Lowndes County is in the Golden Triangle region, featuring a mix of urban areas like Columbus ad rural areas. As of 2022, 55.1% of Mississippi households had fixed broadband, while 73.58% had a cellular data plan. Most landlines show who is calling but it requires a Caller ID service.
Landlines are tied to a specific location, whereas cellphones are designed for use anywhere with cellular coverage. Phones have come a long way from the traditional phones we grew up with. Back in the day we’d rush to catch the phone before someone hung up, maybe it was a wrong number, a product salesman, a family member or a friend. The last of my old-time landline phone conversation went like this:
Mrs. Bardwell, I’m calling on behalf of the ABC Association, we are asking for donations to help support the families of the ABC. I answered thank you for calling but I’m not interested right now. I believe I’m on a no call list. Mrs. Bardwell, the no call list doesn’t cover charities. So, what does it cover?
Mrs. Bardwell, what is your first name? May I call you by your first name? Then I’m wondering, “do I have to give this guy my name?” Shouldn’t he already have my name on his call list? Out of the blue I decided to lie. I take pride in my truthfulness then I said, “My name is Sarah.”
He goes on and on. Then I felt really guilty and cringed every time he called me Sarah. So, I said, I’d send him ten dollars. I considered the money my personal penance for lying. Then he asked, “Do you feel comfortable with this, Sarah? I must have sounded terribly uncomfortable. There I went again. Suddenly in one phone call I had become a pathological liar. I answered, “Yes, I was comfortable.”
Of course I did not feel comfortable, not at all. I had promised to donate something that I didn’t want to and I had lied twice. Later I had to admit to my husband that I lied to the ABC Association, and we owed them ten dollars.
When the envelope came in the mail addressed to “Sarah Bardwell” my husband delivered it with a smile and I enclosed my ten-dollar bill and was reminded of the whole ordeal again. Good, money mailed, commitment complete, and life went on until the next time the phone rang.
“May I speak to Sarah Bardwell?” the caller asked.
I smiled to myself and answered truthfully, “I’m sorry no one by that name lives here.”
When all was said and done, I realized having a cell phone with a personal contact list is really helpful, so you don’t have to talk to people you don’t know if need be. With the cell phone the caller can leave a voice message for me to listen to later or delete it. It’s an ever-changing, beautiful world we live in. No lie.
Shannon Bardwell is a writer living quietly in the Prairie. Email reaches her at [email protected].
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Quality, in-depth journalism is essential to a healthy community. The Dispatch brings you the most complete reporting and insightful commentary in the Golden Triangle, but we need your help to continue our efforts. In the past week, our reporters have posted 35 articles to cdispatch.com. Please consider subscribing to our website for only $2.30 per week to help support local journalism and our community.
