Friends

20 November 2016

MOBILE PHONES

According to the British the correct name for a cell phone is, did you guess, a mobile phone. Maybe the following will explain!

Why do men walk about when they talk on a cell phone? I have noticed recently that the workmen at the house next door cannot keep still when they talk. They strut! They cross the road while on the phone, then cross back, repeating the routine until finishing their chat. Sometimes they cross the road and walk a little way on the other side, then reverse the programme until they are back where they started. There is also a guy who carries a mug of tea at the same time, phone to ear, drinking vessel to mouth. There are low walls they could sit on but it seems they prefer to keep on the move.

Whilst watching this from the window (yes, I’m a peeper) I was reminded of my Joe. He had ants in his pants, I think, because he couldn’t sit still while on the phone. Not a cell phone, though, he wasn’t into those things. No, he did it whilst on the landline house phone which, you can guess, was one he could walk about with. And did! Always! He would walk from room to room, sometimes hurrying as if to prove something, then adopting a go-slow gait, all the time talking and demonstrating with his free hand. I often mused about it, wondering if looking busy was a throwback to when he worked in an office. He certainly gave that impression.

Women seem a lot more casual about phone calls. I have never seen one strut about whilst talking. Yes, they talk as they walk but they don’t seem to amble up and down as if trying to look busy. Me? I never move around because I don’t take calls outside the house and never answer when I’m driving. Just call me Goody Two-Shoes! I feel quite proud when I hear official pleas for people to cease using phones while driving, and pleased when those idiots are caught red-handed and dealt with by the police.


So, to end this rant perhaps you guys could explain to me what it is all about. Do you strut about while talking on the phone?

26 comments:

  1. Being of the younger generation I do use my phone a lot, but never while in my car or when in company. I don't like people who don't turn them off when it's appropriate.

    Mersad
    Mersad Donko Photography

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  2. I have never done that. I don't actually like talking on the phone when I am on the move and if my mobile rings, I'll try and find somewhere to stop. So I am afraid I can't enlighten you there!

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  3. Great post Valerie. This is something I wasn't aware of until now! But yes, my husband has always walked around while on the phone (landline) and gets animated with his hand gestures. I'm like you. I find a nice quiet place to sit and enjoy my conversation.

    I do not answer my phone when I am in my car. If my phone rings, I find a place to pull over. But no checking the phone until the car is stopped. Even with bluetooth, I find it too distracting to talk on the phone and drive.

    In the US, each state has its own laws regarding phone use in car. NY is very strict. Florida is very lax. You see people all the time in FL driving and talking (or texting!) . Scary stuff.

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  4. I don't walk and talk or answer when in the car, but then I hate talking on the phone and try and make conversations as short as possible...i prefer texting. I think it is a fair and accurate observation though. Have no idea why women do not pace or wander while on the phone and many men do...it may be a privacy thing, men not wanting others, especially other guys know their business...you know like saying "I love you " to your wife...not in front of other guys, that is against man rules.

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  5. I find that people talk louder when they talk on a cell phone. My husband walks around when he's on the phone,

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  6. "I feel quite proud when I hear official pleas for people to cease using phones while driving, and pleased when those idiots are caught red-handed and dealt with by the police. "

    AMEN, Valerie! Because I live in a city, I am witness to many, and mean MANY people using their phones while driving, walking, eating, sleeping, you name it...I see it all. Like you, when I'm on a cell phone, I don't walk about. I prefer sitting down (while having coffee or sitting in a park) while talking. However, I will say that if I'm on the phone (my landline cordless phone) I do walk about doing things like, washing the dishes or straighten up the house.

    Philadelphia does not enforce the driving law about not talking/texting while driving. However in NYC, they are VERY strict and will pull someone over and give them a ticket, which is the way I think it should be.

    Great post, my friend! Hope you're having a lovely Sunday!
    X

    P.S. Love the photo of Charlie on your sidebar. He is so cute!

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  7. Since Mr BC only calls me on the phone or makes calls from his recliner,I cannot comment. but this is a good observation and I will keep my eye out. I am a goody-two-shoes, as well, I am not a pacer.

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  8. Katie, thank goodness you are a Goody Two-Shoes as well... smiles.

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  9. Hi Ron. I wonder if I ever use the phone when I'm asleep whaaaaa! Come to think about it, I do often walk with the landline because I am usually needing to answer WI queries and that means moving to another room and searching for the right document.
    Glad you liked Charlie's picture. I will try and change it frequently.

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  10. Mac n'Janet, thank you for visiting my blog. It's interesting to know that my man and the guy next door aren't the only ones in the world who pace about while talking.

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  11. Carole, I'm glad you've noticed how men behave when on the phone.... isn't it strange? Our laws are only just changing to clamp-down on mobile phones and not before time. Thinking about itm I don't think I could text while driving!

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  12. Joeh, I can understand men not wanting people to know what they're talking about.... but not the physical movements that go with it... grins.

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  13. Jenny, I always ignore phone calls if I'm driving or busy, and contact the caller(s) later. If it's urgent there's always the text!

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  14. Hi Mersad. I confess to leaving my phone on when it should be off! But I don't answer calls unless the time is appropriate.

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  15. Both my husband and son pace when using the mobile phone, and my son covers miles I swear. Me? I am in recliner with a cup of tea.

    Maybe men feel more anxiety.

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  16. Susan. I'm pleased someone else has noticed the pacing that men do. Perhaps you are right about anxiety thing.

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  17. My goodness, that's a relief! So, this pacing while on the cell is a man thing! My guys are not unusual after all!

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  18. SJ - it's a relief to know that it's a man thing and in all probability won't catch on with women.

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  19. My husband sits while talking but since he's Italian, he hand gestures a lot to make a point like the other party can see him and fully understand :) I am one who cannot chew gum and walk at the same time. I need full concentration so I sit.

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  20. kden, whoops I do hand gestures (sitting down, of course) and often say to my caller 'I'm demonstrating here' as if they can see what I'm doing, duh! Guilty as charged.

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  21. Here in Canada it seems that everyone under 30 in particular is walking around with some kind of gadget glued to their ears. Even in coffee shops when they are supposedly visiting with a friend!!! I saw that yesterday at Starbucks. I think it's a sad state of affairs that a lot of people seem to have lost their grasp on the real world, as opposed to constantly looking at screens, texting, listening to ipods etc...Good post Val!!!

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  22. Geraldine, I had forgotten about the folk who can't have a meal without reading stuff on their phone. I hate to see a couple where one is checking the phone and the other sits there looking bored. What have we come to when conversation is ignored for the sake of the phone.

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  23. With lower back pain I sit down at every opportunity....:)

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  24. I'm a strutter if the conversation lasts more than a few minutes.

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  25. Maybe they're walking around to have a little privacy from their fellow workers?

    Hubby almost never answers the phone, so I haven't noticed if he moves around much. I think I just go on with my normal routine most of the time.

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  26. Danielle, living in a small bungalow I guess I I noticed my husbands actions more. It was a laugh seeing him pace from room to room. Something I will never see again.

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