So I arrive home from work Tuesday and the first thing my wife Julie tells me is that I have to read this column in the Boston Globe Sunday Magazine headlined: “Think you’re so cool with that tiny phone that takes pictures and gets the Web? Mine’s better.”
His is attached to a wall, and, he adds, “I don’t go carrying my phone around with me.”
“I couldn’t help but think of you when I read it,” says Julie.
No wonder. Those who know me well appreciate that I have little use for my cell phone, which is more accurately described as “our cell phone” in that we share a Nokia 3595 that is now so old it attracts snickers at social gatherings. I rarely carry the thing, and when I do it’s almost never on (rings a lot less that way). Monthly minutes? They matter not a whit to me because we rarely exceed our T-Mobile plan’s basic allotment of a measly 20; in fact, it’s fair to say that I have spent less time on my cell in the past 30 days than John McCain spent talking to Sarah Palin before making her famous. (Honestly, that little.)
Yet my indifference toward the latest and greatest in mobile communications pales in comparison to that of Steve Greenlee, the Globe’s “Living” editor who apparently lives quite comfortably without a cell phone.
Here’s my favorite paragraph:
So your phone can go on the Internet. So what? If the Internet catches on, then that might come in handy. But I’m not holding my breath. Also, if I want to see things on the Internet, I’ll use my computer. And I don’t. Because I tried buying Tuesdays With Morrie from Amazon once, and I called them and then “logged on” to their site, or whatever you call it, and guess what? I couldn’t get in. Apparently you can’t be on the phone and on the Internet at the same time. So what use is that on your phone? You sure got suckered.
Truth be told, Julie and I have pretty much decided that we need to upgrade our cell phone, and that while we’re at it, we’re going to break down and buy two.
But I’ll always have a soft spot in my heart for the Steve Greenlees of the world.
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