Forgot the Cell Phone

Having forgotten to bring my cell phone to work today, I feel sort of naked and helpless--what if someone needs to call me and doesn't have my work extension? What if I need to check traffic patterns while I'm on the road? What if I have to wait until I get home to see how hot it is today?

Of course, there was a time before I had a cell phone--a decade ago, as a matter of fact--and I still marvel at how I got by. Meeting someone at the airport? Better establish ahead of time where you're meeting! And if their flight is late, you have to go inside the airport to find out! If you're meeting someone while you're out, you need to use a pay phone. And if you're expecting an important call, you'd better hope they leave a message on your machine at home, which you won't know about until you're back at the end of the day.

And yet, we all seem to have survived those dark days. Not having a cell also meant you had a good excuse for why you couldn't be reached if not near a phone. Not having cells meant rude dinner companions wouldn't be able to take calls while in conversation with you, and if they wanted to be rude they'd have to whip out a book and read it while you're talking to them. Not having cells meant actually having to show up on time for something, since you couldn't just call on the fly to say you'll be late.

Still, I feel naked without the damn thing.