Have you ever noticed that when some folks are sitting in a restaurant or other public place, and they are chatting on their cell phone, they speak MUCH louder than they would if their partner were there with them? Case in point...LadyRanger and I were sitting in our neighborhood, um, bistro, yeah, enjoying a bagel and a cuppa. Nice guy about our age, Irish Fisherman's sweater, sitting about 8 feet from us. Talking on his cell. Really TALKING ON HIS CELL. Having at least half of an interesting conversation:
"Y'know, you've been through a lot lately. You lost that tooth."
"....."
"When the body is under stress it responds by trying to eliminate toxins, so I'm not surprised you've been vomiting."
"..... ..... ..... ..... .....!"
"Yeah, I used to do that too, but then I got arrested twice."
"..... ..... ..... ....."
"Yeah, he's a good guy. He'll give you some prednisone."
Anyway, hard to keep a straight face through most of this. Prednisone?!? I think this is by far the most intriguing overheard conversation I've been in on. LadyRanger says it reminds her of the old Alfred Hitchcock Elevator story... Hitchcock would be alone with Friend X on an elevator. The car would stop at a floor and as the doors opened would exclaim "And there was blood! Blood everywhere!" He'd fall silent as the people shuffled onto the car, leaving them to their imaginations...
I wonder if some performance artist hasn't snagged the cell-phone idea yet. Carry around a dead phone, talking some outrageous trash into it in public, trying to provoke a response... Sit down next to the guy in the restaurant who's abusing his cell privileges, and pretend to call 911, and start describing the caller. See how long it takes him to notice. Or have half of a disturbing call: "Dude, don't put it under your chin. Easier to miss that way and just mess up your face. Put it in your mouth." pause "No dude, I'm not saying anything one way or another. This is your call."
Start something up! Get out there and be Wired and Unruly!
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