dear cell phone,

Please come back. I know we've had our differences - and I probably complain about you more than I should - but you have to admit you've pulled a few fast ones yourself.

Like that time you gave me all my messages a week late.

Or that time you gave me all my text messages in triplicate.

Pretty good, cell phone. Pretty good.

Look - I know you probably look around and see lots of people paying oodles of attention to their phones - constantly having them out and flipped open, decked out in all sorts of accessories, calling or texting or playing games. I know that lots of people have their phones basically glued to their face or their hand or at least their back pocket; and I usually leave you lying around or in the next room or plugged into the wall while I go about my business.

But see...it's not that I hate you (even though I've probably said as much). I don't hate you - you are cute and white and allow me to talk to Billy when I'm away from him for too long. I quite like you, personally. It's just what you represent that I hate.

See, lots of people seem to think that because I have a cell phone, I should be available to answer it 24/7. But me? I'm old fashioned.

You know, not too long ago people actually had to talk to each other face to face? And when they went out to escape from it all, they actually escaped from it all? If they went to the park to have lunch and read a book by themselves in the shade of some old tree, they were able to lie there listening to the sounds of their own thoughts for however long they needed? Sometimes, it's good to be anonymous and free.

Did you know that people used to write letters to each other? Honest to goodness letters with paper you could hold and smell and envelopes that were fun to tear open. Now the world is too impatient for emails. If it's too much information for a text message, you get an email. Why go over to my neighbor's house to invite them to dinner when I can just call or text them? It's all about efficiency. No more about experience.

Don't get me wrong, cell phone. You and your kin have made the sharing of information virtually seamless. You've bridged gaps and created possibilities that have further unified the world as a whole. I mean...not too long ago Japan was pretty darn impossible to communicate with. Now everyone is talking to everyone.

I think I just miss...being personal.

So please come back. I apologize if I have been a bit...indifferent...toward you. I really do value you, and would like for you to rejoin my pocket, purse, and/or bag. I can't promise that I'll use you more often - but I can promise that I will try harder to not let you fall out of my pocket onto the sidewalk whenever I get out of the car.

Besides. I have your charger.

Sincerely yours,

Stepper