Fred Sneesby - Observations on Culture, Faith and Politics

Call Waiting

June 5, 2007

“Are you talking to me? Are you talking to yourself? Oh! You’re talking on your cell phone.”

“What’s that chiming sound? The ice-cream truck? What’s that ditty? Oh! It’s just someone’s cell phone ringing.”

“Is that driver going to turn? Does he see me coming? Why is he moving along as if he’s the only one on the road? Oh! He’s talking on the cell phone.”

Ubiquitous is the word. It seems like everyone is talking on the phone, making a call, receiving a call, or maybe even texting (is that a verb?).

The last thing I noticed being “ubiquitous” was the bottle of water. Everyone was toting a bottle of water; no qualms about hoisting it out in classes (teachers and students), meetings or conferences; no hesitation about taking a swig in mid-sentence. I don’t know where that phenomenon started. I realize that it is healthy to drink a certain volume of water daily but I find it to be very impolite. Eating and drinking are, in my estimation, either privately done or done in a social setting that enables you to converse with other people and offer them some of the food or drink that you might be enjoying. They are not solitary acts done in a public setting except maybe in a bus station or airport where you hope to be isolated even when there’s a hundred people around you..

So don’t get me going on cell phones! If I think it is impolite to drink from your personal water bottle or canteen in front of other people, you can imagine what the sight of so many cell phones does to me. Now, I am not a Luddite (a word that, perhaps, comes from the last name of Ned Ludd who lived in Leicestershire, England in the early 19th century and who destroyed a new-fangled knitting frame; a word that describes someone who opposes technological change or novelty). I have and use a cell phone. I use ATM machines. I use computers. I carry a Personal Digital Assistant with my schedule and contacts and probably would have a Blackberry or I-Phone if I could afford one.

No, I am willing to admit all of these things into reality and ascribe some good purpose to them. It’s just that there is something about cell phones and the way they invade our lives that doesn’t sit right with me.

What is everyone talking about? Is it something they could have taken care of when they were with the person or that could be dealt with when they see the person again? Can the conversation wait until they get back to their home or office? What is so vital that people have to carry on conversations when they are occupied doing other things? Are people preferring being interrupted and distracted by phonecalls? Is there some kind of restlessness or anxiety or dissatisfaction that is relieved by the cell phone?

Some people seem to be in continuous conversation. They are saying out loud whatever enters their consciousness. In doing so, they are missing the valuable opportunity of leaving some things unsaid. This lost chance for recollection is just one of several things that are relinquished by the cell phone user.

Revision, for example. Without the cell phone, a lot of what we had to say would have to wait. Having to wait gives a person room for revision. He can think things over, talk things through in his head; oftentimes, he will improve upon whatever he was going to blurt out.

Surprise. With all this talk, we know too much. There is less and less chance to be surprised.

Mystery. Can’t we be content not to know?

Suspense. Just wait until you get there!

Patience and the lessons it teaches us. Most of these lessons have to do with discovering what is really valuable in life, lessons we will never learn if we are accustomed to so much immediacy.

Lastly, silence. Beautiful silence. The regular cell phone user misses out on silence. We need silence to discover our demons and to develop our dreams. Silence is probably more valuable to us than all the talk in which we engage.

Recollection. Revision. Surprise. Mystery. Suspense. Patience. Silence. Maybe it’s missing out on all these things that disturbs me about cell phones. So, if you dare, leave it behind. Leave it unanswered. Take the opportunities not having a cell phone gives you. And when you are recollected and relaxed, take a picture of yourself with your cell phone and send it to your friends.