When A. G. Bell first invented the telephone, it was a communication tool.Little did he know that he had created an object of emotional significance.

 

You know those cute toy telephones with colorful push buttons that make happy noises.Those plastic imitations are supposed to let little Junior copy parental behavior,but little Junior wants the real thing. He wants to hold, bang, push,chew on and talk into the real telephone. You cannot simply buy him off with a little baby toy.

 

Then little Junior grows up. He is busy, successful and important.Or at least he hopes to appear so.What better way to feel like a top man than to close a business deal over his cell phone while grabbing his morning cup of Espresso at Starbucks.

 

There is also that fashionable lady at the cafe. her little cell phone in its designer jacket has beeped at least three times, signaling her popularity.

Each time, she seemed to enjoy an intimate conversation spiced with little private jokes while you waited in vain for that cellular beep to announce to the world your importance.

 

Admittedly, not everyone declares social status or personal popularity through the telephone.For many, telephones are practical tools for accessing family, friends and business associates.There are also a few like me who dread the phone.

 

In my youth, I had believed that the more calls I received, the more important and popular I was.Now older,busier and hopefully wiser, there is nothing I detest more than telephone calls.I had beautiful dreams shattered by the shrill summons of the phone,hard-earned coffee breaks dissolved by friendly but unwanted interruptionsand even urgent bathroom runs painfully delayed. Having been haunted and hounded by the telephone for many years,I can now ignore its insistent jangle.

In fact, I can even with a clear conscience flick the receiver off its hook and slip into blissful dreamland.