Slightly Off KIlter

I've had a cell phone since 1986. I used it to call home when I left work (a 40-min drive) or in emergencies. Spouse got one in the early 2000s. Before we moved states, (last November) we usually had them turned off unless we were calling home (landline) or (when Smart phones came along) checking a map. People would ask "Can I get your cell phone number?" and we'd laugh and say "it won't do you any good."

 

Then we sold our house and moved from CA to WA. We still have the original landline number (tied to loyalty cards and other accounts), now attached to a Verizon Wireless Home Phone device. We each have a smart phone (Android) and we use them a LOT.

 

Driving north (in two cars) we had both phones on all the time, just to stay in touch. Once we got to Seattle we used them for the AirBNB, stores, calls to and from our realtor when we were house hunting, calls to set up utilities. In a new area, GPS is a life-saver. We take them with us when we go out so that, when (not if) we get separated in Home Depot we can find each other.

 

As far as Spam calls go, we get very few. I have a few "should I answer" apps and I watch the caller ID. If I don't recognize a number and I'm not expecting a call from a service provider, I swipe Decline. Our Voicemail is all transcribed to email through Google Voice.

 

We went from two techie programmers who dissed the idea of a cell phone to two people who love carrying a Cray equivalent (or better) in our pockets.

 

I just wish people would stop calling it a "phone". It's a mobile hand-held computer.