17th
Hanging Up
M, the woman who didn’t have a cell phone when you met her four-and-a-half years ago almost got an iPhone 3G today. Almost.
I was standing in the Apple store and my head was aching. I couldn’t seem to attract the attention of any of the Apple Geniuses, who all seemed frazzled and overwhelmed by the throngs of people crammed into the place. The tween to the left of me was pouting because her mom was buying her an iPod touch instead of an iPhone. A woman to the right of me was squealing because she was getting the coveted phone and her boyfriend was paying for it. A couple guys were pissed and complaining because the IPhones they bought recently aren’t getting consistent coverage. The Apple employees were blaming AT&T. And every five minutes or so, the store alarm would go off.
After about 20 minutes, I bolted.
The whole situation just made me feel old. Not old, old. But old enough to wonder whether I need another gadget, another way to plug in, turn on and cop out, as my man Gil Scott Heron put it back in the day.
Instead of wasting money and upgrading to an iPhone, I’m tempted to chuck my cell phone completely and get a home phone instead. It would take some getting used to, but the peace and quiet would be nice.
Ro
