Arlo and Janis by Jimmy Johnson for July 27, 2017

I agree completely. I rarely cary my phone with me.

I usually can’t find mine. Considering that it is a smart phone, I think it should be smart enough to take care of things by itself.

I agree with the cartoon but I think anyone under the age of 18 would not (and I know that leaves out most of the A&J readers)

I’m with Arlo. My “mobile phone” is in my car. In the house I have a land line.

Sadly, my phone is a duty phone I am expected to have with me 24/7/365. I have had to take calls from work when I was on the beach in California and during bereavement leave after my mother died. When I was preparing to graduate from high school some buddies and I were talking about the type of job we wanted. We all had different interests but we all agreed we didn’t want a 9-5 job, but we never said when we wanted to work. I often think about that at 3:00 in the morning in some forsaken remote spot.

I use a Tracfone, turn it off at night, keep it in the car while at work. Just like the old land line hooked to an answering machine..if it is important the caller will leave a message. I refuse to be addicted to my phone.

I forgot to turn on my trac phone yesterday and got yelled at…

I’m with Arlo, right now mine is missing (again) sigh.

My former employer wanted my cell number, never got it. Most of my friends don’t have it, my doctor doesn’t have it. “It’s classified, I could tell you, but then I’d have to kill you,” is my attitude. It’s for emergency communication when I’m not at home, by a land line. If you call my cell and it isn’t an emergency, it will be.

For those whose employer (wannbe slave master) supplies a cell, the solution is simple: turn it off. If they threaten you to keep it on, do so—while at the office, max screen brightness, sleep off, etc. so that it is discharged by the time you leave. Also, start looking for other employment. Unless you are medical or emergency personnel, there is no excuse or reason to have your phone on 24/7/365. Show some backbone.{Climbs creakily down from soapbox.}

I believe it’s become an epidemic sadly. I only carry mine when I drive. I’m addicted to my computer enough as it is thank you.

JJ, give me your cell number I want to chat with you about this strip. ;-)

I carry mine all the time because my husband’s/mother’s health is not the greatest and my husband, mother, daughter, sister and drs. need to be able to reach me. Otherwise I would not have it with me all the time.

I always take my cell phone with me in case of emergencies.

Yup. They are electronic leashes.

I no longer answer my land line because of the high rate of scam calls and robocalls – (and, yes, I’m registered on “Do Not Call”, which should be renamed “Does No Good”). I carry my cell phone most places, to get texts from my son, but don’t check it often. I have my contacts sorted by ringtone. Default ringtone – I don’t answer. If I know you, you don’t trigger the default. If it’s important, leave a message.

I let my phone battery discharge before plugging it it, which means it will be next to me in the truck, not in my pocket. I reach into my shirt pocket too often, like a bad habit, and immediately panic. It has fallen out of my shirt pocket once too often. Yes, truck drivers can’t live without these cell phones.

Why is everyone so obsessed with constantly being in contact? Answering work calls while on vacation… that’s insane! Why even bother with a vacation if you’re going to be on a leash? We didn’t even have answering machines in most homes until I was well into adulthood, let alone cell phones. Somehow we survived just fine before.

These days I keep a basic land line (no features) and an answering machine to screen calls (when I’m home). Anyone that wants to talk to me has to use that number. If I was still working and they insisted on a cell then they would have to provide it… I don’t give my personal cell number to anyone, certainly not anyone at work, that’s simply stupid.

My cell phone is for my convenience and I only got it because you can’t find pay phones anymore. I can understand that the lack of pay phones has forced many road workers to get a cell phone, but if it’s work related the cell phone should paid by and use for work only.

My cell stays in the motorcycle bag except when I go flying, then it ends up in the flight bag, and it only tends to get checked when it needs charging. It usually stays home when I drive the truck, but then I have ham gear in the truck, so I can get help that way if I need it.

Some would call me a Luddite, but my four college degrees and forty plus years of work experience all involve tech. I made my living with technology and I use tech to my advantage but I refuse to let my life by run over by tech.

I only have a simple flip phone. No land line……I do most of my communication by laptop, Facebook mostly,,,,

I once worked for a trucking company (drove their computers not the trucks) and spent a lot of time on the highway driving between terminals. Company insisted that I get a cell phone (cell phones were new at that time). I pointed out that I would not answer if I was driving (and was not illegal at that time) so they would have to wait until I found an exit from the highway where I could stop, plus I was never more than 2 hours on the road as that was the max time to drive between our terminals, plus if I was so important that they could not go 2 hours without contacting me then they were not paying me anywhere near enough. I did not get the cell phone.

My beloved demanded my sons and I carry our cell phones at all times because she knew of a woman whose son died while nobody could find her to let her know. Even so, she often forgets her phone.

Cell phones are a life line, too bad some just can’t wrap that around their brains.

A-MEN! Brother A-MEN!

A couple of days ago, I answered a “persistent caller ID” who I don’t know.

She proceeded to tell me, “Boy, are you hard to get a hold of…” (NOT identifying herself.)

I cut her off and repeatedly said, “Stop calling me!” “Stop calling me!” “Stop calling me!”

Then, I hung up.

I know, I’m a mean old fart!

;-P

I need my phone.

I got my first cell phone in 2001 when my problem child was in 6th grade. Without a way for the school to contact me if he needed me, I could not leave the house.

He’s an adult now and I don’t have to run interference with overbearing school officials any more. But I still need to be contactable.

I also need my phone for my job so the people I am trying to get in contact with can call me when I’m in the field.

I wish people wouldn’t make such blanket statements about people dependent on cell phone being some sort of bad person. Without modern technology I would have gone over the edge many years ago.

Hell, we even have one of those vacuum cleaner machines for our carpet.

Absolutely…. I concur Arlo