Travel Triptych (Part 2): In praise of cell phones

About 10 years ago I wrapped meetings across the country on a Friday and a Monday into a weekend away. The need to stay up on possible developments in a client matter in the midst of sight-seeing kept me sensitive to pay phones I passed on my day in the hills.

Checking in on a regular schedule did not meet the expectations of the client and, unable to get me at a particular moment’s notice, so when I returned on Tuesday he fired me. That afternoon I got a cell phone. I have carried it (and its successors) ever since.

More than a line, it has become a net. It catches me up when I am running behind, it puts me on the scene when the flight has been cancelled and it cuts through the clutter of the days noise. Even though it can be intrusive (that’s what the vibrate setting is for) and anxiety-provoking (waiting for the phone to ring evokes Wes Craven-like fear), it is only a device. We can choose to use it or abuse it (and those around us).

As I think about the fellow who fired me 10 years ago, I wonder if he knows the long-term positive effect he has had on the way I live. Connected.