Sunday, April 22, 2012

One Ringy Dingy


Yesterday I had to purchase a new cell phone, Keith calls it a mobile I like that better, it sounds more like what it is....and now I own this model of mobile.  (photo from Bing) Nope I didnt get one of those touchy touch screens and I have to share this story...recall a few weeks back when I told you my sister and I came across a lost angler while we were hiking in the Chattahoochee National Forest? Well we found him hopelessly separated from his friends and scared to death....we helped him find his vehicle in the end but the funny thing was this:
I HAVE a very old Cell mobile phone..a motorola, flip top... it does nothing except make and receive calls and it will text.  Well the battery got to the point it will not hold a charge and I was told they dont make mobile phone batteries, just mobile phones, SO A new phone would have to be purchased...I was able to find what i imagine is the last flip top available now...although it has a lot more Bells n whistles like it has a camera....GREAT now i can pocket dial and take photos at the same time......I dont like the new flat screen touchy things...dont like the size of em, they're too sleek, slim and  awkward!  I pick one up and immediately it slides right out my hand while I juggle it and cause it go flying across the room....my clumsy fingers need some Texture to hang onto..But I see everyone who is a mobile geek using these Star Trek reminiscent devices so I have a clue how to use it,  Ive seem the owners--- touch them, dragging imagery across the screen, and poking at it with the tips of their fingers.

....but  back to the lost hiker...well previous to us finding this poor guy in the woods wandering around lost, my sis and I made the drive up from her home about an hr away.  As we drove she told me she didnt have my mobile number saved in her Blackberry...so she handed it to me and asked me to put my mobile number in her phone and save it...OKAY..
so I start touching the screen, and nothing happened...I touched, slid, swooped, and poked  my finger on the little icons on the screen and NADA...so she starts to laugh LOUDLY...
"OH Its not a touch screen its the older model of Blackberry, you have to use the keypad." OHHHH ok I can do that its more like mine...just no flip top its smooth and brightly lit but has actual buttons to push SO eventually i get my number in there..and fumble it back to her drop it on the floor of the car, retrieve it and finally its done, now in the old days I could have written my number on a piece of paper in about 3 seconds flat.....not the probably 15 minutes it took me to insert my number into her BLackBerry..
WHEW...

....now back to the lost angler turned hiker, the first thing he wanted to know is do we have our Cell  mobile phones on us, ....uhhhhhh    NO, why bother no reception up there in the woods...and he had left his in the truck, why bother to lug it to the Chattagoo River when he trekked down there with his fishing gear???

...when we finally hiked back to our car he wanted to try the mobile to see if he could call his buddies and have them tell him where the trucks were parked..but one BIG PROBLEM, he said,
"OH I have an iPHone, dont know how to use this Blackberry..LOL".... he is used to the touch screen....SO when I reached to get it back, fumbled it to the floor and finally retrieved it and handed it to my sister who knows how to operate it and while SHE drove on the curvey mtn road she would dial the number on the Cell mobile phone for him!! OMG, can we say PULL OVER?

... she asked for the buddies phone number...and GUESS what -----he didnt know it!! HE realized nowadays no one memorizes phone numbers we have them programmed in our mobiles and cordless home phones...SO he didnt know the number.  The only number he could recall was his step mom's phone numbers back in Georgia, (we are in SC) so my sister dialed and eventually as we drove to the top of the mtn he got some reception bars on the phone and the call went thru..

WELL since the step mom didnt recognize the name or number on the caller ID of her phone she didnt Answer the phone!! ( she probably had a T-Mobile or Sprint Phone...lol)
...he had hopes that she had his friends number in her phone and he could get the number via her, call the friend, who could hopefully tell him which road their trucks were parked on...SO she didnt answer and he also tried step mom at her home phone and no answer there...
DARN...
Meanwhile we gave up the whole idea of calling and just stated looking at road turn offs that may lead down to the river and thats how we eventually hit the right gravel road and found his truck and his friends trucks too...YEAH he was back...he got his mobile out, tried to call his friend to tell him he had been lost in the woods for the past 2 hrs and he was NOT down on the river bank where they possibly thought he was, but NO service on the phone..SO he said he would wait by the trucks,,,I suggested he blow the truck horn to get their attention.

WE Left...back at home an hr after our arrival my sister got a call on her mobile phone...IT was the step mom back in GA....when she got home and saw the same strange number show up on her caller ID that had tried to call her Mobile Phone..she got worried and called back to see who and what was going on...we told her that her step son had been lost in the woods and we had found him and let him try to call for his friends number, with my sisters phone, but got no anwer...She said she did see the call come in but chose not to answer!!

SO It is in the digital age, we are so well connected BUT NOT...we all had phones, and each was a different technology that the others couldnt use and were unfamiliar with... none of the phones had service when we needed it and when finally the very technology that no one wants to be without got service for the call to go through--- the person who we called and could have assisted with help used the very same technology---- to ignore the call..SO with the technology, and money for buying the motorola, the blackberry, the iphone and the monthly bills associated with the phones,,,,,,THEY... were not worth Jack when we really needed them to work... and we all know Jack!!

