What would I have done?

by

I’m sitting here on the tiniest plane I’ve seen in a long while on my way to the typeamom conference.

(seriously tiny plane. I will fly on anything—I love to abdicate control that way—and this thing gives *me* pause. The upside is the mixture of, uh, scents from the various & sundry foods on board is so noxious I’m pretty confident no one will notice when I crack open my beef jerky. That’s a big upside as Ren Man can attest…)

Anyway, as soon as we were all seated the pilot came on and announced that someone had left her Blackberry in the tinyterminal.

No identification on it and please to come to cockpit and claim.

No one claimed. Doors shut.

(you can guess where I’m going with this…)

As soon as the doors to the gate shut a man seated near me yanked off his ear buds & announced in a panic: I left my Blackberry in the terminal!

The stewardess came back to his seat and politely informed him that they’d announced about the Blackberry, he’d not claimed it, and the device was now back in the terminal. The doors had been shut and that was that.

He was heading to Asheville & his smartphone—-mere yards away—-was staying in Houston.

The man explained he’d not heard the announcement (there had been a few) & the stewardess explained, again, his Blackberry would be staying in Houston while we headed for Asheville.

The whole tiny plane listened to the exchanged and it was pretty clear from the looks on everyone’s faces we all felt for the man.

How many phone numbers did we have typed into our devices and not memorized.
How many ‘important’ emails did we have to read rightuptilltoldtoturnoffourdevice?
How would we fare if we knew that, potentially for days, we’d have no cell, text, little-Internet device, etc.etc.?

And, in almost a literal way, we all held our collective breath to see how he’d respond.

The man slid back into his seat, sighed, and announced:

Well I guess I’m taking a real vacationvacation now!**

Even with my focus on being far less plugged-in during non-work hours I admired his reaction.

I thought about how I’d have reacted (I even tried to lie to myself a bit & pretend Id have freaked out because of my MamaNeed to know how the Tornado was doing) and I’m not certain Id have been as, well, zen about the whole incident.

As I type this with my thumbs and mull it over yet again I’m curious if I’m alone In thinking I’d have had a panic-attack of sorts and, if I’m not, what this says about (the royal plural) me.

It’s all interesting food for thought as I head to a conference all about being plugged IN, social media, & searching for that elusive life-balance.

**By way of full disclosure the gentleman did proceed to get pretty drunk during tinyplane’s flight to N.C., but there’s always the chance that would have happened regardless….right?

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Comments

  2. I could have cared less. haha I hardly have a signal where I live and where I work. I guess my reason or excuse of location, I’m not all that plugged in and can’t be. No signal near by and I have the supposed best service provider in this area. I would miss those phone numbers but the older I get, the easier it is to get over the loss of a lot of things, especially material things.

    Have a ton of fun at your conference.

  3. If I lost my phone, I would panic. Lost is what i would be without it. I know that sounds sad, but I do like being connected. Better that I thumb my way through my blackberry than wrap my thumbs areound a double cheeseburger.

  4. I haven’t had a cell phone for two years, and I’m fine. I really like that a good chunk of my life isn’t dependent on one. And I actually do things like memorize numbers. It’s good for the brain.

  6. I know if have not been as nice as the man you describe (though I would have gotten drunk) mostly because it was right there and they wouldn’t go get it.

    Honestly I’m not sure if that makes me a crazy person….or not.

  8. I’m with screwdestiny on this one. When I’m in front of my laptop I’m on line. When I walk away from it, my life is my own and I have no need to be connected to anything other than myself and my immediate surroundings. I like it that way.

    I hope he had a truly great vacation.

