We ventured into the world of high tech when we got caller ID This doesn’t mean I won’t answer when someone calls, but there’s a good chance of that.

I resisted those telephone gimmicks for years, but I finally gave in. Things were getting to the point where I felt like a human answering machine.

The customer service representative sensed I wasn’t used to a lot of frills on my phone. He pulled up our file and said, “You really have been basic over the years haven’t you?”

I didn’t tell him what drove me to caller ID, but I think he could tell. It wasn’t just the telemarketers, either.
Even friends and family were calling quite often. (My wife’s friends and family.)

I have friends, too. But not very many. That’s understandable, I guess.

My family isn’t very talkative, either. I was talking with my brother this spring. And when we finished our visit we hung up.
“How can you do that?” my wife asked. “You must have more than that to talk about.”

“Not really,” I said. “I found out they got the corn planted. I’ll call back in the fall to see if they got it harvested.”

I blame a lot of today’s chatter on the proliferation of cell phones. The last time I traveled by airplane most of the folks in the airport were talking on their cell phones.

Many of them were telling someone they just arrived at an airport, were just leaving an airport, or they just sat on a French fry. I can remember the days when we only called if a flight was late. Now people call to describe which seat they’re in.

What did folks do before they had cell phones? They found a real phone to call on, or realized they didn’t need to call in the first place.

I remember my dad talking about one of the local guys when I was a kid. This man had a two-way radio in his car, and his wife had one in the house.

Every evening folks who had scanners would hear this fellow coming home from work.

“I’m just south of town near the old, round barn,” he’d say.
A minute or so later, he would call again. “Now I’m crossing the railroad tracks. I should be home in about two minutes.” (Talk about useful information.)

Now everyone has a cell phone with unlimited long distance and a jillion free minutes. For some reason they feel a need to use up their minutes. I don’t know why people consider these free minutes. There’s no such thing as free minutes or a free lunch. They paid for those calls, and now the rest of us are paying, too.

Readers with questions or comments for Roger Pond may write to him in care of this publication.