I Don't Need a Cell Phone

Vintage style

I've had a cell phone off-and-on, since, well, since my first one back in 1997 or '98. I didn't use it all that much then, either. Sometimes I go days without even remembering to turn my phone on. Almost all of my communication is done through either email or Facebook, so my phone gets used only when I'm out, which is seldom, anyway. I'm kind of a homebody these days...

Actually, I'd love a '70s wall phone. You know the one. The yellow one with the long curly cord that stretches all the way into the living room? Yeah, that was a phone! I'd prefer the older model with the rotary dial, but that's not feasible, so the push button model would have to do.

But, really, I've never been a telephone person. I detest talking on the phone and I don't like being "on call" every minute of the day. Even as a teenager I hated the phone, but I always had that one friend who'd call and want to sit hour after hour saying absolutely nothing at all. What a waste of time. Fortunately, we were on a party line, so I could beg off using that as an excuse.

Lynette is on an unlimited plan, but I pay as I go, seldom with more than 200 minutes on my phone at the start of the cycle. By the end of the month, I'm usually down only about 45 minutes, and those are almost always used up with texting, which I don't engage in very often, either. Most of my friends have gotten tired of being sent to my voice mail because my phone's always off, so they don't call me anymore, and we text only if we're trying to arrange a get-together of some sort. So you see? I really don't need a cell phone, and I often play with the idea of getting rid of it altogether.

I must be part of an almost non-existent, dying breed.