We've all seen these people, they wander around in public with a cockroach in their ear. This of course being a bluetooth cell phone "thing" that sits in your ear so you don't have to get your phone out of your pocket. This behavior baffles me, so let's explore some possibilities. There are only two real reasons I can think of that require the use of a cockroach: 1) You get so many calls a day that retrieving your phone from your pocket would lead to elbow damage, or 2), you are so important that you cannot afford to wait the 3 additional seconds necessary to get your phone out of your pocket. Option 1. It is very likely that 90% of the calls you get are not essential. If you feel the need to answer every one of them, well, you might want to reconsider how you are spending the one life you get. Option 2. Let me say right now: You are not as important as you think you are. There are exceptions of course, like a prisoner on death row would need to know right away if the governor called with a stay of execution, and maybe the Pope is important enough, but the odds of the slopeheads wandering around the airport waiting for a flight to Cleveland probably do not qualify for the "very important" club.
The most likely real reason for this behavior is simple insecurity. "look at me, i am important!".
In general, answering a phone is very dangerous. Think about it, the person calling you knows who they are and why they are calling you. You, on the other hand, do not know who is calling you and what they want. You are at a serious disadvantage. The caller has all the facts and is ready to chat or debate or whatever. Being caught off guard is a bad place to be in a debate.
It's always best to let them leave a message, then call back when you are armed.
Before cell phones, people had lots of time to themselves to escape the irritation of the world. When you were at the airport waiting for a plane, you had an hour to yourself with no chance of anybody bothering you with useless chatter. Now, people are so obsessed with being in touch that when their phone rings, they scramble at warp speed to grab their phone. And the worst part of all, they will do it right in the middle of a face to face chat with a real person.
And to leave you with one of my favorite sayings "Just because it rings does not mean you have to answer it".
It does mean you have to answer it when I call because I am important. Whether you think so or not. Quit being antisocial put your pizza down and answer the phone!
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