A Personal Journey in Technology

For years and years, I never felt the need for a mobile phone of any kind.  What would I have to say to anyone on the planet that could not wait until I was home.
I certainly never overheard a conversation on a cell phone in a public place that did not sound as though it was considerably less than urgent.

Then we got stuck at an airport after a weather-related flight cancellation and I noticed that those who were whipping out their cells phones were at a distinct advantage over those few of us (basically Mike and me) who were searching for a public phone to make the needed arrangements.

A few years later, when we started to travel to Florida for the winters, I decided to get a phone for travel purposes.  I had seen an ad in the AARP magazine for Consumer Cellular.  At the time is a free phone and $10 per month for a very basic service.  I called them.  They informed me that they could not send me a phone because there was no service in my area.  I tried to explain that I did not really need service in my area, I wanted it for travel.  I got switched over to a supervisor.

I explained that I wanted the phone for our time in Florida.  We had had some problems with the phone systems in rental houses, and of course there was the travel time itself.  It was about emergencies.  "Oh, you have an address in Florida?"  I thought I was getting somewhere.  I gave the address of the rental.
"Oh, but that is not your credit card address.  We can't send you a phone there and we can't send a phone to your home address because there is no service there."  Seriously?

It took some negotiations,but I finally received my little clamshell phone that allowed me to make and receive phone calls once I realized it had to be turned on and if I could remember to keep it charged.

A few years later, Mike decided to get a phone for himself.  By this time the basic clamshell was about $35, but it had a little camera and rudimentary texting capability--a real upgrade.  Also by this time, even though there is still no service in our area, it was not a hassle to convince the company to sell us a phone--I assume some corporate shake-up and a new business strategy.

Last summer,  I learned to text.  This was a necessity brought on by the need to keep family updated about Mike's condition.  We had the standard telephone dial setup.  That means 3-4 would drop down when you hit the key and you scrolled down to the letter you wanted and selected it.  It was a laborious process--far more so than those flying thumbs I see other people using.

So then I took the trip with my grandkids.  I could not find my phone the whole time I was gone--thought I must have left it at home.  I could not find it anywhere when I got home.  I needed to get a new phone and I caved to peer and grandchildren pressure and ordered a "smart" phone.

Then, of course, I found my old phone safely tucked away in the secret compartment of my travel bag--even though I thought I had completely emptied it at least five times over the two weeks we were gone.

I bought a Motorola G from Consumer Cellular for about $150.  It arrived yesterday and befuddled me for most of the day.  It was all about getting it hooked up to wifi--something my granddaughter does successfully every time she visits.  I finally left it alone and went and got a pedicure where I sat in one of those back massage chairs.  Ah, all was well when I got home and I got right onto the wifi and could start playing a bit with my phone.

Like my dryer, something new that I really didn't need, but there you have it.  So I am sure it doesn't do the things of an iPhone or more expensive Androids, but it will keep me busy for a while.

You still cannot call me though--no cell service here.