Cell Out!

Here's a double shock. I took my phone to school today and I forgot it there! This is from March 11, 2013.
I'm no physicist but by my careful calculations, the 21st century began 4,819 days ago. (You might beg to differ if you take the position, which I respect, that this century actually began in 2001 rather than 2000.) Two days ago, I took the huge step of joining this century myself. On Saturday, March 9, at approximately 3:00 PM CST, I became the owner of an AT+T LG Xpression Phone. I'm not going to lie to you; owning a cell phone was on my list of things I would never do. You know, use a computer, get a digital camera, own a laptop, buy a new car, etc. (I do need to clarify something. Five years ago when my father had a stroke, some very nice anonymous person bought me a pre-paid cell where you add minutes by the month and I greatly appreciate it. I simply only used it when traveling and for emergencies, not knowing the number, and I would go a month at a time without using it. It did show me the value of being able to communicate at all times!)

My big step took some prodding. It began bothering me that I was paying for a land line that I seldom used, along with putting minutes every three months on a pre-paid phone that I seldom used. Lisa, the  amazing manager of our WCS Wildcat Store and the mother of one of my players, has been strongly encouraging me to go the modern route for a year now. So, two days ago with her wonderful daughters, Chloe and Jenna, in tow, Lisa met me at a local AT+T outlet and helped me pick out a phone and negotiate a plan for the next two years. I then accompanied the family to their home where Lisa gave me a beginner's usage course and her  very patient husband, John, programmed music onto the phone, primarily Neil Young and The Beatles if you're inquisitive. After three plus hours with Lisa and her clan, I stepped out the door into a brave new world. I'm not sure I'm ready.

I've already found out how little I know. For example, it took me five minutes this afternoon to open the side slot to plug in the charger. I'm not sure how to check my messages which are probably few as this is a  brand new number. And, while cancelling my land line today, I found out that some things that I was told at the AT+T store were not true anymore, like the ability to combine bills. I also, because I asked, discovered that my Internet bill will go up by seven dollars a month to $40 in October as a result of my dropping the land line which I can't understand because they are offering it for $19.95 per month to customers without a land line. I checked that, too. (Let me say that everyone whom I dealt with at AT+T was extremely courteous, both over the phone and in person.) I don't yet know what changes this will make in my life. My brother, Dave, lives on his phone but my other brother, Scott, only uses his to talk. I'll be like Scott to begin with, no Internet and no texting. Paul told us that we become new creatures when we are in Christ. That's a good thing. No, The Best Thing!! I can't say for sure what changes will come into my life now that I am modernized but I pray all will be for the better; that this phone will somehow help me in my walk with the Lord; that I'll be better connected with those I love; that this is one device I won't misplace and leave lying around carelessly. Well, to quote Meatloaf, 'two out of three ain't bad.' Call me.

Applicable quote of the day, # 1

"Nature's what it's all about, but our people have been brainwashed into thinking that life is a cell phone against your head and the TV on a beer commercial with hot chicks.”
― Tim Dorsey, Nuclear Jellyfish

Applicable quote of the day, # 2

“It's easier for a rich man to ride that camel through the eye of a needle directly into the Kingdom of Heaven, than for some of us to give up our cell phone.”
― Vera Nazarian, The Perpetual Calendar of Inspiration

God bless,
Steve
Luke 18:1

www.hawleybooks.com

E-mail me at steve@hawleybooks.com