More Than a Phone?

Sometimes I feel old.

I was in the Verizon Wireless store after school. My phone had served me well for over two years but was no longer holding a charge. It was time for my upgrade.

Like any trip to the cell phone store, it takes FOREVER to get something accomplished. I just wanted a phone. Instead, I had to sign in at the kiosk for service. Then, I waited for about 25 minutes even though my name was first. Everyone must have been on break.

Then, my name was called. A woman told me about the phones that would be a good fit. She told me, "I am going to let this all sink in and I'll be right back with you."

I knew this to be a lie. I knew she would help another customer and it would be another 40 minutes before I saw her again.

Yep. She helped a woman who must have been signing her life away because it took FOREVER for her business to be finished. So long, in fact, that I was able to observe two fourteen year oldish girls walk from cell phone to cell phone and have the same conversation over and over. It went something like this...

Girl 1: Do you like this phone?
Girl 2: Do you like this phone?
Girl 1: It's okay if you like this phone.
Girl 2: Do you like this phone?
Girl 1: No. I just don't get this phone.

Really. Over and over they would discuss if they liked each phone. Am I missing something? What is there to like? It dials. It rings. It opens. I know there is a whole world of texting out there that I have been able to avoid on a daily basis, but I had a hard time thinking about a connection in my own 14 year old world.

I guess I would have to say that my telephone that was plugged into my wall in my bedroom would have been as important as these girls' cell phones. Granted, I did not have long discussions about whether that phone was good enough. I just felt old and grateful that I was not 14 years old.

Finally, another Verizon person came to the counter and I got my phone.