There Ya Go
Afew weeks ago — if memory serves — I wrote about my penchant for losing things.
Update: I still haven’t found what I have given up looking for. I figure the items will show up as randomly as they vanished.
A couple weekends ago, I had another one of those moments, but this one was even scarier.
I lost my cell phone. Again, “lost” is a subjective term. Lost, misplaced — it’s a distinction without a difference.
Imagine — your cell phone inexplicably goes missing.
I couldn’t find the darn thing Friday night, but was exhausted, so I rolled the dice and just went to bed without it. That’s like sleeping without a mattress.
So, I went through the typical phases that I find myself experiencing more and more these days:
1. Retrace my steps. I knew the last time I used my cell was for a phone interview after last Friday’s baseball game. So, I checked my office … twice. I tore my Jeep apart (it needed cleaning anyway). I went to Tara’s to check couch cushions. Then I hit my Jeep again. And then it was back to the office. I basically re-retraced my steps.
2. Give up, at least mentally. Thoughts of what to do went through my head. Go to the cell phone store and do … whatever one does in this situation? That was Plan B.
Plan A was keep looking. Needless to say, Saturday morning was a tough one.
I temporarily called off my working plans, because without my phone (and remember, no recoder, either), I had no way of recording an interview.
3. Go back home, because it has to be there. Has to. It wasn’t in my office, wasn’t in my Jeep, wasn’t at Tara’s, and I didn’t go anywhere between that phone interview and home.
I was cautiously optimistic that my phone had to be at home. I swore it was. I thought I remembered using it to turn on my TV Friday night, but choosing instead to just use my remote control.
4. Check pockets. Yes, I had a jacket on Friday to cover golf and baseball. I had taken it off and draped it over a kitchen chair. Maybe it was there? Wait, but I checked it Friday night. Didn’t I?
Yes, I did, and all I could feel was the battery pack used to heat my jacket. That was near one pocket. But as we all know, coats and jackets have two pockets. So, with more sweat dripping down my face, I checked the pocket opposite that batter pack.
You got it, it was there. What a relief. Here’s the thing about cell phones. Like it or not, we need them, not just for our own need to call or text someone; that’s a two-lane highway. We need them because that’s how others reach out to us. In the history of human life, the lines of communication have never been this open, so it gave me solace that I didn’t miss a call or a text. For better or for worse, everyone has my number; many use it to call me for paper-related business. And I don’t like missing a beat if I can help it.
And what about emergencies? What if my daughter needed me? What if Tara had something pressing to tell me? Cell phones are both a blessing and a curse.
Whenp you can find them.
