Now I do text, on occasion

Nearly four years ago, I announced in this forum that I had obtained a new phone that added one function to the digitally ancient phone that I had been using: I could take pictures. I went on to say that I used a cell phone regularly as a phone, but I just didn't quite understand texting. You've got a phone in your hand, but instead of speaking, you type a message on that tiny little keyboard. I just didn't get it.

OK. I was wrong. Two phones removed from the one I announced in that earlier post, I now text. I do it nearly every day, although not all day long, as some users seem to do. I'll text my wife at the end of the workday with a cryptic message, such as, "Going to the gym?" or "How soon are you leaving the office?" I get a reply, usually within minutes, and neither of us has to interrupt our routine to actually speak to each other. I get it now. A quick text can be more efficient than an actual call. You can ignore a text if you're in the middle of a conversation on driving a car or having surgery. And you can reply at your convenience.

This transition in my thinking came about after my former employer decided I should have a company "smart phone" so that I could be accessible 24-7. I thought my personal cell phone provided that oversight, but apparently not. And I worried about dumb me with a smart phone. For a while I carried two phones, sort of like a two-pistol gunslinger, one on my right hip and one on my left. But keeping up with two phones and keeping them charged got to be annoying, so I dropped the personal phone (the one I had just obtained in that previous post) and gave out my official company phone number to family and friends. I'm not back to a personal cell phone, and I'm using about a 20th of the 1,000 texts per month I'm allowed in my plan. But I've joined the modern world and admit that I was wrong four years ago. Sometimes, a text makes more sense than a phone call.