Faux Cell Phone

People are funny. I was just in the elevator at work and both people standing in there next to me were glued to their cell phones. Neither of them ever looked up as we rode the elevator together or even acknowledged each other's presence. What happened to the friendly nod or hello to your fellow human beings? I admit that I have relied on my cell phone at times of boredom or when I am waiting for something just to amuse myself but it seems like people aren't personable anymore towards each other. And yes, I am one of those people that if I am traveling on a plane alone, I will put in my headphones immediately (even if they aren't connected to anything) just so I don't have to talk to the person I am stuck sitting next to. I get it. But ease up a bit on the cell phone usage people! It reminded me when I was in high school when cell phones first came out and if you had one, then you were the coolest kid ever. Even though I was pretty popular anyways, I still wanted to up my coolness with a cell phone. And in my case, it was a faux cell phone.

My brother-in-law Jon was one of those first cool people to have a cell phone and when he got an upgrade, he gave me his old one to activate and use. Well, of course I didn't have the money to activate it and use it but I still wanted it to look like I had a cell phone so I carried it around with me. It was a huge brick that didn't even work and I thought it would make me look cool? Wow! At my high school, the driveway leading in and out was about a half a mile long and when the bell rang to let students out of their last class, we would all get in our cars and wait in traffic to leave the grounds. It's similar to what I do now everyday on the 10 Freeway in LA leaving work. Anyways, sometimes the cute boy would end up being behind you in his car or while you were waiting to leave school, some of the older kids would be coming back for practice and would pass you while you were waiting in the line of cars. So, of course I had to look like I had a lot of important people to talk to that just couldn't wait until I got home, so I would hold up the brick of a cell phone and talk. Yup, I talked to myself while holding the cell phone to my ear to make it look like I was actually on it. I can't even imagine now what I would say out loud to myself while 'talking' on the phone but it should have gone something like this: "I am a big loser!"