Tuesday, October 26, 2010

R.I.P. BlackBerry


On Sunday my BlackBerry died.

It's not like I had time to think about it right then. I had just walked in my mother's house with her and my stepfather, having gotten them from the emergency room where they'd been transported after a car accident. So right then I had time to think only about this: my injured eighty-year-old mother teetering down the hallway, making her way to her bedroom to undress and somehow climb into bed with lacerations and bruises all over her body. So, even though I'm a slave to the blinking red light of my phone, hypnotized by its allure, unable to resist its blinking call, I ignored it and took care of my mother.

You know how you always hear these phone horror stories, like about people losing all their lists of contacts and phone numbers and why didn't they just back it up before that happened, before disaster hit? Well, of course, that's what happened to me. I didn't back anything up, mostly because I didn't understand the back up technology. Like, copy it to what? Online or a memory chip in the phone? Ack. Here was my backup plan: one day I was planning to sit down with my phone and handwrite all those contacts into an actual paper phonebook. With all the time I've spent procrastinating over the last few months, you'd think at least I could have done that one thing, which would have been useful.

Instead? Dead BlackBerry flatlining in my palm. Injured mother on the couch. Tow yards, body shops and insurance companies calling nonstop, doctor appointments to be made, all of these places wanting to fax something, email something, text something. Phone needed.

Providentially this happens to be four days before our plotted defection from Verizon to AT&T and, perhaps, an iPhone 4. So what to do for a phone in the interim? My husband gives me this thing he has laying around the house. A  flip phone. To text I have to go through the entire alphabet for each letter. No emails, no internet. I'm completely unwired in the daytime, like it's 1990 or something. It's like he handed me a chisel and a tablet and told me to scratch out messages.

But somewhere in my brain it's dawning on me that this thing I'm using is actually just what it's supposed to be: a phone. I now also know an incredible reason to have children, beyond the cute baby stage, beyond the make-me-proud stage. It's so when you're eighty and can't handle the small details of your life anymore and can't quite talk to strangers about how they're talking too fast and you don't understand them, it's a good thing to have your adult children standing like a fortress around you.

Do you back up your phone? Do you remember when you were really excited just to have a phone and now have to have a high tech gadget? Any preference between BlackBerrys or iPhones?  Have you had to become the "parent" in any circumstances to your parent?

17 comments:

  1. I have only had one instance of parenting my mom. When my gramma died a few years back my mom called on the way to the hospital and I comforted her and talked her through it. It's a weird feeling. I am glad your ma is alright...banged up but still here. That must have scared the poo out of you.
    As for gadgets, I don't even have a cell phone..and I don't want one. I don't want to be connected all the time. I want to be able to go somewhere and not be 'in touch'.

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  2. Chris, now I feel bad. How did my family get so hooked up to everything? We were the un-techno family, I swear! As far as being unconnected, for a while there I was unconnected and it was an odd sensation. Not good really because I've been handling these things for my mom, but there is a different mindset to just knowing you can't be reached!

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  3. ok Im going the techno answer and have to say I LOVE my motorola Cliq.

    it has its quirks but I adore the full querty and touch screen ooptions!

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  4. I made the move from Blackberry to iPhone in April of 2009. I love my iPhone!

    However if there is ANY drawback at all, it's the virtual keyboard. I do still sometimes miss the feeling of keys. Not enough to switch back though. :)

    And other than a bit of financial help here and there I haven't yet had to take care of my mother.

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  5. I am lower tech than you and have a palm that has software on my PC. So I do periodically back it up because I have a calendar on both. Funny how dependent we have become on our technology. You should have seen me when our Tivo died! Yikes.

    One thing I have learned - I back up my blog a lot more often now!!!

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  6. Until last December, I only had a flip phone and my husband talked me into a blackberry. I never understood why they referred to it as a Crackberry but I get it now! Yes.. the blinking red light... ahhh.

    I have not backed up my phone OR my blog! Now I'm scared... and I am not sure where to back them up to either.

    As for my mother... that is a story worthy of a therapist's couch. I have "raised my mother" since I was 15 and my dad left. She is not in bad health or anything.. just incapable of being a grown-up.

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  7. I don't really have anything to add to this, but I wanted to let you know that I enjoyed reading it. I am sorry that your mother got hurt, but will be okay. I suppose the part that I enjoyed was the humor about your phone immediately followed by the segue into the realization that your kids will one day parent YOU. I always like the way you write.

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  8. First, my goodness, I hope your parents are okay! I can text on my phone, but that's it. I wanted it that way because, on some level, I feel like my phone should be just what it is ... a phone, as you say. Sometimes I desperately want to check my e-mail or browse Facebook, but mostly, I enjoy not having the distraction (and the temptation). Strange, isn't it??

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  9. I am so sorry about the accident! The aftermath can take so long, so many details. How fortunate you are there to help.

    Now. About the Blackberry. Oh shit. I've only had mine a few months. It never occurred to me I had to back it up. Say what? And how??? I repeat. Oh shit.

    (I hope

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  10. The phone you were talking about? That's mine. And my husband's. Hah!

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  11. Yes to all of it! I had that happen to me once and you'd better believe I back up my iPhone all the time. Playing parent to a parent is the story of my life. Nothing is harder to see than watching your parents get older and not be able to take care of themselves...

    Hope all is better with your mom and your defection from cell service carrier was a success!

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  12. Miz, even though I'm definitely leaning towards the iPhone, I'm going to be sure I check all the options at AT&T! There are other phones in the world besides BlackBerry and iPhones, right? :)

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  13. Elizabeth, it is great to hear from a former BlackBerry user that you love the iPhone. We do get hooked on our tiny typewriter, don't we? We'll see how my fat fingers work on that virtual keyboard...I guess if men can use it, I should be able to!

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  14. I have to say I'm old school. I have a cell phone. I couldn't tell you the brand or kind which means there are no bells and whistles. I make phone calls (and in fact just got a ticket for not using my hands free device while talking on the phone in the car. Can't figure that out either.) and write the occasional text (and this because I have young adult daughters). I don't want to be that connected to my phone, because with my personality I would be.

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  15. Hey Linda, I was waiting for your next post, but decided I better just go ahead and tell you before the moment goes too long... I left you a video dedication on HERE'S TO YOU THURSDAY. I hope you like it!

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  16. Robin, thank you and thanks for the message. Things have been a little crazy with my mother's injury so I'm a little more backed up than normal. Thank you for thinking of me. :)

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  17. OK - I am so in sync with this post (maybe you remember)... I have recently gone iPhone (I know you have plans :-), but... I was nudged over the edge to go that way when my phone died too - leaving me, thus far, having trouble restoring all my contacts, and... desperately trying to grab all the photos I took (just got to power this sucker up somehow). I have to say.... I love having everything in one place - like checking my email, love the camera on my phone, love all my funky apps - super cool (oddly, I resent the fact that people can call me whenever - would prefer to just have my fun stuff with like an emergency line or something).

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