I met a stranger yesterday in a Kansas City, MO restaurant. I know where she lives, where she works, how many children she has and their names, where they go to school, how much she is paid per hour, what her husband does for a living and that she has a GED. I also know that she shops the yard sales in certain ritzy neighborhoods. I know she was born in the same town she now lives in, and that her mother lives down the street from her. She has two sisters, and her husband makes $55,000 per year.

I was out shopping and popped into the restaurant to have lunch when I came in close proximity to this young woman. My lunch was good, but the conversation behind me was unappetizing. She talked on her cellphone for the entire time I was in the restaurant. I wasn’t trying to hear her; I simply couldn’t avoid it.

During the call, she discussed personal details over the telephone in anything but sotto voce. For those who don’t know these words, it means soft tones. She could have called the plays for an NFL football game. That is how well her voice carried.

I couldn’t help thinking as she revealed so much that it was a good thing I wasn’t a thief or a child molester. She gave enough information that anyone could cause her problems.

What is it with cellular phones anyway? It is almost as if they have become permanently attached to human ears. Why must everyone stay plugged into a phone away from home? I can understand answering emergency calls in a place of business, such as a restaurant or doctor’s office. But I don’t understand this need to constantly stay plugged into others simply to chatter.

Talking on a cellphone in a restaurant is rude. Talking while in a check out line is rude. Talking when you are in the company of others is rude. Using a phone in heavy traffic is probably distracting and dangerous as well.

If you’re one of the guilty ones who feel the need to communicate every waking minute, I hope that you’ll ask yourself why? Is it because we as a society can’t stand being out of touch with others?

For those of you who are teenagers, take my word for it, life wasn’t always lived with a cellphone at your ear. There was a time when people had one phone in the house, and it was firmly attached to the wall. You could actually get away from that phone anytime you wished by going to another room or outside. If you didn’t want to talk with someone, you simply ignored the ring. I can’t recall many times when it was vital to contact someone who was out shopping, eating at a restaurant or driving down the road a few miles from home.

I’m tired of hearing other’s conversations. I worked as a telephone operator back in the 1950s, and believe me I heard plenty over those wires, but at least it was my choice to listen. Today, there is no choice. You sit down in a restaurant to relax and enjoy your meal, and most of the time you’re forced to listen to someone blabbing on the phone.

I think it is rude, crude and shows the lack of respect for those around you. It’s time people exercised a little judgement when using a telephone in public.

Quotable Quote: There is no sense in advertising your troubles. There is no market for them.”