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<p class=MsoNormal><span class=EmailStyle15><font size=2 color=black
face=Arial><span style='font-size:10.0pt;mso-bidi-font-size:12.0pt;font-family:
Arial'>I am one of those odiferous cell phone users. That’s right. Most days
the darn thing is attached to me, with my ear plug hanging down my front so I
can put it into my ear as soon as the occasion calls for it. Yes, I do not
hesitate to answer it in a crowded place, barring movie theaters, where I’m
there to enjoy the movie, or restaurants if I’m there on a business meeting or
with a friend. (If I’m there alone, I figure I can talk on my cell phone since
the other diners are talking to each other. Why should I be the only one bereft
of conversation?) <o:p></o:p></span></font></span></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><span class=EmailStyle15><font size=2 color=black
face=Arial><span style='font-size:10.0pt;mso-bidi-font-size:12.0pt;font-family:
Arial'><![if !supportEmptyParas]> <![endif]><o:p></o:p></span></font></span></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><span class=EmailStyle15><font size=2 color=black
face=Arial><span style='font-size:10.0pt;mso-bidi-font-size:12.0pt;font-family:
Arial'>One of the things that perhaps people don’t realize about me is that I
don’t do this because it’s fun, because it makes me feel important. I have to
have the phone attached to me because it’s so freakin’ small. I might lose it
otherwise, as I often do, miss a call because I couldn’t get to the phone fast
enough. That’s happened enough times. And then there’s this . . . I’m a
business, working hard to get my clients the service they need so they will, in
turn, get me the payments that I need. I’m out and about much of the day, and my
receptionist is . . . well, me. I’m it. If people can’t reach me, my business
is doomed. If everyone must wait until I return to the office, well, it may be
a long wait, and I may lose important clients, or at least annoy them. (The
definition of an important client is: a client.) I’ve heard the scorn in people’s
voices when they talk about how they don’t have a cell phone because they don’t
want people to reach them at any time . . . well, I do. It’s important for my
business.<o:p></o:p></span></font></span></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><span class=EmailStyle15><font size=2 color=black
face=Arial><span style='font-size:10.0pt;mso-bidi-font-size:12.0pt;font-family:
Arial'><![if !supportEmptyParas]> <![endif]><o:p></o:p></span></font></span></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><span class=EmailStyle15><font size=2 color=black
face=Arial><span style='font-size:10.0pt;mso-bidi-font-size:12.0pt;font-family:
Arial'>Granted, many people take cell phone usage to extremes. There is a time
and a place for everything. I think anyone using a phone inside a movie theatre
should be taken outside, quietly, and then shot. Of course, I don’t much care
for people who bring screaming two-year olds into a movie the child has no way
of understanding either, so it’s not a cell phone issue, but a courtesy issue. <o:p></o:p></span></font></span></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><span class=EmailStyle15><font size=2 color=black
face=Arial><span style='font-size:10.0pt;mso-bidi-font-size:12.0pt;font-family:
Arial'><![if !supportEmptyParas]> <![endif]><o:p></o:p></span></font></span></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><span class=EmailStyle15><font size=2 color=black
face=Arial><span style='font-size:10.0pt;mso-bidi-font-size:12.0pt;font-family:
Arial'>Then again, I take my movies seriously.<o:p></o:p></span></font></span></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><span class=EmailStyle15><font size=2 color=black
face=Arial><span style='font-size:10.0pt;mso-bidi-font-size:12.0pt;font-family:
Arial'><![if !supportEmptyParas]> <![endif]><o:p></o:p></span></font></span></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><span class=EmailStyle15><font size=2 color=black
face=Arial><span style='font-size:10.0pt;mso-bidi-font-size:12.0pt;font-family:
Arial'>So there I am the other day, having left a client’s, with much on my
mind. I get like that. I get into my car. I plop my big black carryall
briefcase (sometimes I am astounded at the amount of STUFF I bring back from
client’s) into the passenger seat. I dial my cell phone, intending to call
Stew. (I call Stew a lot.) I fasten my seat belt, because I am, if nothing
else, a conscientious seat belt user. I start the car, which is still making
the really cool noise that indicates it will soon blow up, or that my
transmission will throw itself out on the roadway at any time. I start my
mental calculations, since it is Friday, I have seen the last client I will see
for that day, and I tend to add up the numbers in my head. How much here, how
much there, how did the week go, and what will I collect next week? Since I’m
temporarily without much in the way of funds, this is a ritual I indulge in
frequently. And I talk to myself. Not anything interesting. “200 from Bob, $200
from Brad, $275 from Referral, a couple hundred from . . . . Oh, CFK. 200, 200,
275, 200, 250.” <o:p></o:p></span></font></span></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><span class=EmailStyle15><font size=2 color=black
face=Arial><span style='font-size:10.0pt;mso-bidi-font-size:12.0pt;font-family:
Arial'><![if !supportEmptyParas]> <![endif]><o:p></o:p></span></font></span></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><span class=EmailStyle15><font size=2 color=black
face=Arial><span style='font-size:10.0pt;mso-bidi-font-size:12.0pt;font-family:
Arial'>Eventually I somehow come to notice my phone. Which is sitting my lap.
