So, the cell phone rang during a funeral...

Henry Gale · 04-15-2008, 05:31 PM

This afternoon, was at the funeral of a co-worker and a cell phone rings.
Loud.
A few seconds later it rang AGAIN and that's when several of us turned to look at who could be so stupid.
A man about 65 was actually taking the call!

This is why I don't carry a weapon.

There were other extant cell phone threads here but I really though we needed a new one for this latest crime against social order.

Garrett Lundy · 04-15-2008, 07:56 PM

cell phones at funerals aren't really new.

Michael Harris · 04-15-2008, 08:36 PM

Quote:

cell phones at funerals aren't really new.

Somehow that doesn't make feel any better.

Eric_L · 04-15-2008, 09:17 PM

I was in an office speaking with a business associate about important business when his desk phone rang and he took a personal call. I waited a few minutes, but when it looked like it could go on inapropriately long I used my cell phone to call his. He hung up his call and took mine! : ) heh!

Joseph DeMartino · 04-15-2008, 10:36 PM

Yeah - had a guy do the same thing in church this past Sunday. Rings the first time, takes him forever to fumble it out of a pocket and pick up and hang up on the call, but he didn't turn it off - because it rang again about five minutes later and this time, sure enough, he took the call. I'm starting to think it might have been the same guy.

I was sitting in the waiting room at a diagnostic lab at 7:20 Monday morning, waiting to get blood drawn for some routine tests. There was a big sign at every check-in window saying "No cell phones, PLEASE!"

There was also some yutz talking non-stop on a cell phone. The walkie-talkie style, so we all got to hear both sides of the conversation. (Which was in Spanish, so I have no idea what it was about.) He also had a second cell phone clipped to his belt, and at one point it rang, he answered it, and then went back to his walkie talkie conversation. I really find it hard to believe that whatever was happening was so vital that it couldn't have waited until he was finished getting stuck and drained or peeing in a cup or whatever. Later, when I was in the exam room getting stuck and drained myself, I heard a steady stream of what sounded like muffled English coming from the room next door, but when the phlebotomist arrived she rolled her eyes, nodded towards the other room and made a remark about people and their cell phones. (Mine was in the car, which is where I usually leave it when going into doctor's offices, church, etc. I don't see much point in carrying the thing into someplace where I'm going to have to turn it off and where I'm going to spend a relatively limited amount of time anyway.

I mean, we did manage to exist for millions of years without cell phones and being available to one another instantly, 24/7, right? As much as I love the convenience of cell phones (and the safety and security aspects of them) I have no trouble getting rid of the leash from time to time.

Quote:

I used my cell phone to call his. He hung up his call and took mine! : ) heh!

Oh, well played, sir!

Regards,

Joe

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Chris Lockwood · 04-16-2008, 12:37 PM

The sad part is that many people no longer seem embarrassed when their phone rings when it should have been turned off.

Scott Simonian · 04-16-2008, 01:12 PM

I keep my cell phone on vibrate 100% of the time. Never use the ringer and never pick up a call if I am currently talking to somebody, in a movie, out to dinner or such. Its just rude and indecent behavior.

andrew markworthy · 04-16-2008, 02:57 PM

Who are the people who abuse cell phones anyway? A country's president needing to be informed of a worsening diplomatic crisis? A transplant surgeon being told a donor heart has been found and he must get to the hospital at once? Nope - it always seems to be some tedious little prole with no life.

True story. A few years ago I was at a garage waiting for a minor repair to be done to my car. I was sitting in the customers' waiting area with a couple of other normal guys and a loudmouth who was having a series of megaphone volume cell phone conversations about how he was going to Germany on a business trip (to put this in context - I'm a Brit, and a trip to Germany from the UK really isn't all that big a deal). He was not only getting on my nerves and the other customers', but also the staffs'. Anyway, I had to have a chat with one of the staff about the repair and whilst we were talking, the member of staff asked me would I mind if he delivered me a [fake] phone message in a few minutes time, and could I keep a straight face? I went back to my seat and the guy was making yet another phone call about this trip to Germany. Sure enough, a few minutes later the staff member came across and said to me 'excuse me professor, but your personal secretary has been on the phone. She says that the Bishop's office phoned to say he'll be about half an hour late. However, she says you can still accommodate the meeting and make the Tokyo flight'. I did manage to keep a straight face and said that was fine, and thanked him for his trouble. Megaphone voice guy suddenly started speaking in a quiet voice and stopped making phone calls.

Quote:

I keep my cell phone on vibrate 100% of the time.

Are you sure you want to be sharing this information with us?

Jeff Gatie · 04-16-2008, 03:08 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Joseph DeMartino

I was sitting in the waiting room at a diagnostic lab at 7:20 Monday morning, waiting to get blood drawn for some routine tests. There was a big sign at every check-in window saying "No cell phones, PLEASE!"

Quote:

Originally Posted by andrew markworthy

At one medical practice I attended, they had an ECG chart showing what happened to the equipment when a mobile phone was on in the vicinity - it drove the instruments haywire. But aside from anything else, it's just plain rude to conduct phone conversations in places where people have a reasonable expectation of relative silence. And who are the people who abuse this anyway? A country's president needing to be informed of a worsening diplomatic crisis? A transplant surgeon being told a donor heart has been found and he must get to the hospital at once? Nope - it's always soom tedious little prole with no life.

My mom is a nurse. At 75 years old she's heard and seen it all. She works in an office with a no cell policy. She once had a guy who took his out in the middle of a prep for a physical, answering it as my mom took his blood pressure. Mom promptly stopped, said "Ok, you can follow me", then led him out of the exam room and back out into the lobby. When he realized where she was leading him, he asked what she was doing and Mom told him he was obviously too busy to be at the doctor's office, so she was going to call the next patient. He sat there dumbfounded until told he could make another appointment at the desk. The docs backed her 100%.