Why Cell Phones are a Waste of Money -- Anecdotal Evidence

I discovered that, despite having mammoth tires, it's not all that hard to get a Jeep Wrangler stuck in a snowy driveway. Apparently, the 4-Wheel-Drive has to be turned on, and if you don't, it's off.

I looked down and scrutinized this thing that looks like a short gear-shift with a diagram that doesn't really help me know how to get the vehicle into 4WD.

Enter the cell phone. I call my husband. It's his Jeep, after all.

He answers. While I'm explaining my predicament, I jump out of the Jeep and walk behind it to see which tires seem to be stuck. We live in the sticks, and cell service is variable. Apparently the driver's seat of the Jeep has a cell signal, but behind the Jeep does not. The call is dropped.

I go back and stand beside the driver's door, and call him back. But he's calling me back, so I get his voicemail.

I hang up and wonder -- should I call again or wait for him to call? We both wait, and then I call again and this time it just rings and rings and rings. I hang up and get back in the Jeep, handing my phone to my son who is in the passenger seat.

The phone rings, and my son manages to push the wrong button and hang up on his Dad.

Finally, my husband calls back and explains how to put the Jeep in 4WD. If you're counting, this is the 5th call, not counting however many times my husband tried to call me.

This is why I hate paying for a cell phone.

Fortunately, I have a Tracfone so it doesn't cost me too much. Because most of the time I want to throw it out the window, or flush it down the toilet. One day I may do just that, but it cost me $9.95, so it wouldn't be a great loss.