jmcquown wrote:

> Dave Smith wrote:
>
>>Miche wrote:
>>
>>>On the contrary. If I'm in a doctor's waiting room with my
>>>daughter, I may need it to tell my husband where we are.
>>>
>>
>>Of course, because one of your worlds will collapse if you are not in
>>constant contact.
>
>
> If it's an emergency that's one thing. A routine doctor's visit shouldn't
> necessitate a phone call. Oh, and the other thing, at least at my doctor's
> office, there are signs everywhere requesting all cell phones be turned off
> because they can interfere with the medical equipment being used. What did
> people do when there were no cell phones? They used a pay phone or the
> phone at the doctor's office to make the call.

Last time I had to take one of the kids to the dr. the waiting room was
just packed. The usual admonitions to "Turn off your cell phones" are
posted.

This twenty-some-odd chick's cell phone rings and she launches into a
protracted high-volume whinge about how much she wanted to go to Cancun
with her friends only her parents wouldn't let her because her wedding
was going to be soooo expensive, they're just mean, oh woe is me, etc.
etc. etc.

So I cross eyes with the guy sitting opposite and he holds his hand up
and gestures "the world's smallest violin playing a sad song just for her".

I'm glad I wasn't eating or drinking. To my credit, I didn't start
giggling until both my righthand and lefthand neighbors cracked up.

Did it faze her? Maybe a *tiny* bit. She glowered in our general
direction and did a 180 to face the other end of the waiting room.
There was no reduction in volume or change of topic. By this time
anybody not immersed in a 3 year-old Reader's Digest was frankly and
overtly following the conversation and chiming in with their own comments.

Finally the nurse called her name and she rang off with a final comment
about how rude some people were.

I don't know if it did anything to reduce the overall rudeness of modern
society but it was certainly more entertaining than the magazines.