Thursday, November 12, 2009

Ring, Ring

That awful sound. Or is it? The phone is something that has expanded so far from it's original design. It is a great way to bring people together or drive you mad with people (and machines) trying to sell you something, ask for donations, or take a survey ("really, it will only take a few minutes of your time") Yeah, right!!.

I'm sure it has saved many lives as well as caused some people to lose their sanity. I find myself with a love -hate relationship with it. I treasure the ability to quickly get in contact with people I know and love, and yet that ring frequently gets on my last nerve.

Let's talk about rings (or should I say ring tones). Giving each person or place it's own special ring allows you to ignore it or run for it. Answering machines can also be a heaven sent thing. If you don't like what you are hearing, you just hit that erase button. Oh what a relief that is.

In my frequent treasure hunts (aka flea markets and yards sales) I came across a very old phone book. The numbers were a combination of rings, not actual numbers. Reading it was like a trip to the past and included many rules of phone use. For instance, it was considered rude to ask the operator to look up the number for you. They are much too busy for that. You couldn't play music near the phone as this may cause people not to hear the conversation. Don't ever get caught listening in on someone elses conversation as this would be a five dollar fine (a huge amount back then) and your phone service would be suspended until it was paid. Children were never, Ever, supposed to use the phone. This was for adults only.

Anyway, as always, there has to be a poem of some sort. This is from a friend's view. I must admit, I share a lot of his feelings.

Ring, Ring

An instrument for destruction
Of my peace of mind.
I lived without it for many years
And did without it fine.
Circumstances played a hand
And it slithered into my life.
Damn thing never seems to shut up.
I might as well have a wife.
There seems to be a mental block
When it's time to pay my bill.
So many other things come first
Like books and beer and girls.
So every so often, I once again
Have peace and quiet and then
I pay the bill and my life departs
To the nether regions, my friend.

Don't even get me started on cell phones
They should all be piled and burned.
Or dig a deep hole and drop a bomb.
It's only what they deserve.
The idiots that don't understand
How rude they are to me
When they answer their phone
while I'm right here.
It was me they came to see.
It could be a way to strengthen the pool
Of genes when they take themselves out.
By talking when driving or crossing the street.
Makes me want to scream and shout.

I must admit, they have their place
For emergencies and such.
A way for people to find each other
When they've been out of touch.
It does have it's uses
But that's not saying much.

I leave you now to go to sleep
And if you call, good luck
I'm going to that wretched thing
And turn the ringer off.

17 comments:

  1. lol. love the poem. so rude when people answer and hold an entire conversation right in front of you. would love to get a look at those rules...bet they are pretty funny compared to today! happy tt!

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  2. Great poem and thanks so much for the one you wrote regarding my lost tea post, too. Have a lovely day!

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  3. Great post, great poem. I know what you mean about the love/hate relationship we have with phones. During my years of deafness I wasn't sure whether I missed them dreadfully or felt that I had received a blessed release.

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  4. That was freakin' HILARIOUS! You captured this person's opinions -- I could almost say "RantZ" -- so well! Gee, I wonder whom you based that character on...

    Do you still have that old phone book? I remember it well; it was quite entertaining.

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  5. As much as I hate cellphones, I always have to have it! lol The new drug.

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  6. Definitely a love hate relationship. There should be stringent rules in relation to mobile phones as well. There's always some loud mouth on the bus exposing their private life for all to hear . . far too much information. A necessary evil unfortunately. Mine is really just a receiver for kidlets. I hardly ever make phone calls. I'm a bit tragic like that!

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  7. Fun post! I have taken to turning my phone to "silent" at night, sick of it ringing with text updates and other pap at 2 AM!

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  8. I'm with you and your friend on this. I hate when the phone rings and rarely answer it. I have a cell phone, but it's pay-as-you-go and we forget to top it up. Actually, I don't even know the number for it and we never turn it on. It's strictly for emergencies.

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  9. Now, this is funny (and sadly true at the same time)! Your friend is a hoot! Thanks for sharing.

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  10. Can't wait for the poem about the evils of texting!

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  11. Yes, very apropos poem. The cell for me is my emergency back up and my watch but that is as far as it goes!

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  12. instead of ring ring or a ringtone, my cell talks to me, announcing the name of the caller. It is wild!

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  13. Great poem, and fun to review the use of phones! While I think you're right the phone has saved lives, I fear it might also cost one from time to time when people text in the car while driving...

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  14. For all of you who were wondering,this post was for and about Silver Fox, who has long had a hate/hate relationship with the phone.

    I'm not sure if I have the old phone book. I might have sold it at a yard sale 2 years ago. Or, it could be in my cellar. They don't call it the "black hole" for nothing,lol.

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  15. "[T]his post was for and about Silver Fox, who has long had a hate/hate relationship with the phone."

    Yup, and she captured my feelings perfectly!

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