out with the press a few buttons. They can send or receive e-mails, check out websites, or broadcast the modern version of “hey look at me” with text, photo, and video posts to social media outlets.
It might be a great thing to be able to conduct business from anywhere in the world via the electronic brick your hand. However, I think it better to maintain a discreet electronic distance.
I have not linked my phone to any of my e-mail accounts. If I really need to get a hold of someone, I can call them. If anyone really needs to get a hold of me, they can do the same. The last thing I need are e-mails from comrades, clients, or family members suggesting I promptly change my schedule to better suit their needs. If they need something from me, we should talk it over, person-to-person in real time.
Texting is something I do. It can be an easy way out when you want to limit the conversation. Yes, texting can be very useful, but hearing the whistle signifying the arrival of multiple texts has proved vexing when I am pressed for time and unable to spread my concentration any thinner. That is when my phone drives me crazy.
The exception to feeling overwhelmed by such communication, of course, is any communiqué from my girlfriend (he said hastily). Why, no matter what time of day or night she calls, texts, e-mails, or posts to social media, I am overjoyed to receive and respond to her messages (he said with a great conviction banishing all doubt about his sincerity).
I do not long for the days when you needed a wire plugged into the wall to talk to someone on the other side of town let alone the other side of the world. But there are moments when I feel too easily reached.
Maybe I’ll tell my callers and correspondents I am in an area with bad cell reception. But really, I'll just that turn the thing off more often. You can't get more cordless than that.
Pat Grimes, a former South Bay resident, writes from Ypsilanti, Mich. He can be reached at pgwriter@inbox.com
