When I was a younger woman, with two small children at home, the telephone was something that hung on the wall in the kitchen. The cord was long enough for me to get around the room and shut off the faucet, turn off the stove, or set the table. My chin held the phone, supported by my left shoulder, and I often had one of the children on my right hip. Recalling my image in my bright yellow kitchen of the mid 60's, I am not surprised that I that my spine is a bit off kilter. A cell phone isn't as easy to fit into that space between the chin and the shoulder, or, could it be that my neck doesn't bend as well after 40 years?
The telephone was my lifeline when the kids were young. When I was at home with them and not able to get out of the house for one reason or another, I could call my friends and share the tales that young mothers tell about their lives. As I have aged, the phone is a different kind of lifeline. I carry the cell phone with me when I drive, if I'm working outside, doing the laundry in the garage, and I even keep it next to the bed so I don't have to track it down in the morning. It is a safety net. It is with me if something happens that I need it.
Phones have changed so much! As a teenager, I was excited when I got my first "Princess" telephone in my bedroom. It was a thrill when push buttons replaced rotary dials on the wall phones. Later, portable phones made it possible to move from one room to another, even outside, without picking up an extension. Now, a phone with no antenna somewhere in the house and no cord to tangle. You can carry it in your pocket or bag and never be out of touch (except in the Smokey Mountains or the Blue Ridge).
I resisted the cell phone idea for a long time. But, just like an automobile, it became a necessity. I assessed my vulnerability index and realized that I probably couldn't change a tire anymore or walk a mile or two on the side of the highway to get a gas can filled. It is possible that I could fall outside, or inside, and break a bone and not be able to reach the phone. Of course, the convenience of not getting up to answer the house phone is another point in its favor! If I could get high speed Internet here, I wouldn't even need a land line! When the land line goes dead from storms, falling limbs, or blown transformers - I reach for the ever-handy cellular!
I could have sketched any phone. However, this little one, clothed in a leather, with a brightly colored screen and a jaunty ring tone, has made my life easier, safer, and more convenient. Therefore, this phone has the honor of being my EDM for today! (5 x 8 Moleskine plain notebook, Holbein watercolors)
