I’m not ashamed to say it. I think life before cell phones was a lot suckier and I’m glad that we have cell phones.
I would like to see someone re-write the Nancy Drew mysteries with the additions of cell phones and computers. Most of her mysteries would have been solvable in half an hour with these two inventions. And Hannah Gruen could have stopped worrying because whenever Nancy got thrown into cisterns or locked in attics by the bad guys, she could have just taken out the cell phone and called up Carson Drew and said, “Hi, Dad, I’m in a jam!”
It’s wonderful to be able to call home and ask, “Do you need anything at the store?” before I drive all the way home and discover that we are out of milk or cat food.
It’s wonderful when my husband can call me and say, “I’m sorry I’m late, but someone rear-ended me. I’m fine, but it’s going to take a while.” Back in the “old days,” I would have been worried sick.
And when my kids were teenagers, it sure was nice to get a call telling me why they were going to be late.
Last summer when my daughter and husband were driving out to California to settle her on her new college campus, they decided to call one of the famous lodges at the Grand Canyon on the off chance that there would be a room available (website said, "A year’s notice necessary). Well, guess what, there was a room that had just become available, and my husband and daughter got it and slept overlooking the Grand Canyon instead of in a motel 30 miles away. The power of cell phones!
My 80-year-old father just got a cell phone and he loves it. He feels a lot more secure.
As for leaving them on during Mass, c’mon, everyone!
We’re human beings with frail minds and faulty memories, and we forget. It doesn’t take much to get most of us off of our routine. We get tied up in traffic, or a child distracts us , or our car makes a funny noise and scares us, and then we forget all about leaving the cell phone in the car or turning it to silent mode before we walk into the church building.
C’mon, it’s no different than burping or farting. Sometimes it happens in public even at Mass. We don’t make a big fuss about it and say, “How irreverent!” or “People shouldn’t eat beans on Mass days.” We just accept our limitations as human beings and put up with each other and weaknesses, knowing that NEXT TIME, IT MIGHT BE US!
IMO, when a cell phone goes off during a religious time (Mass, Confession, Bible study, etc.) we should smile and say, “Someday, we’ll have new bodies in heaven and our brains will always work the way they should.”
I HATE my cell phone, if it were up to me, my dh and I wouldn’t have one…however, I carry one because I travel on the highway a lot to get to work…so, for safety reasons. But, wow, what did we all do before these things??? 
