Skip to main content

Death of The Payphone

Halfway to the grocery store I realized I'd left my cell phone on the kitchen counter.  Panicked, I looked for an easy place to turn around, but nothing was easy.  So, I made the bold decision to keep going.  Hey, I lived for years without a cell phone. Why do I need one now just to go to the grocery store? 
Pushing my cart through the aisles I was twitching. I needed that phone. What if something happens and I need to make a call?  I made it safely through the checkout without a heart attack or armed robbery, and headed back to my car... scanning for a payphone... just in case.     Nothing. 
Driving home,  I looked on every corner hoping to see my old friend, the Payphone.   I drove for blocks... looking up and down streets, in mini malls, and in gas stations until finally, outside a dilapidated liquor store, there it was.  A payphone.  
Beaten,  broken, and covered in grime, this was once the great equalizer.   Everyone, rich and poor, used this shared tool to communicate.  To call a loved one,  place a stock trade,  order more heroin.   Surely, this relic would soon be removed, and I worried that maybe we've been too quick to do away with public phones.   

I made it home safely,  cradled my phone lovingly, looked deep into its camera eye,  and swore I would never leave it behind again.

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

I was wrong about the paper

About a year ago I gave up newspapers.  Too bulky,  a waste of paper,  and I got all the news I could digest from the internet.   I love the way I can skim through articles on my smartphone. .. it's efficient and easy to access.  But on a recent getaway to a sunny spot in California,  I was reintroduced to The Paper.  And  it's better. .. lots better.  In the wake of dwindling circulation,  the LA Times has retooled, with a narrower,  easy to handle format,  a clean layout,  and what's seems to be. .. fewer ads?   In other words,  it's fantastic.  And so I did something i swore I'd never do.   I resubscribed.    Maybe,  just maybe... the tactile experience of the morning paper isn't dead.   Plus,  now if I ever need to wrap a fish,  I've got something to wrap it in.    

It's just meat, people

Well, I think I've seen it....the first sign of the apocalypse.  The earth is truly spiraling toward the sun. I was in my local grocery store and saw something I could hardly believe. It was a piece of meat, steak I guess, one piece, and the price was $15.   I mean, it's just meat, people.    They really should put these behind glass just to be safe.   They should require you to a consult a credit  consultant to be sure you're financially qualified to purchase meat.    Buy 4 or more and security will escort you to your car.    I've decided.  I'm becoming a vegetarian. 

It's just paper, people.

Paper towels make me crazy.  They're expensive, so I try hard to find the best buy when shopping.   But how can you tell which one is best?   I swear it takes a math/science wizard to calculate the best choice.   The cheap ones don't soak up as much,  so you have to use more.   The fancy ones cost more, but I probably waste them anyway.   These days,  I just try to buy the brand that's on sale, with the biggest discount.   Or... I'll examine the "unit price per square foot" sticker and pick the lowest price.   Still, I feel like these towel manufacturers are trying to trick me.  Whatever brand I schlep home, I'm pretty sure... I just got scammed.