Just Another Writer

My cell phone minutes climbed to over 6,000 last month (a record for me), as Verizon now offers an unlimited calling plan. As I no longer have to watch the minutes I use on a monthly basis, I can talk to anyone for as long I wish. In fact, I’m talking so much on my cell each day that I often think I just might run out of things to say. But, there’s always something more to say and of course, there are follow-up calls to just about every initial call, as when a call falls into the call waiting queue, I will always end up telling the current caller to “let me know what happens” as my way of letting them know - our time is up. I then start fumbling with the buttons in the hope that I can click the “send” button quick enough in order to take the next call before it sends it into voicemail.

I recently watched a segment on CNN, which speculates that excessive cell phone use may lead to brain tumors. The CNN piece got me thinking and paranoia clicked in. I noticed that my cell phone is always hot to the touch and I started imagining radio wave coursing through my brain with each and every call.

Can radio waves cause headaches? I seem to remember that my bout with headaches has increased over the past few months. In order to confirm my suspicions, I immediately checked my medicine cabinet and lo and behold found one small and one extra-large bottle of Advil. I figured that this was the confirmation I needed to go out and buy a Bluetooth.

Just how many minutes on the cell does it take to fry your brain? No idea, but, I wasn’t taking any chances and went the Bluetooth route.

Now, the Bluetooth is pretty slick in design, however, I have one problem with it and that’s the stares I get from people in the supermarket and at the mall. At times, I feel like a complete idiot wearing it in public. I can now hear people’s thoughts and when I get a curious stare I can hear people thinking - beam that one up to the mother-ship:-) No doubt, this is my imagination working overtime and if I feel a wee bit uncomfortable (in public) with this “thingy” sticking out of my ear. Sometimes, I can be standing in a check-out line at Target and find myself whispering into my Bluetooth, however, people will turn to me and say “excuse me?” as if I’m talking too loud or worse, to myself. In fact, I find myself raising my voice on the Bluetooth, as I think the volume of my voice has to be raised to keep that connection loud and clear between my Bluetooth and the cell tucked away in my pocket.

When I get too uncomfortable with my public display of Star Trek (lookalike) technology, I retire it into my pocket until I get back into the car or, better yet, into the non-judgemental confines of my home.  However, when my cell phone rings in between my race from the check-out line (the point of Bluetooth disconnect) and the dash to the car, I’ll still answer my cell but, hold it far away from my ear, which makes me look like I have some type of “can you hear me now” reception problem. 

At home, I walk around with the “thingy” in my ear for most of the day and feel a sense of independence from those dangerous radio waves. It’s been a few weeks since Bluetooth came into my life and my headaches have decreased dramatically. I feel more comfortable in public, as I see others in places like Borders and Barnes & Noble walking around with a “thingy” in their ear. I can hear them whispering into their Bluetooth in between ordering a Latte or browsing the aisles. I have now added Barnes & Noble and Borders to my Bluetooth “safe points”. In fact, on my last visit to Borders I found even more Bluetooth aficionado’s in full whisper-mode and this just confirmed what I thought all along, spare yourself the tumor and get a Bluetooth!