Just say NO to Texting and Driving

One thing that really bothers me is when people text while driving. It's so dangerous and irresponsible. You can put your phone down and focus on the road. It's so important not to drive distracted. I can not stand being in the car with someone who checks their phone. I don't care if you are at a stoplight. If the car is running, your phone is down. I knew a girl who always texted while driving with her son in the car. I just don't understand. She would hold the phone in her hand above the steering wheel.  I will admit I check my phone a lot but there's a time and place for it. I also can't stand when you are hanging out with someone and they are constantly on their phone. It's pretty rude in my opinion. You are ignoring the person you are with. I try not to check my email or texts when I am spending time with people. Sometimes I check my phone because they are on theirs.

I have found my voice and have told people not to text and drive when I am in the car. I ask them to please put their phone down. I am a mom and Noah comes first. If you put my life in danger, you are likely to be gone from my life. When Noah starts driving he will not text and drive. It's not worth it. I will monitor his phone and I will take it away. I have a zero tolerance policy. There will be no sorry I forgot or another chance. One text and it's gone. Have you even seen the texting and driving ads? They are really scary. It only takes an instant.  You can't do it. You don't want to be another statistic.

Please read about the dangers of texting and driving and please don't do text and drive.

What's a Payphone?

Remember pay phones? When you had to stand there and talk to someone. Usually with other people on the phones next to you. You had to have change or call collect.  Back when you had to gasp stand there and hold the phone and you couldn't walk around or comfortably sit down and talk.  I remember I would call friends on their home phones when I was out on pay phones. Only a few people had cell phones or car phones. It was such a pain to talk to someone when you were away. A lot of them were outside so in the summer you would be sweating while you chatted. You had to stop and make the call.  If it was wintertime you would be shivering at the other end. Most payphones didn't allow incoming calls, you had to make sure you hung up before it went to an answering machine or voice mail, or you would waste your change.

There aren't many pay phones anymore. I can't remember the last time I saw someone use one. I think the last time I used one was on my honeymoon eleven years ago to call my mom.  I remember when I was in jr high there was always a long line at the pay phone at the movies to be picked up on Friday nights. I remember being with my friends and thinking it was funny to call Hooked on Phonics and the Jerry Springer show and hang up before anyone was on the line.  When we were at Epcot, it was so weird to see a pay phone granted they were London pay phones or phone booths but Noah asked me what it was. Kids are so used to their parents having cell phones, it's hard for them to fathom what a pay phone is. I know that there are pay phones still some places but they are always deserted. There is no one waiting to use one impatiently.

When was the last time you used a pay phone?

My First Cell Phone

Cell phones have really come a long way. My first cell phone was a prepaid one. I can’t even remember what company it was. This was back in 2000, my dad bought it for me and always made sure I had minutes. Back when the prepaid phones didn’t charge for text messages. I had this phone for quite awhile. I remember I was working at a day care when I still had this phone. I bought a Tigger cellphone cover for my phone from a lady I worked with who sold Avon. I was really excited about getting it. It was this cloth thing that looked like Tigger. It was a little too small for the phone but it worked. This was back when I was obsessed with Tigger from Winnie the Pooh. I have outgrown that phase a long time ago, and now Noah enjoys the things I had.

I think that every cell phone should have a cell phone case to protect their phone. I like the ones that have the clip on them which is very convenient when you are carrying groceries or a unruly four year old. I guess the one thing I don’t like about my cell phone case is that it has a magnet in it to close it. It is nice that I don’t have to button it or snap it or have my phone fall out in my purse but, with my purse having a magnetic closure too, it can be a pain when it comes to magnetized things such as hotel keys, amusement park tickets and so on. I am constantly carrying my cell phone in its case when it is in my purse. That way I know I won’t accidently call someone or scratch it. Not to mention it is a lot easier to find when I am pushing the cart at the store. I don’t pick up my calculator and attempt to answer it or call anyone on it, which would be embarrassing.

I have a Blackberry Tour. What kind of cell phone do you have? Do you have a case or a cover on it?