Getting Acquainted with
a Fancy Phone

Do you remember the days when – horrors! – you left your home and no one could contact you!?

When I was a little girl, my dad had a friend who drove a red Cadillac and in it he had a phone. Like the car, the phone was red. The gentleman told me he talked to the devil on it.

When I worked at ON TV in the ’70s (ON TV – National Subscription Television – sort of pre-cable), my then-boyfriend (now husband) was a repairman with the company. He was assigned a little truck and, as a joke, in it he had a phone with a cord attached. Obviously, it wasn’t connected to anything. But if the mood struck him when he pulled up to a stoplight, he would nonchalantly pick it up and engage in a conversation. Oh, how he would get a laugh as folks would point to him on the phone in a car.

Then in the early ’90s, we actually got a portable phone that we would power up by plugging it into the lighter of whatever vehicle we were in. It was the size of a large handbag, but it was portable.

As technology advanced – and prices dropped – we got true cellular telephones. Though they were still the size of a brick, you were able to talk to people when you were away from your house or office. Gone were the days of the pager/beeper.

Probably because I can remember the days of when leaving your home meant you were incommunicado, I never felt the need to have the latest and greatest in cellphone technology – I was just grateful for whatever I had. But recently my flip phone died and I found myself in the AT&T store in La Cañada looking at a replacement.

Admittedly I am not a good customer. I came in saying, “I don’t want to spend any money” – not exactly a salesman’s dream. But I have to say that the staff at the AT&T store was totally professional and really helpful. At the end of my visit, I bought an Apple iPhone 4G plus switched my home landline service to wireless.

Now the owner of a “fancy phone,” I’m learning about apps and the features the phone has programmed into it. What I’m discovering is that the phone is actually a mini-computer that also makes and accepts telephone calls. Amazing.

Of course, my boys each have an Apple iPhone 4S and make fun of my “antiquated” 4G while they pine for the newest iPhone 5. The 4S has a program called Siri (hence the ‘S’ designation), a voice-activated system that lets you use your voice to send messages, schedule meetings, place phone calls, and more (per the Apple website). With three boys in the house, needless to say some of the instructions given to Siri by them can put you in stitches. And for the record, Siri can’t clean your room.

But the boys, after the guffaws, are eager to teach me how to maximize my phone, teaching me what it can do. Though initially a little reluctant, I’m beginning to embrace my fancy phone.

I wonder if there’s an app to call the devil.

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I want to give a quick shout out to the Glendale Educational Foundation for hosting a fantastic gala on Friday night at the Glendale Hilton. As usual, the food and entertainment were fantastic and where else could I dance with a distinguished honoree in achievement in health & fitness (Paul Fejtek)?

But personally, for me a highlight of the evening was sidling up to former Red Lion (that was the name of the hotel when it was opened in 1992) co-worker and now realtor Keith Sorem. I worked at the Red Lion for a year or so in the mid-1990s and Keith was the food and beverage manager. He was at the gala on Friday and we were able to share a moment, reflecting on our shared time at the Red Lion.

You just never know when you’ll get a chance to travel down Memory Lane.

  robin goldsworthy