The Five o’Clock Cell Phone Club
When I leave work each day, part of my routine is to call my husband when I’m on the way home. It’s a good way to shift from the work day to the evening shift with the short, demanding bosses.
Every now and then, on my walk to the parking garage, I notice other people on their phones, and, I hear snippets of conversations (OK, OK, but, “eavesdropping” is such a harsh word…) that could be any mom or dad: “Should I stop at the store?”, “Yes, I’ll be home soon, just tell him to stop it”, “Please start dinner”, “How much homework do you have?”
This evening, I was having my version of the conversation, and, I was at a red light at a busy intersection. I looked up and could tell that the people in the cars to both the left and the right of me were doing the same thing. With a nod of the head to each other, we were comrades basking by the glow of cellular technology with dinner and laundry on the horizon.
I was outside Jo Allens in NYC one night waiting on my party. The street was deserted but for a man behind me speaking on his cell phone to his wife. He was doing the usual banter… and I kept thinking that I knew him. I wondered if he was from my hometown and then I realized… it was Matthew Broderick.