RUMINATION #1- CELL PHONES IN THE WRONG HANDS

Are you excited? Here it is, the first blog entry!

My first rumination is about the use and abuse of communications technology... a topic appropriate for an internet blog I suppose. No, I'm not referring to moral and ethical issues like sex, religion, politics, hate literature or even telemarketers! I'm talking about people using communications devices in public places!

Have you ever been walking down the street while someone passes by, apparently talking to themselves, or  maybe even talking to you (even though you don't have a freakin' clue who they are), only to discover that they were wearing a hands-free head set. Do you really believe that their conversation is so important that it couldn't wait until they arrived at home or at the office? Walk closely behind them and listen in on their call; odds are they were having a personal (and often unnecessary) conversation. And young women are the worst offenders. My favourites are girls walking from their house to a friend's house two blocks away, with a cell phone plastered to their head talking to the friend as if they can't withhold their enthusiasm for 5 minutes until they arrive there! What the heck are they going to talk about when she gets to her friend's place......oh right, women always seem to be able find a topic of discussion ;p. Frankly, I'm always amazed that more of these people are not run over by a car when they walk along in their little imaginary world, oblivious to the traffic buzzing around them!

Although these people can be a bit disturbing, they pale in comparison to the "public transportation PITA" who insists on having a loud personal cell conversation on a bus, while everyone else is quietly reading or listening to their I-Pods. Or the "checkout line self-important chatters" who continue (or even worse, start) a cell phone conversation while they go through the cash...... with the poor store clerk trying to determine if the individual's comments are directed at them or at the person at the other end of the phone! There are many more of these types whose disregard for others around them ranges from rude to dangerous to a total lack of respect (I'll save "respect for others" in general for another day).

The bottom line is respect. We do have to share this planet with a few billion others, so one might think we have some sort of obligation to be respectful and considerate of others. Treat others the way you would want to be treated....a very basic, simple rule that has disappeared in modern "me first" society. If you do, you will be pleasantly surprised how well people will treat you in return. If you don't, well I can't be responsible for what may happen when you finally push some poor person over the edge and they grab the cell from your hand, drop it on the ground and joyfully smash it to smithereens with the heel of their shoe.....

Food for thought.