With my ear plug still hanging down my front instead of in my ear. And I
remember that I dialed Stew’s number.<o:p></o:p></span></font></span></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><span class=EmailStyle15><font size=2 color=black
face=Arial><span style='font-size:10.0pt;mso-bidi-font-size:12.0pt;font-family:
Arial'><![if !supportEmptyParas]> <![endif]><o:p></o:p></span></font></span></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><span class=EmailStyle15><font size=2 color=black
face=Arial><span style='font-size:10.0pt;mso-bidi-font-size:12.0pt;font-family:
Arial'>I often forget to put the ear plug back into my ear, which he thinks is
hilarious. So as I’m sitting there talking to myself, Stew has been, or I
should say, HAD been, saying, “Hello? Hello? You know, I can HEAR you, I’m here
. .. stop talking to yourself and talk to me!“<o:p></o:p></span></font></span></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><span class=EmailStyle15><font size=2 color=black
face=Arial><span style='font-size:10.0pt;mso-bidi-font-size:12.0pt;font-family:
Arial'><![if !supportEmptyParas]> <![endif]><o:p></o:p></span></font></span></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><span class=EmailStyle15><font size=2 color=black
face=Arial><span style='font-size:10.0pt;mso-bidi-font-size:12.0pt;font-family:
Arial'>By the time I picked up the phone he’d given up, and even tried to call
me, since I have call waiting, but his phone wouldn’t let him because the
connection was still open. I disconnected, called him back . ..<o:p></o:p></span></font></span></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><span class=EmailStyle15><font size=2 color=black
face=Arial><span style='font-size:10.0pt;mso-bidi-font-size:12.0pt;font-family:
Arial'><![if !supportEmptyParas]> <![endif]><o:p></o:p></span></font></span></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><span class=EmailStyle15><font size=2 color=black
face=Arial><span style='font-size:10.0pt;mso-bidi-font-size:12.0pt;font-family:
Arial'>Let’s just say it was a good thing my self-talk was the usual numbers
crap, and not anything, uhm, incriminating. He thought it very amusing of
course. VERY AMUSING. He thinks all these little absent-minded things are cute.
<o:p></o:p></span></font></span></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><span class=EmailStyle15><font size=2 color=black
face=Arial><span style='font-size:10.0pt;mso-bidi-font-size:12.0pt;font-family:
Arial'><![if !supportEmptyParas]> <![endif]><o:p></o:p></span></font></span></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><span class=EmailStyle15><font size=2 color=black
face=Arial><span style='font-size:10.0pt;mso-bidi-font-size:12.0pt;font-family:
Arial'>So yeah. I’m an offensive cell phone user. Given the choice between
catching a call from a potentially lucrative client and offending a stranger, I’ll
take the call. <o:p></o:p></span></font></span></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><span class=EmailStyle15><font size=2 color=black
face=Arial><span style='font-size:10.0pt;mso-bidi-font-size:12.0pt;font-family:
Arial'><![if !supportEmptyParas]> <![endif]><o:p></o:p></span></font></span></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><span class=EmailStyle15><font size=2 color=black
face=Arial><span style='font-size:10.0pt;mso-bidi-font-size:12.0pt;font-family:
Arial'>So sue me. Have your lawyer call my lawyer. I can give you his cell
phone number if you want.<o:p></o:p></span></font></span></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><span class=EmailStyle15><font size=2 color=black
face=Arial><span style='font-size:10.0pt;mso-bidi-font-size:12.0pt;font-family:
Arial'><![if !supportEmptyParas]> <![endif]><o:p></o:p></span></font></span></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><span class=EmailStyle15><font size=2 color=black
face=Arial><span style='font-size:10.0pt;mso-bidi-font-size:12.0pt;font-family:
Arial'><![if !supportEmptyParas]> <![endif]><o:p></o:p></span></font></span></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><span class=EmailStyle15><font size=2 color=black
face=Arial><span style='font-size:10.0pt;mso-bidi-font-size:12.0pt;font-family:
Arial'>Batman<o:p></o:p></span></font></span></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><span class=EmailStyle15><font size=2 color=black
face=Arial><span style='font-size:10.0pt;mso-bidi-font-size:12.0pt;font-family:
Arial'>Better Living Through Telephones<o:p></o:p></span></font></span></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><span class=EmailStyle15><font size=2 color=black
face=Arial><span style='font-size:10.0pt;mso-bidi-font-size:12.0pt;font-family:
Arial'><![if !supportEmptyParas]> <![endif]><o:p></o:p></span></font></span></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><span class=EmailStyle15><font size=2 color=black
face=Arial><span style='font-size:10.0pt;mso-bidi-font-size:12.0pt;font-family:
Arial'><![if !supportEmptyParas]> <![endif]><o:p></o:p></span></font></span></p>
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