Wednesday, May 31, 2023

Of Phones and Wake up Calls by Konnie Enos

Fifty years ago, every house had at least one face clock, usually in the kitchen. It wasn’t uncommon for one to be in a bedroom or two. Though the new thing was digital display clocks. Most of these were found in bedroom alarm clocks.

Thirty years ago, face clocks were less common but you could still find them. It was still commonplace to have several in your home. Checking the time was never more difficult than glancing at the nearest clock.

Yesterday, it dawned on me just how much things had changed when not once, but twice, I wanted to know the time or at least where my phone was.

Both times in my dimly lit bedroom, on my bed, with dark or black blankets it was more than a little difficult to figure out where my black phone had gotten to.

Both times I looked at all the usual places. Where I generally put it. Where I could last remember seeing it. Everywhere within arm’s reach of where I was sitting. As a last resort, I even checked my purse because I sometimes put it in there so it won’t get lost.

Not that it works. My purse is black too. And sometimes I have to dump it out to find anything as small as my phone in it. However, yesterday my phone was never in my purse.

I could not find it anywhere on my nightstand or even the last place I saw it. The last time I couldn’t find it I was tempted to go check the hall bathroom because I’d been texting Bonnie when I had to go and I’d taken my phone with me and that was the last place I could remember having it. Since I could not find it, yet again, I wondered if I could have left it in there.

So I started searching everywhere with no luck.

At this point, I considered who could help me locate my phone and the easiest way to do it. Well, calling a phone is a sure-fire way to hear where it is and I’m fortunate to have five other people in my house all with their own phones.

So the next step is to locate the nearest person and ask them to call me.

Mind you, I’m in my bedroom. Guess who the nearest person is, both times.

Yep, my all-but-deaf husband. Not that he’s completely deaf, and he does have hearing aids, but that even if he has remembered to put them in, he is likely to be listening to something on one of his devices, especially when he is sitting at his desk. Of course, he is doing both times I’m looking.

So after taking a minute or two to get his attention, I had to wait further for him to turn off whatever he was listening to, get his phone, and dial me.

Now this would normally solve the problem, but both times I could hear my phone ringing from somewhere on my bed to my right. Both times it was buried enough to muffle the sounds a little.

So I had to start moving things hoping to at least unmuffle it so I could better home in on the sound.

Okay, so move my purse and whatever else I have to my right.

It’s not much help, I moved the blankets, again. All that did was unmuffle it. The next step is to shake them out but before I even get that far I finally manage to see my phone.

On Jerry’s side of the bed.

I’m going to have to assume that at some point in my search I’d tossed it over there while moving the blankets it’d been on because that is the only logical reason for my phone to be that far outside my reach.

The second time this happened, I wasn’t looking for the time, but wondering if my phone would need to be charged while I was sleeping. It was that late and I knew I still needed to write my post. Meaning, I would need my phone charged and near me so I’d hear my alarm in the morning so I’d have plenty of time to get this written.

With it found, I promptly got ready for bed. I was hoping for at least seven hours. By some miracle, my bladder didn’t wake me up until after the sun was up though a full hour before my alarm was to go off. I’d written about half this post before my alarm went off.

Smile. Make the day a brighter day.

 

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