For Almost Two Weeks I’ve Been Without Phone Service

I was at the supermarket during my Monday grocery shopping when I was approached by a Spectrum salesman offering me a good deal. Already a Spectrum customer, I was paying over $300 a month for combined cable television/internet/telephone service. Since I am now on a fixed income, the idea of saving over $2,000 a year was appealing to me.

There was a slight problem: The salesman was not exactly following his company’s procedures. He kept promising to come to my apartment and set me up, but something was always coming up. This meant I had to contact Spectrum, who duly sent out a tech to set up my cable service and wi-fi. Unfortunately, I was still without access to my land line.

I was not completely without a phone. I have a Consumer Cellular flip cell phone which I only use for emergencies or when traveling. I don’t like to give that number out to my friends because, when my land line is working, the cell phone is shut off. Why? I absolutely refuse to be a slave to my telephone and be available to everyone at all hours. So what I do is prefer to restrict my social calling to the evening hours, when I’m not likely to be shopping or cooking (I do all the cooking in my household)—and for safety reasons I object to answering a cell phone when I’m driving.

Eventually, I will get my land line reconnected; but, until then, I will be in a communication gray area.