I DON’T CARE ABOUT YOUR BUSINESS DEAL!

Don’t get me wrong – cell phones are no longer luxuries; like cars and computers, they have crossed over into the realm of necessities. A working mom needs to be able to be reached even in transit from work to home, just in case. A person with a chronically ill spouse needs to be able to be reached even on the subway, just in case. Certainly anyone that’s ever had their car break down knows the value of a cell phone! And it’s nice to have a book or a solitaire game close to hand while you’re waiting for something or someone, and most cell phones have those features nowadays.

But people don’t seem to understand that those around them don’t want to hear about their private business. People stand in line at the bank, or the grocery store, or the post office, phone glued to their ear, yapping on interminably about nothing at all, and those around them can hear every word. Private conversations aren’t private any more, and the conversationalists don’t seem to care.

I was at a flea market once, standing at a table with my money in my hand to pay for something that had caught my eye. The man behind the table was on his cell phone, complaining to somebody about the expense of getting a table at some upcoming event. I stood there for nearly five minutes, unwillingly listening to him, before I finally decided I didn’t really need the watch that much, so I put my money back in my wallet and walked away. He gave up getting cash money right now rather than pause his unproductive conversation. How stupid was that?? Wasn’t that cash money what he was there to get??

Whatever happened to being respectful to strangers, much less keeping one’s business to oneself? Think about it – do you really want everyone around you in the grocery store to know what your doctor just told you? But you think nothing of calling your best friend and telling her all about it while you’re standing in line at the checkout – and you’re going to see that same friend in half an hour anyway!

Cell phones have become indispensable tools of living, but I for one am not letting mine run my life.