No Cell Phone.

I don’t have a cell phone. I used to, when I was younger, but I don’t want one anymore. Sometimes, I get the impression when I tell people this, they think I’m missing out. Sometimes, it would be convenient for me to have one. But that is neither here nor there. What I see looking up, is everyone else looking down. Everyone else is somewhere else. When I was working in Hamilton, I would walk the streets during the day and so often the passersby never saw me, but I saw them. I have a few friends who I’m able to have conversations with without them looking down, sometimes. But in the space between the “Wait -what’s?” I have time to observe and think. I don’t think there is anything wrong with it; this is just an observation from someone without a cell phone. And, it is weird to look around a room and be the only one looking up. When I was little I remember being on long car rides with my family and looking out the window at all the cars on the street going by, and I would wonder where they were all headed, where they had all come from, what had led them all to be on the same road I was on. I still do this sometimes, but now I also find myself looking around at everyone looking down and wondering: What’s so important? What’s all consuming? What lifeline are they connecting to in this moment? Its almost beautiful – eerily beautiful, to watch, when you think about it. To feel like the one on the outside, in a way can be sad at times; like I’m behind the times. But I see people’s reactions when people don’t get back to their text messages right away: It has become the norm to be available at any given moment, and if you’re not than you must be ignoring said person. But it is most interesting to look up and wonder what is going through the minds of everyone, as they speedily respond to messages, break-through to a new level on their game, creeping or searching. I guess I’m doing sort of the same but only in my mind.