You talkin' to me? - Working Life - Brief Article

T+D, July, 2002 by Haidee E. Allerton

Well, are ya or aren't ya?

There you were, standing right next to me in Staples and talking. No one else was around so I assumed you were speaking to me, and I responded. But you kept on talking and didn't even look my way. Puzzlement.

There you were, walking along the sidewalk alone and talking animatedly. To whom, I wondered. Certainly not to me. I stepped aside cautiously.

There you were, leaning against the wall alone outside of Fresh Fields, laughing, head thrown back. Laughing at what?

Then the light dawned. Cell phone in pocket, headset in ear. Whew. I was beginning to suspect some airborne craziness or that perhaps I'd wandered into the sequel to Vanilla Sky.

The cell phone has gone underground. Slip your Nokia or Motorola or whatever into your tote or pants or coat pocket, plug in your headset, and chatter away.

And we used to think that people who appeared to be talking to themselves were a little "touched."