My A.W.O.L. Cell phone

Saturday night, I went to Raleigh to hang out at my friend Jon’s house. It was a good, fun-filled evening that ended with Jon, Al, and I talking briefly on the porch. I mention this because when I went to the porch, I didn’t realize that Jon was about to go to bed. So, all of sudden, the conversation ended, the night came to a close, and Al and I left the porch, heading to our respective cars as Jon headed back inside, locking the door behind him.

As I got into my car, I realized that I didn’t have my cell phone. No biggie, right? So, as Al drove off, I headed back to the house, and knocked on the door. No answer. I rang the door bell. Same (lack of) response. I kept trying, figuring that surely Jon, or two of the other people in the house, will hear the doorbell and let me inside to retrieve my a.w.o.l. phone. Well, I’m guessing since the house is two stories, they didn’t hear the doorbell, because I was still stuck outside.

And it was then that I realized the inherent paradox of my predicament: normally, if I left something in a friend’s house, and needed entry inside, I’d use my cell phone to call them. However, without use of my cell phone to retrieve my cell phone, it was time to use that Furman 100,000 dollar education for something. ”Ha,” I thought, “I’ll use the back door!”

Yeah, the back door is locked.

I stared up at the second floor window, hoping to suddenly develop telepathic abilities. Instead, I resorted to the classic “throw a pebble at the window” trick. But, it being 2:30 in the morning, the moon didn’t quite illuminate the ground well enough for me to find a pebble. What, prey tell, is small enough to be thrown high distances, yet blunt enough to make a sound to get someone’s attention?

So here I am, at 2:30 a.m., throwing my CHAPSTICK at Britt’s window. Yes, chapstick. I can now say that I’ve thrown chapstick at a window. Life=complete.

After about a thousand rounds of chuck-the-chapstick, I gave up. I got into my car and set off for the 30 minute drive back to Chapel Hill, sans cell phone.

Have you ever been without your cell phone? It’s horrible. I felt so incomplete. I was cut off from the outside world. What if my tire blew out and I needed AAA? What if a friend needed me to pick them up from somewhere? What if Engin saw the post and got the urge to call me? Certainly, he needed someone to console him over the 74-72 double overtime lost to Boston College. Trust me, I’m the man for that job. (And how would Engin have my cell number you ask? Um...stop trying to use that logic stuff. He would have my number okay; it's called "destiny" people.)

Anyway, I got home, and used AOL IM to tell Jon about my situation. Don’t you love the multiple ways to communicate nowadays?

Fast-forward to the present: after a drive to Raleigh in the daylight hours, my cell phone is back in my possession, and world order has been restored. Yay.

Hey wait. I just thought of something. Yesterday, I paid $2.19 a gallon for gas, and then saw gas for $2.13 a gallon. That; plus my cell phone catastrophe…umm…when did I cause a “hidden car” situation?