  11. You KNOW I would have LOST IT!!!! (Politely) 😉 Honestly, his reaction fits his demeanor. Why? Because a TRUE “Phone-a-Holic” (As my local friends LOVINGLY refer to me) would NEVER have been without his Blackberry for a second!!!!! I know where my Blackberry and my iphone is at ALL TIMES!!!! Usually within reach!! I’ve been going to waterparks often, lately, and I have to leave my phones behind!! Its getting easier #ThereIsHOPEForeMe LOL!! Carla,ENJOY YOUR WEEKEND!!!!
    Love Ya Lots
    Monique

  12. I was thinking about this because I had to book a hotel for my hubby and I while our son does a college visit thing and I picked a Best Western with high speed internet over a B&B. If the B&B had a gym room and Internet in the living room I might have coped, but I need to be wired and be able to workout to enjoy myself

    I do admire the passenger’s reaction. I also think it shows that deep down inside we Crackberryheads know that it’s good to unplug once in a while.

  14. Ha – that’s awesome. I recently lost my phone and was without for 4 days. I loved it. Sometimes I purposefully leave my phone in the car when I go somewhere. It can be pretty interesting.

  15. I have a pretty basic phone, but it does have my contact info and calendar and is a lifeline to my kids. I would feel naked without it. But I clearly remember the days before having phones!

  16. It’s part of who we are now — of how we live. Denying that fact is unhealthy — just my opinion. When that circumstance changes, it is (should be) normal to panic — at least a little bit. Brave new world, yes….?

  17. A year or so ago I was serving jury duty and got picked for a group that was going to be chosen for a week-long sequestered jury. No TV. No email. No internet. No radio. No telephone.

    At first, I was horrified. Then I started thinking that it might be the best thing for my psyche I could possibly do. In the end, I decided it was a better idea in theory then in practice, so I glared at the defendant until you used one of his last exceptions to throw me off the jury.

    It’s tough to unplug these days…

  18. I only have a cell phone & none of the other stuff.. nit an iphone either, just one of those plain cell phones BUT I don’t remember numbers anymore due to this… like I used to. Does make you think!

  19. I know just the tinyplane you were on! It had to be U.S. Airways. I flew it recently to Ashville and almost suffocated. There is no way I could have been ANY closer to the person next to me. It was gross! But I did have my smarthphone with me….

  20. As I only know three numbers in my phone, I would have been lost! Of course, I don’t have a smartphone, so I am limited to calling and texting, but STILL!

    Hope you’re having a great time at the conference!

  21. OH I was so afraid you were going to write how the gentleman went ballistic without his gadget. But his response was fantastic! Although I’m betting he had it fed-exed once he hit pavement (and could talk without slurring) again! Enjoy the conference.

  22. All I have to say is that a quiet demeanor often belies a racing mind.

    I’m a quiet person, who was taught politeness is when you put others above yourself. So I would have slunk down in my seat and stewed for the entire flight.

    But I would have said the same thing.

  23. I love your thumbposts 😉

    I read this post this morning and pondered it today.

    My decision? I’m too plugged in.

  24. I love his response. Closest thing I did was yesterday. I left my phone in the car by accident (while at work). I decided to go 1990s retro and act like I didn’t have a cell – didn’t go claim it out of car. Just went cell-less all day . It was nice. I miss the 90’s.

  25. I suppose my reaction would depend if I was traveling for an emergency, and if I had anything vital stored on the device. (I still tote around a paper planned with all the vital info in it so if I lost my ipod the world wouldn’t have come screeching to a halt.)

    On another note, I always get stuck next to the person who gets drunk on the plane. I haven’t sat next to anyone mean and aggressive, but I have had some interesting conversations with chatty drunk travelers.

  26. I had my work blackberry with me on my two week vacation, I had taken it out of my briefcase and charged it about the 3rd night on my trip…. somewhere around the 9th nite of my trip, I couldn’t find it… I thought I had left it at a motel on the 3rd night,,,, I went into a small panic …. until I found it in my breif case.

  27. Mizfit! Yeah life balance feel elusive because it does not exsist!!! 😉 I know *you* know but we are so ingrained…
    Happy trails!
    Gina

  29. I think I’d be very zen. In reality I’d probably have a meltdown.

    Interesting story and thought provoking Miz.

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