![\"landline\"](\"https:\/\/fromabirdseyeview.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/07\/landline-150x150.jpg\")
<\/a>It has come to my attention, somewhat startlingly, that I have\u00a0become a Luddite. \u00a0According to a recent Pew poll, \u00a0as of\u00a0\u00a0the end of\u00a02015 49% of household in the U.S. don’t have a landline telephone<\/strong>.\u00a0 That’s an amazing number.\u00a0 I shouldn’t be surprised, given that a good many of my family members are part of that 49%.\u00a0 I’ve always thought of myself as fairly tech savvy, given my age and all.\u00a0 I pour over the reviews of new phones and computers, I browse the Best Buy ad<\/strong> on Sunday to see the latest gadgets, and I know how to do Ctrl\/Alt\/Delete to get me out of most computer problems.\u00a0 Heck, I worked directly for the CIO of a major corporation and often received the “samples” of new equipment left with him by eager tech companies.\u00a0 So this revelation of a cell phone centric society<\/strong> came as a shock and one, I might add, with which I totally disagree.\u00a0 My opinion has only been strengthened in the past month when we were in a rental house and dependent solely on the cell phone.<\/p>\nBefore I launch into my defense of landlines I readily admit that I also love my cell phone<\/strong>.\u00a0 I’m constantly on it to check email, Facebook, the stock market, and the weather.\u00a0\u00a0Oh yeah, and once in a while I actually use it as a phone.\u00a0 \u00a0So although I am old enough to remember plug-in switchboards<\/strong> at my first job, I do realize that having a mobile device is a marvelous thing.\u00a0 I just don’t think it should be the only<\/em> thing.\u00a0 Here’s why:<\/p>\n Convenience<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n I have nine telephones in my house so no matter what room I’m in, there is a phone nearby<\/strong>.\u00a0 But, you say, the cell phone is always with you.\u00a0 Yes, and that’s a good argument for some people.\u00a0 People who have pockets.\u00a0 Having only a cell phone over the past month caused me to realize something –\u00a0I own several objects of clothing that are without pockets<\/strong>.\u00a0 My nightgown, for example.\u00a0 I know of some women that stick their cell phone in their bra<\/strong> but that brings back rather gruesome memories of when I worked as a teller at a bank.\u00a0\u00a0I had “regulars” who\u00a0would waddle up to the window, reach down into their sweaty cleavage<\/strong>, and hand me a wad of bills that were as limp as yesterday’s fish.\u00a0 And smelled worse. So, far be it from me to ever do that with my phone.\u00a0 I suppose I could simply hold\u00a0it in my hand but somehow I can’t see myself as one of those women who walk around\u00a0with a death grip on their phone as if it’s\u00a0the winning<\/strong> Powerball ticket. <\/strong>\u00a0I’m just klutzy enough that I like to keep my hands available for those times I trip over the bath mat.<\/p>\n Do Not Disturb<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n The real problem with the cell phone-only lifestyle is being disturbed because people can literally reach you anywhere<\/strong> – shopping, at the movies, at the gynecologist’s office.\u00a0 Conversely, if someone calls me on my landline and I don’t answer\u00a0they know I’m out doing something.\u00a0<\/em>\u00a0They leave a message and I call them back AT MY CONVENIENCE.\u00a0\u00a0I can’t\u00a0count the number of times I’ve received calls on my cell when I’m on the golf course, in meetings, and\u00a0God forbid, the bathroom<\/strong>.\u00a0 My wish to not be disturbed is also the reason I charge my phone in the opposite side of the house from the bedroom. Once I go to bed, that’s it.\u00a0 Occasionally\u00a0I\u00a0hear my cell phone ring but\u00a0 I never get up to look at it.\u00a0 Experience has taught me that certain members of my family are prone to drunk dialing.<\/strong>\u00a0 Oh sure, they apologize the next day and blame it on butt dialing but I’m not buying it.\u00a0 When’s the last time someone butt dialed you from a\u00a0landline phone?<\/p>\n I admit to\u00a0occasional use of my cell phone in the car.\u00a0 I have a Bluetooth connection<\/strong> so I’m hands-free and I do find it convenient to return a call or make a quick call if I don’t have time to do it before I leave the house.\u00a0 But most of the time I save my calls for home\u00a0because frankly, even after all these years, cell phone reception is horrible<\/strong>.\u00a0 There’s still that awkward pause where you have to ensure that the person you’re speaking with is done or you cut them off, and vice versa.\u00a0 But worst of all is a cell phone conversation when BOTH parties are using Bluetooth in the car.\u00a0 The clarity of the call is about what I had as a kid with a tin can and piece of string<\/strong>.\u00a0 Mostly it’s garbled, cuts out, and is distracting.\u00a0 Sometimes the reception at home isn’t any better.\u00a0 Like many people, some parts of our house get better reception than others and in our rental house last month there were whole rooms where there was no service at all.<\/p>\n So for me, I’m sticking with my landline.\u00a0 Perhaps I will become one of those gray-haired old ladies<\/strong> that gets invited to speak at the local library about life in the olden days when phones were actually attached to walls.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" By\u00a0Suzanne Sparrow Watson It has come to my attention, somewhat startlingly, that I have\u00a0become a Luddite. \u00a0According to a recent Pew poll, \u00a0as of\u00a0\u00a0the end of\u00a02015 49% of household in the U.S. don’t have a landline telephone.\u00a0 That’s an amazing … read more![\"money](\"https:\/\/fromabirdseyeview.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/07\/money-in-bra-150x150.jpg\")
<\/a><\/p>\n![\"cell](\"https:\/\/fromabirdseyeview.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/07\/cell-phone-in-car-150x150.png\")
<\/a>Are You Still There?<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n