a cellphone rant

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Have you ever been unfortunate enough to experience a cellphone user you wished you could send to kingdom come? You do not even have to answer that. Of course, you have. In this day and age when almost everyone has a cellphone (some even have two or three), it amazes me whenever I see users lose their sense of courtesy or decorum whenever their prized gadgets ring, or when they feel they have an urgent call or message to relay. As if the world would stop if the phone is not attended to at once. I must admit, I have fallen victim to this gadget addiction sweeping humankind, but at least I do the right thing in the right place at the right time.

I was in church (again, of all places!) when I distinctly heard a phone ringing during the homily. Ooops, someone has forgotten to turn off (or mute) his phone, I thought. However, to my dismay, as well as to many others I’m sure, the ringing got louder and louder. It was coming from the bench right in front of me! A well-dressed lady then hurriedly opened her purse to retrieve the noisy gadget. Did she turn it off? No, not quite. She pressed a button, said, “Hello?”, and proceeded to talk to the person on the line in her normal speaking voice (which was relatively loud considering how quiet everyone was listening to the homily). I was dumbfounded. Almost everyone looked in our
direction, even the priest! I was tempted stand up and say, “She’s not with me, and we’re not related!” but I knew that would only make matters worse. Seemingly feeling the heat of countless stares in her direction, she stood up and walked outside while still talking on her cell phone!

There were muted murmurs and sighs as she headed for the exit. At last, the concerned stares and dagger looks were gone, and the mass continued in peace. She never returned to her seat though. I didn’t even see her during communion. Maybe she realized the blunder she committed and went straight home.

On our way home, we could not help but talk about this incident. I was ranting (just as I’m doing now) about the woman’s apparent lack of manners. To her defense, dad said that she may have been a doctor and the call may have been important, an emergency perhaps. Probably, but that’s no excuse (my apologies to other doctors out there). She could have been a doctor alright, or an ambulance driver or a fire marshal! I don’t even care if she was the president’s speech therapist desperately being called to the palace! You just don’t do that in church, and during a homily at that! The right thing she could have done was to turn off the phone, walked outside, and returned the call if it was urgent.

I know you have your own horror stories to tell. I have a few more I can recall but nothing beats that incident I just related. It happened earlier this evening while we were hearing mass for my nephew’s birthday. It has been a good four hours since it happened but I still cannot get it out of my mind, and I’m sure the priest will have a hard time forgetiing it as well.

Afterthought: Why does this happen to me? This is my second church “mishap” in the past three weeks. Remember the reservation thing last Christmas eve? Is this a sign? He he. Or is my patience just being tested? Wait and see. And pray.
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