When I was young, the phone was used for communication. It was the only way to talk to someone who was on the other side of town or the other side of the country. It usually meant you could not see the person and thus it was your only way to talk to this person.
Nowadays, you can be sitting right beside the person you are 'talking' with and you don't even need a phone receiver stuck to your ear. What has happened to society? Technology, that's what. I know a number of people who now have a cell phone as their home phone. No it's not to save money, although it certainly will. It's because they have their cell phone with them 24 hours a day and don't need or want a land line.
About nine years ago, I was told by a junior high teacher that kids in Grade 8 had no idea how to use a phone book. I was appalled by that. I couldn't believe it. She said they conducted a class and gave the students some simple tasks that included finding phone numbers, names and businesses in the phone book. Approximately 80 per cent of the students had no idea how to use the phone book. Really... are you kidding me? Not only that but the same percentage didn't know their own address or what their parents did for a living.
Now remember, that was nine years ago. You can't imagine in that short time how much things have changed with the phone. The kids not only don't know how to use a phone book, but they don't need one. They just google Sask411 on their phones to find a phone number if needed. But let's face it, they have all their friends cell numbers in the palm of their hands. I could go on and on but I thought I would use the rest of the space for a little lighter reading.
I was going to list the next 20 "Letting go" lessons, but my godmother sent me the 2012 Stella award winners which I just had to share with my readers. Enjoy!
No Win, No Fee has led to a culture of suing for the slightest thing in the USA. This is why councils and organizations here have now gone overboard on health and safety which now restricts peoples every move... obviously the American example was the one to follow...
It's time again for the annual 'Stella Awards'! For those unfamiliar with these awards, they are named after 81-year-old Stella Liebeck who spilled hot coffee on herself and successfully sued the McDonald's in New Mexico, where she purchased coffee. You remember, she took the lid off the coffee and put it between her knees while she was driving. Who would ever think one could get burned doing that, right? That's right; these are awards for the most outlandish lawsuits and verdicts in the U.S. You know, the kinds of cases that make you scratch your head. So keep your head scratcher handy.
SEVENTH PLACE: Kathleen Robertson of Austin, Texas was awarded $80,000 by a jury of her peers after breaking her ankle tripping over a toddler who was running inside a furniture store. The store owners were understandably surprised by the verdict, considering the running toddler was her own son.
Start scratching!
SIXTH PLACE: Carl Truman, 19, of Los Angeles , California won $74,000 plus medical expenses when his neighbour ran over his hand with a Honda Accord. Truman apparently didn't notice there was someone at the wheel of the car when he was trying to steal his neighbour's hubcaps.
Scratch some more...
FIFTH PLACE: Terrence Dickson, of Bristol, Pennsylvania , who was leaving a house he had just burglarized by way of the garage. Unfortunately for Dickson, the automatic garage door opener malfunctioned and he could not get the garage door to open. Worse, he couldn't re-enter the house because the door connecting the garage to the house locked when Dickson pulled it shut. Forced to sit for eight, count 'em, EIGHT days and survive on a case of Pepsi and a large bag of dry dog food, he sued the homeowner's insurance company claiming undue mental anguish. Amazingly, the jury said the insurance company must pay Dickson $500,000 for his anguish. We should all have this kind of anguish. Keep scratching. There are more...
Double hand scratching after this one...
FOURTH PLACE: Jerry Williams, of Little Rock, Arkansas, garnered 4th Place in the Stella's when he was awarded $14,500 plus medical expenses after being bitten on the butt by his next door neighbour's beagle - even though the beagle was on a chain in its owner's fenced yard. Williams did not get as much as he asked for because the jury believed the beagle might have been provoked at the time of the butt bite because Williams had climbed over the fence into the yard and repeatedly shot the dog with a pellet gun.
Pick a new spot to scratch, you're getting a bald spot..
Due to space limitations, I am saving the last three for my next column, so watch for them in April!
Facebook saying of the week: If it takes you more than an hour to get ready, then you might not be as cute as you think you are! That's a good one.
That's just me.let me know what you think!!
