Phone Home

Trevor, Nora, and Tino

Yesterday was graduation day, but what was remakable was how much we used cel phones. I think every individual had and used their cel phone.

When I got to Trevor's house, no one answered the door. I wondered if I had the wrong time or rendevous point. I'd have to go home and check my email, but then I remembered I had a cel phone with me and called him, leaving a message. Turns out he was shaving and didn't hear the front door...

Then coordinating two families (Trevor's and his girl friend Nora's) and fellow travelers, and sub-groups of car loads, and sub-sub groups of drivers and passengers, meeting up, breaking up into other groups, meeting up again, breaking up again, and meeting up again was only possible because of the phones.

I've never used my cel phone so much. At one point I turned it off as I was missing the graduation ceremony and it was getting to be too much. Janet, who is mostly blind, uses her phone a lot. She even called Trevor to see what silverware she could use at his house to eat dinner with (she's Seventh Day Adventist and observes the Sabbath; no mass transportation, no restaraunts, etc., and stayed home while we all went out to celebrate). She called me nine times between the time I dropped them off at graduation and the time I hooked up with them there. I couldn't figure out how to block her calls. She was trying to give me directions to where they were sitting but, being mostly blind, didn't know where she and Tino were or see any landmarks, etc.

"We're at the bottom." Only a few thousand people to look through.

But being blind (and partially deaf) with a big fat tumor in her head, I can see how a phone would be a very useful crutch. Very helpful, especially if you feel isolated.

My phone use yesterday:

• In lieu of ringing the doorbell
• To hook up with Elliot and then later Tino and Janet at the graduation
• To let Robin know what time we would pick him up for dinner
• To see if Trevor was home after the graduation where we hung out and waited for those going to Burlingame before dinner
• To let Robin know we were outside in the car waiting for him to go to dinner

I also used my camera phone and played Bejewelled while I was waiting.

Really came in very useful. I hate it.