I am Thankful for My I-Phone

Telephones are wonderful inventions. They have many pleasant uses. Old fashion land-line phones are decorative artifacts of modern history. Our great-grandchildren will collect them as antiques or visit museums to see them. We should begin now to think of them as conversation pieces. Cell phones have multiplied the usefulness of these plastic wonders; I most often use mine either for entertainment (solitaire) or as a paper weight. I confess I have reached for it as legal “brass knuckles” (never used) in a couple of dark allies. And of course its best use is for pretend calls during a boring meeting -- “Sorry, I’ve got to take this one.”

You might be getting the impression I don’t like phones. Give yourself bonus points for critical reasoning skills. I have never liked phones. I am a visual communicator; I need to see the face of the person with whom I am talking. Long before cell phones, it was a status symbol to have a phone in the restroom. Why in the world would anyone want to bring the world into their most private moments?

I have had a cell phone for a long time, but in my psyche it exists for my convenience and not the convenience of the world. More often than not I leave it in my truck or at home or I forget to recharge it. I have been intentional about not being accessible to everybody on demand. I seldom answer my cell phone. I return calls. If I am making a trip, I have it with me in case of emergencies. I use an earpiece and make use of the time calling family members.

I have used smart phones for some time. Basically they are versatile miniature computers in which I can keep a lot of information, i.e., contact lists. But they also double as digital photo albums, calculators, voice recorders, note pads, and, oh yes, phones. I also keep a couple of searchable Bible translations in them for anytime reading.

I like my smart phones, except for the phone part. My last one finally gave up the ghost (several keys on the key pad had to be punched multiple times to work, and it started calling numbers spontaneously; it even sent a blank text message to someone I rarely call). I gave in and bought an I-phone 4. As a long-term Microsoft user I have inner sensations of crossing over to the dark side. I have resolved to not begin talking bad about PC’s and I will not talk endlessly about my I-phone. My friends brag about theirs more than they do their grand-children.

I am thankful for my i-phone. It serves all the purposes named above and it is an i-pod. It is that last feature that drew me to the i-phone. I don’t care to download music. What I wanted was an easy-to-use audible Bible. I have already downloaded it, and listened to Joshua as I drove around today. I now have a cell phone that includes everything I have wanted in my smart phones for years and I am pleased.

If you want to talk about it, give me a call.  I'll return your call some day.  Don't bother texting; I've had that feature turned off.  I won't be reading my emails on it either.  I dislike emails even more than phones.

Stay in touch, if you can.

Cleveland, Tennessee
December 2, 2010
JDJ