KK's Commentary

Thanks for stopping by to read KK's commentary. This issue concerns..., I'm sorry, will you excuse me please... cell phone's ringing.

"Hello. Oh yea, hi! No, not now. Well, I'm writing this article... ok, sure will! bye, bye."

Cell phone. Thing's ringin' all the time. Here, let me send it to voicemail. There we go, that's better. Now what was today's article covering?? Oh, that's right... cell phones. Thanks!

Everywhere you turn there is someone with a cell phone at their ear. I was having lunch with someone and their phone kept ringing constantly. Wonderful for business, but very bad for meeting with a friend. For some reason we haven't had schedules running the same for a long time.

Don't get me wrong. With the proper courtesies, cell phones are a great invention. Whoever made cell phones come to life did a great job. And now they are so cool. Little flip up phones like from Star Trek. Sleek, slim and varities of colored ones. And anywhere you go, there you are, a cell phone. Always in touch. A wonderful innovation in technology.

What is really great are the commercials that remind us of our need for a cell phone in a time of crisis. One was very touching. A lovely young lady, walking alone in the city after dark. The entire time she chatted on her cell phone. Big brownie points for the person that added that sense of security on a long, dark walk home. I'm goose-pimply.

Perhaps if something happened they could call a cop? (Okay, stop laughing... back in your chairs!) Or, they could listen to the whole thing. Saw that in a movie once. With Sally Fields. *yikes* Let's not go there!

And of course the business angle: Hey, I'm there for you, anytime, anytime at all. You can, (drumrolling) fax that document, email that client, ....conference call with the president sir! *saluting palm out with best Daffy Duck voice* All at the lower low low price of ....how much per minute? It is bewildering, as many service providers openly state, at the different.... "calling plans," "pricing packages," "discount deals" and on and on and on.

So you buy into one of the package deals and you are allotted a certain amount of minutes. There is also the purchasing of minutes in advance - very costly in most cases. Now with those they do tell you when your air time is nearly exhausted. Better stock up now!

The package plan however leaves you tracking your usage; usually monthly. Have tried more than enough times to compute the same figure at the end of the month as they do and can never seem to match. Must be the magical billing of cell phones. Something mere mortals need not understand.

To make matters even more complex, some companies charge in a seconds increment. No matter how they bill it, the cost per minute is much more than long distance. Which, by the way, is my stock market rating on the charges for minutes of phone time.

But I have to say, and I always do, that I'm gonna throw my cell phone in the river. Or off a cliff. Or maybe toss it up and shoot at it like some old western! *Humming Bonanza theme here*

Maybe I could.... well, never mind. Point is, I am tired of paying the cell phone rates. Can't do it anymore. It's principle now. I'm giving them up until they can figure out a way to balance everything into one monthly price like my home phone.

Granted, it is probably going to cost more than the flat rate for local home phone service. Depending on how much more, most people would pay the cost. I would think double the rate for home service - as a starting point.

What is certain about the home service is that when you pick up the home phone, dial a number on the home phone, listen for someone to answer on their home phone, talk to each other on both your home phones, it costs one price per month. And if it isn't, like long distance, it tells you. You don't have to even think about overcharges. But remember, KK's Commentaries are always free!


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