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Jesup, Georgia 31545

Eavesdropping isnt on my short list of favorites. But in a cramped elevator, its hard to plug your ears. There I wassardined into a pack of teenaged girls who were jabbering about tweets and Facebook. Im turning mine off, said the curly-headed brunette. Me, too, said the petite blonde. The redhead looked at her Smartphone and quivered. The statuesque blackhaired beauty slipped her Ray-Bans down her nose and asked, Whats wrong, Marci? Without lifting her gaze, Marci gasped, I cant. I just cant. Suddenly, it was three on one, pounding poor Marci to turn off her phone. I wanted to ignore them, but I also yearned for a whistle to signaltime out. Thats when the elevator bumped on bottom and the door sprung open. And as the girls scrambled to escape, Marci pleaded, Please dont make me turn it off. I just have to know whats going on. I have to! Hello, 2012. Hello, the spreading epidemic of nomophobia. Im no doctor, but Ive seen the symptoms. I just didnt know nomophobia was the fear of being without your cell phone. Marci is nomophobic. Marci is the opposite of

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to gain some traction on my to-do list. But with a TV blaring, its hard for me to concentrate on my homework. That hasnt changed in 55 years. Teachers didnt know what attention deficit disorder (A.D.D.) wasthey just diagnosed me with a severe case of ants-in-my-pants. More than once, Ive been in a medical waiting roomby myself and the TV voices are loudly yapping. Ive asked the receptionists, Can you turn down the volume? Better yet, can you turn it off? They stare back at me, as if I am loony. So, I asked my doctor. He shrugged his shoulders, I dont know how to turn it down or off. They just put it in there. What they are doing to useverywhereis fueling an addiction. And with juiced-onsteroids technology, the epidemic is raging. If Twitter and Facebook were narcotics, half of America would be in rehab. Thats why I wont touch either one. I dont need another temptation or moving part in my life to squirt with oil. I can see what its doing to Marci and millions of other nomophobics. Wait a minute. Something is buzzing. Whats that? Oh, my cell phone is vibrating. Excuse me. Ive got to go.

What we have is failure of too much communication

that great line from the movie, Cool Hand Luke. Shifting his shotgun from one side to the other, the DINK pot-bellied NeSMITH prison guard Chairman sneered to the chaingang crew, What we have here is a failure to communicate. But what we have here, in 2012, is an overdose of communication. As you push your grocery cart, a voice beckons you to the produce aisle: Just arrived, luscious mangos. Yum, take some home today. And as you are minding your own business, draining your wallet to fill your gas tank, a voice announces, Dont forget to come inside where a hot dog and a Coke are just $1.99. Thats clever and probably effective communicating, but I always punch the mute button. I like to savor a moment of silence, while Im saying goodbye to that much money. Maybe the most annoying intrusion is in waiting rooms. Waiting for long is not on my list of favorites either. If Ive got to sit and spin my wheels, I lug along reading material

My Opinion
MMM

dnesmith@cninewspapers.com