Reach Out

I remember the day, when people weren’t thrilled about keeping in touch. Remember the pager? That obnoxious little device ruined the end of movies, disrupted restaurant meals before the main course was served, and cut symphony concerts short after a few measures. They were referred to as “the world’s longest chains” by those of us, who were required to carry them for our jobs. We’d threaten to give them a swimming test. It was supposed to be a joke, but for many of us, it was just a beep away from the truth. One coworker actually dropped her pager in the toilet. She claimed it was an accident. Sure.
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Pagers are still around today, but most have been replaced by cell phones, which enjoy a far better reputation. That’s not surprising. Even the early ones provided personal benefit. I was thrilled that my first cell phone included free long distance calls. If you’d ever seen my long distance phone charges, you’d understand why. Today, of course, they do almost everything except your laundry. I don’t hear anyone joking about dropping their iPhone into the loo.