[00:02.72]027. The Telephone [00:12.09]When A. G. Bell first invented the telephone, it was a communication tool. [00:18.72]Little did he know that he had created an object of emotional significance. [00:24.89]You know those cute toy telephones with colorful push buttons that make happy noises. [00:30.88]Those plastic imitations are supposed to let little Junior copy parental behavior, [00:36.64]but little Junior wants the real thing. He wants to hold, bang, push, [00:42.16]chew on and talk into the real telephone. You cannot simply buy him off with a little baby toy. [00:50.50]Then little Junior grows up. He is busy, successful and important. [00:55.88]Or at least he hopes to appear so. [00:59.15]What better way to feel like a top man than to close a business deal over his cell phone [01:05.37]while grabbing his morning cup of Espresso at Starbucks. [01:10.32]There is also that fashionable lady at the cafe. [01:13.81]her little cell phone in its designer jacket has beeped at least three times, signaling her popularity. [01:21.97]Each time, she seemed to enjoy an intimate conversation spiced with little private jokes [01:28.06]while you waited in vain for that cellular beep to announce to the world your importance. [01:33.80]Admittedly, not everyone declares social status or personal popularity through the telephone. [01:40.95]For many, telephones are practical tools for accessing family, friends and business associates. [01:48.49]There are also a few like me who dread the phone. [01:52.76]In my youth, I had believed that the more calls I received, the more important and popular I was. [02:01.02]Now older, busier and hopefully wiser, there is nothing I detest more than telephone calls. [02:11.05]I had beautiful dreams shattered by the shrill summons of the phone, [02:16.85]hard-earned coffee breaks dissolved by friendly but unwanted interruptions [02:23.47]and even urgent bathroom runs painfully delayed. Having been haunted and hounded by the telephone for many years, [02:33.79]I can now ignore its insistent jangle. [02:37.09]In fact, I can even with a clear conscience flick the receiver off its hook and slip into blissful dreamland.

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