Well as said previously, cell phone users aren't the only ones delaying lines. We have dumbasses that take forever to write checks, find wallets, etc., people having their own conversations and not noticing when the cashier is done, and people just staring into space. I'm sick of people bitching about cell phones and all the obligatory 'if their life is sooo busy...' responses. We are talking about delays on the order of a few seconds here, nothing worth wasting your hate over.

/not directed right at you Cynthetiq (or anyone else btw), just using your post as an example of the general feelings in the thread

It's not so much the wasted seconds that I object to, it's the wasted brain cells of being subjected to a completely inane conversation... one that didn't need to take place in public... at full volume...

I was on an early morning flight one morning, and while waiting to take off, listened to this idiot (a female) go on and on for about 10 minutes at 5:45 in the morning) about how drunk she was over the weekend... and how she didn't know the name of the guy she went home with... Sorry sweetheart - you bragging? are you going to tell me that conversation needed to happen at that hour in that place?

Somethings do no need to be broadcast... It's called a personal life for a reason... perfect strangers don't need to hear about it...

It's no different than any other conversation people around you are having except for the fact that it might be a little bit louder and you only hear one half of it. You shouldn't expect people not to live their lives jsut because their conversations might annoy you. Maybe you people need to be a little more tolerant of others.

Why don't they realize who I am?

Awww bite me.. :) I'm old - I'm entitled to a little- ok a lot of curmudgeonry... :)


It seems it's asking too much for people to show a little decency anymore and to keep their private conversations private... to pay attention to their surroundings and not hold up lines... and to just treat others the way they'd want to be treated... cuz ya know they'd be bitching about others...

There's a kind of proactive tolerance somewhat lost these days. Consideration. Granted, if we lose patience and come down on the nitwits we're not doing much better, but light enough fuses and some are bound to catch.

The worst thing about cell phones is that the young ones think they have to have them. A while ago I left for one of my late night hockey games, 10:30 pm or something like that. I left my cell phone on thee counter to charge. My stepdaughter pointed it out, when I told I didn't need it, as it was going to either stay in the car, or in my hockey bag and I wasn't going to use it, she was shocked. She asked me what are you going to do if your car breaks down, or something. When I told her, I used to go everywhere without one, and besides there are roadside phones, phonebooths, and I can always get out and walk. She looked like I had just shot her dog, and all I did was decide NOT to bring my cell phone with me. When I was growing up I was told to call home periodically. It was up to me to figure out how, I didn't have a phone on my hip. Kids these days ...

And this difference in perspective is why this converstion isn't going anywhere productive.

jwoody, good for you for standing up and saying something different... saw a couple of others in there that were along these lines.

Now when it comes down to it, I'm not annoyed by people that talk on their cell phones in public, even when I'm that cashier. What bothers me a little more is when you are in "no cell" zones in public places and they still don't pay attention. It's kind of like a "no smoking" sign. People don't notice, or if they do, they laugh and light up/dial anyway. Good photo op for those who observe the irony in action, but other than that, it's just the way the world works.

There is an attempt at reviving manners in today's society. It's not doing very well. Too many differences of opinion when it comes to what is acceptable and what is not. And I'm not about to say which is right or wrong.

I would have minded my own business for the additional 8 seconds that it probably would have added to the transaction until you got involved. There are a lot of annoying things out there, but is this something that really is worth ruining your day over?

Of course, one can trail that train of thought back to the fact that Humans got along fine living in caves and hunting mammoths. No need to do that though, eh? :)

Color me 'curmudgeonry' because this makes perfect sense to me. :lol:

people are ignorant. reminds me of girls talking so loudly on their cell phones, you can hear them from 50 feet away. I have a dire hatred for cell phones. or maybe it's just the people that use them.

Had a similar problem at the bank. Told the asshole to hang up and do his business.

In that situation, I would have smiled and said "Are you asking me to step outside?"

haven't got a cell phone, don't answer my phone at home, its what the answering machine is for. I like people with cellphones, i mean what if they talked to me in line instead? Let the person on the other end of their phone suffer through them.

That would have been a bad move on my part. I carry a gun, and I really don't need to willingly place myself in a situation where it becomes necessary to use it, or where it looks like I was looking for an excuse to use it. Even if I didn't carry a gun, and he accepted, nothing good would have come of that situation.