The Cell Phone

After my mother passed away in January 2001, my father began to modernize. One of his neighbors gave him an ancient Compaq laptop and before you knew it my dad was on AOL and regularly getting updates from moveon.org, travel web sites, and Haband. This was well before the back and forth with the Scooter Store. Eventually, my father realized that he needed a cell phone and so an almost six year relationship with Verizon began. After initial trial and error, he got the hang of the phone and all was well. However, every now and again, I would go through the phone and clean up any number of accidentally saved, incorrect, and otherwise incomplete or unusable numbers and/or listings. And forget about voice mail and passwords.

As the first contract ended, of course he had to get an upgrade and a new two-year contract. In his defense though, back then, he was very busy and it was important that he could be reached when he wasn't home. After he got very sick, though, and wound up in the nursing home, the need for the cell phone diminished. Of course, that did not stop him from renewing his contract, getting a new phone, trading that one in, getting one that didn't work well, losing that one, finding that one, and eventually having a phone that was unusable for a good deal of the two-year contract. So in Novemeber 2006, the contact came to an end and that was that.

Of course my father wanted a new phone. I guess if he wandered down the hall or to the dining hall, he wanted to make sure that he could be reached. Just about every week, he let me know about the latest offers. So for Christmas, I sent him a Tracfone with enough minutes for a year. Or so I thought.

When I arrived in Florida in February, he could not locate the phone. So we looked into trying to get it replaced. After close to three hours on the phone with the Tracfone folks, we were ready to close the deal. But, for some reason, none of my credit cards would go through. I gave up. And so we went back to the weekly deals and why they were or weren't such good deals until last week.

You may recall that my father got a scooter courtesy of the VA. After using it for a while, he and the VA decided that he needed a sturdier one. The nursing home folks, meanwhile, concerned for his well-being decided that if he was to use the scooter, they needed to know where he was and needed to be able to contact him. In short, they required that he have a cell phone.

Dad: "Stan, so what should I do?"
Stan: "Have one of your friends take you to Walmart or Walgren's and get a Tracfone. That way, you can have it and it should be all set up for you." (This was on a Monday.)

On Tuesday, during the nightly phone call, my father told me that he spent 2 1/2 hours on the phone with Tracfone and he should be receiving his new phone in a few days.

On Thursday, my father's friend Pedro (another story) called me. "Stan, write down this number." And so he gave me the new cell phone number. My father had called Pedro and asked him to pick up a Tracfone at Walmart (or Walgren's) and so Pedro was calling to give me the new number.

"But Dad, what about the phone you ordered?" "Oh, they told me that when the Fedex comes not to accept it and to send it back."

On Monday, the Fedex arrived. Someone accepted the package. So for the time being, my father had 2 phones. "Dad, so now what?" "I'll have to get someone to mail one back. I'll just have to pay for the postage." "But didn't I tell you to have someone just go and pick one up? Instead, you spent hours on the phone ordering one. Then, while that one was on the way, you had Pedro pick up another one. Now you have to get someone to send back the original one. I just don't understand why you can't listen to me."

I guess it is all about payback.

Why People Should Visit New Orleans

New Orleans has suffered long enough. The devastation of Hurricane Katrina and the poor response by our federal government have been well documented. It is up to all caring people to think about what can be done to help bring New Orleans as far back as possible to what it once was.

Honestly, New Orleans was not my first choice for a vacation. And, for all intents and purposes, I would much rather be on a beach somewhere than in the French Quarter. But with my sons, grandson, and wonderful in-laws there I can't wait to go back. So for those of you who don't have family there, I recommend the following: plan to spend three to five days in New Orleans.

Why:

1. The streetcars are running again.

2. Audubon Park is a great place to spend time with your family.

3. The Zoo is first rate.

4. If you like to shop for those one of a kind items, check out Magazine St. and the French Quarter.

5. The food is phenomenal.

6. The music.

7. Get a Lucky Dog.

8. You have to experience the French Quarter.

9. There are some great hotels.

10. All things Cajun and Creole.

11. The French Market.

12. The Riverwalk.

13. The New Orleans Museum of Modern Art.

But, most of all, we can't let this one of a kind American city fail. Just by spending a few days in New Orleans, you will have an experience of a lifetime and you will be doing something good. You will hear stories from those whoe survived Katrina. You will experience the changes taking place each day as the city undergoes change. You will help a merchant survive another month by buying a book, a trinket, a CD, some pralines or beignets, or a piece of art. You will help people in the Crescent City know that you care. Just ask someone how they are doing and be prepared to listen because if you really are interested, they will tell ya.

Spend a few days and a few dollars in a great American city. Y'all will want to go back.