SO thats the story and now I have a new phone its an LG-its very sleek and Ive dropped it already a couple of times, and I've programmed in the numbers of all my family and friends and I just hope when the time comes that I actually NEED the dang thing it will WORK and hopefully by then I will have learned how to use it...

Over the weekend my same sister came down to visit me..we went antiquing and had lunch...a we browsed the shelves and stalls of old antiquated stuff I overheard a youngster ask her grandmother 'what is that" and the grandmother replied, "thats a rotary phone." the grand daugher asked "does it text?" And all Grandmother did was laugh quite loud, "NOPE" she said you have to put your finger in those little holes and dail it....like this

WOW we've come a long way wonder whats next?
oh gotta go my phone is ringing...lol yeah its on Speaker PHONE ~~~~~yahoo!! It tells me the number calling, Let me see If Im gonna answer or NOT, OH NO WAY dont know who the heck that is...hope it wasnt YOU!! hahaha


PEACE

15 comments:

  1. Oh the trials of the digital age!!! Your story would seem far fetched if it wasn't so true.

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    1. LOL Ya know it does seem a bit korny, to me the whole thing was outrageous, that between the 3 of us, we got no where with the new technology.

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  2. Hey Sondra...Had me laughing all the way ... not exactly funny,just so true ; } The way you tell it makes it laughable!!! : }}

    I just love that these dang things don't always have reception, and it is in places that you would wish this marvelous invention would be very handy to have : }} lol!!
    Grace

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    1. Exactly....WHY cant they work when we need them...lol WHEN we are within walking distance of a break down there is plenty of reception, and when we are MILES from help...they are useless.

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  3. Well, just see if I call you again ;>)))))! You told this story so hilariously Sondra and it is so true....I love this post. Honestly when I think of all the new stuff we've seen in the last few years (few being relative) I wonder what my grandkids will see by the time they're my age. Boggles the mind. (that guy sure was lucky you and your sister happened by.)

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    1. HAHAHA...well it sure comes in handy when you dont want to talk right..lol

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  4. Definitely one of your best posts... laughed quite a bit.. Growing up I always hated dialing phone numbers with a lot of "0"s cuz it took so long for the dial to return. I have a major love/hate with my iphone, but my boss pays the bill so I can't argue with that!

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    1. LOL...yeah I had a rotary phone in my old shop right up until I closed it in 2001, it was a problem when the phone menus started and I had TO PUSH 1 or 2...I couldnt push anything...lol

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  5. What an adventure Sondra! I am still laughing. Yep...cell phones don't work in the mountains (I found that out the hard way).
    I hate my cell phone but it is better than having no phone.

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    1. Guess I should have said "can you hear me now?" very annoying device eh? I ONLY pull mine out for the quick, Meet you at 3 call or the "HEY I need a tow"..call.

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  6. What a great post Sondra, had tears rolling down my face.
    Modern technology lol

    All my numbers are in my 'touchy' type phone, and they're all written down on paper too. I don't trust modern that much! lol
    Yea, great post!
    Glad you managed to help the bloke eventually :-)

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    1. Keith, the sales lady who helped me replace my phone tried to bring me to the Future with a touchy screen...in fact she pulled her own out of her pocket and tried to seduce me with its features..but I held strong and got the oldest fashioned one in the store...I kinda felt like I was wearing Grannie shoes ya know, but she warned me I was only falling behind with Technology..

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  7. What a great story Sondra! I was there with you! It reminded me of one of those recurring dreams where I am desperately trying to connect to a number but whatever I do the number just won't come out right and connect. I do think since we all started carrying mobiles (when I hear people from your part of the world talking about cell phones it always sounds to me like a phone you might use in a prison cell!!) it makes our journeys much safer and Im sure many endangerd lives have been saved because of them. I certainly wish I had had mine in my pocket when I got locked in the garden shed!!! last year (I hope that's not you I can hear laughing!!) it would have saved a very embarrassing twenty minutes of shouting to attract help!

    There is a little bit of me which would secretly like an iPhone but I can't honestly justify paying that much money. My husband replaced his ancient mobile last week after it finally gave up the ghost. His new one cost just £2.95!!!!....i'm not sure what that is in American money but I can tell you it's not much! He said he didn't see the point of paying a lot of money for bells and whistles when all he wants is to make calls and send the odd text.

    Anyway, I thoroughly enjoyed this post Sondra nd I'm so glad you were able to help the angler, he could have been there for a very long time...

    Still sending peaceful and positive thoughts :-)

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    1. Thank you Jan,,,,,OH YOU LOCKED YOURSELF IN THE SHED...that must have been scarey! I can say I always enforce the rule that Mom at age 87 has to keep hers in her pocket when she is home alone, even if its only an hr. just in case something weird like that should happen. The phone I bought was very cheap...like $15.00

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  8. Hi there. This is Kelly on behalf of AT&T. Loved reading your post! With all the technology in the world today, it's amazing how solid the home phone still is. With AT&T home phone service, you're even connected when the power is out! Plus, they provide peace of mind with youngsters, as 911 responders will know your exact location when you call from the home phone.

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