What Have Cell Phones Done to This World?!

Hi Folks,

There’s a good chance that I will piss some of you off in this newsletter. So be it….

What Have Cell Phones Done to This World?!

I was watching one of the wild card baseball playoff games the other night. I always get into baseball when there are about 30 games left in the regular season. That’s when things start getting interesting and the divisional winners and wild card teams are decided. So as much as Dixie tires of baseball 5 or 6 nights a week, I’m in front to the TV set from the middle of August till the 162nd game in September.

Now I’m a Pirates fan since my Dad knew a shortstop who played for them back in the 1950’s. I think they were drinking buddies. I had watched them just miss the divisional championship by a scoosh, so I was rooting for them all the way.

So here I am watching the wild card game between the Pittsburg Pirates and the San Francisco Giants. It’s a do-or-die situation; the winner advances, the loser goes home. There are 2 outs and 2 men on with a power batter at the plate. The game is in Pittsburg. Baumgartner is the Giants pitcher. His pitching is thus far awesome. The TV camera scans the stands between pitches and just a few rows up from the field, in what could best be described as the “not so cheap seats” here’s a guy looking at his cell phone. Then I see another and another and another. You have got to be kidding me!

You’re sitting in primo seats in a winner-take-all game, wearing Pirates regalia, and you’re more interested in your phone than the game!? Really? I’m shocked!

OK, it’s a free country, but are we so infatuated with instant communication and messaging that we can’t put the damn thing down for a few minutes to enjoy the game – and the experience? Have we as a society become so obsessed with our cell phone that everything else is subordinate? Man, I think I must be from the moon – or perhaps a much older generation.

Another example closer to home: A few weeks ago Dixie and I went over to Cincinnati for the weekend to see our daughter and her husband and, yes, our 3 grandkids. It’s about 3 1/2 to 4 hours to their house and we knew the kids had all kinds of activities that weekend so, upon arriving Friday evening, we suggested we all plan on going out to dinner Saturday night at a “nice place”. You know, white tablecloths and “foodie” food stacked in little pyramids on big, heavy plates. It would be a great chance to catch up with no disruptions, no activities, and no rush.

We show up at the restaurant on time and are seated promptly. The waiter takes our drink order and upon return our meal order. We order some appetizers, salads, the main course, and defer desert until after the meal. Dixie starts talking to one then another grandkid, I do the same with our daughter and son-in-law.

The appetizers show up and are distributed. The eating (and sharing) begin. Soon every appetizer has disappeared either onto someone’s plate and eventually someone’s mouth. The waiter, ever so professional, shows up as soon as all plates are empty and takes away the dishes. There’s a slight pause in activity so I look over to my son-in-law to resume our conversation and his head is down and looking at his phone. I look up and 2 of our 3 grandkids heads are also down looking at phones ( the third one probably forgot her phone!).

At this point do you think an old guy like me who remembers telephone party lines, TV stations that went off at midnight, cars that only had AM radios, and nights where schoolmates were prohibited from calling until homework was done – might just be a wee bit pissed off? You know the answer!

I looked around the table again and then looked at Dixie and squiggled my finger directing her eyes around the table. I was just about to open my mouth when “she who must be obeyed” gave me that “Don’t you dare say anything” look. Now after 48 + years I know when to keep my mouth shut. And I did. Until now.

Imagine if this behavior applied to everything we do. How about hunting, sitting in a stand, and texting or checking email as game passes unmolested underneath? Or fishing and missing strike after strike because you needed to finish up a text to your buddy at home. Or gardening. Or golfing (“Yea, I shot 153 but I managed to answer about 75 emails in 18 holes”). Or intimate time with your spouse (use YOUR imagination on this one).

I really do know it’s the “information age”, but gimme a break. Life is about balance. Letting your cell phone rule your life is not balanced. The word “obsessive” comes more to mind. Here’s some old guy wisdom: 98% of what we worry about doesn’t happen and the 2% that does we can’t really do anything about. I suspect that 98% of the texts, emails, or whatever is occupying one’s life on that cell phone just isn’t that important and the 2% that is can be dealt with an hour or so later.

Unique (and good) Idea: I met an older couple at the Verizon Store when I succumbed to getting a “smart” phone. I struck up a conversation and lamented how our grandkids and house guests seemed more controlled by their phone than, say, life. The couple said they have an answer for that – they kept a basket on a stand at the front door and when guests arrived they simply asked them to put their cell phone in the basket, “so we can enjoy your visit without interruption”.

By now you’re probably asking yourself, “just what does all this have to do with hunting and fishing?”

Absolutely nuttin’ honey. But it sure as hell feels good to get this off my chest. Thanks for reading. Now, since I totally neglected why we are here and what we do, please consider looking at our web site and perhaps, just perhaps, finding something you need. We’re standing by to take your order even if we (I) are more grumpy than usual!

And yes, Dixie and I now have a basket at the front door………

This week we have a fantastic deal on a game camera, as well as some exciting new saltwater rods from 13 Fishing.

Thanks to all of our great friends and customers who have supported us and passed our name on to their friends. We know we are only here by making sure your needs are our first and only priority. Please let me know if we ever fail to meet and exceed your expectations.

Tight lines,

Tom Ashby