Showing posts with label cell phone ban. Show all posts
Showing posts with label cell phone ban. Show all posts

Wednesday, January 13, 2010

Cell Shocked


I was walking down the street, watching people text as they furtively glanced around for any Cell Police. Lawless criminals were walking everywhere, talking on cell phones and texting – without hands-free devices.


Since the new law came in that prohibited walking while using your cellphone, everyone has gotten nervous.


You are supposed to use a wireless or handsfree device of some sort but hardly anyone does. We’ve all walked while talking or texting and gotten away with it before. Everyone just takes the chance they won’t be caught or cause an accident. Fools.


I sauntered around the corner and noticed the flashing lights. People lined up on the sidewalk. It was a Cell Checkstop. Or a Stopcell Checkup. Stopup SpellCheck? Something like that.


A guy in front of me stopped and turned to walk the other way, but there were Cell Cops behind us – they had anticipated runners. There was no where to go – no where to ditch his phone. Busted in mid-text.


Farther down the line I could just make out what was being said…


“Good afternoon Ma’am. Been doing any talking today?” the cop said.


“Well I had a few texts over lunch…,” she said, nervously.


“Ma’am, I have reasonable and probable grounds to believe you’ve been walking under the influence of a cell phone call. I’ll need to see your handset, earpiece and contract please,” he said in a bored voice.


“I think my hands-free device is in my purse somewhere, officer. I always use it. I just can’t seem to find it. It must have slipped off my ear!”


“Sure lady. We have an old saying in Cell law enforcement - ‘You do the air-time, you do the crime.’ Now let me see the history page on your telephone, please.” he said.


“Well I did make one quick call but that was inside a store I swear! I wasn’t walking!” she said, fumbling.


“Ma’am, we are here for your safety. Talking and walking at the same time causes people to bump into each other and drop packages, causing tens of dollars in damage every year. It’s a serious problem. The Provincial Government created our police force to battle this crime wave. So hand over the goods before I start jamming your data channel…”


There was a commotion further down the line. A young man was being hand-cuffed by the Cellies.


“That isn’t my phone I swear!” a kid said as he was taken into custody and thrown into the police car. “It’s not my phone! My Bluetooth is re-charging! It belongs to my girlfriend! Someone planted it on me! Honest! You’ve gotta believe me!”


“Cancel his texting plan and take him down to the Cell cells” the senior cell cop instructed. “Yea, I know that sounds ridiculous. We’re talking to management about it.”


Meanwhile, the lady in front continued… “Officer, I’m really, really sorry. I promise if you just give me a warning I won’t do it again! I can’t lose my cellphone – I need it for my job. Any more tickets and my daytime rates will go up like you wouldn’t believe…”


JUDGE: “I sentence you to lose one hour of Blackberry use per day for one whole week.”


CRIMINAL: “Nooooooooooooooo!!!”


When it was my turn the officer looked me squarely in the eye and said “Good afternoon sir. Been doing any calling today?”


“I had two brief calls about an hour ago, and I sent a text to my wife about 30 minutes ago – well before I started walking, sir.” I said.


“I’ll need to see your cell phone license and history list please sir,” he said, ever the cool professional.


“Everything seems to be in order sir. Have a good walk and remember to always use a hands-free device, or call a cab,” the officer said.


It sure feels good knowing that our Cell Police professionals are keeping our streets safe.


Sunday, January 3, 2010

Draconian Measures

Well it is past January 1st and we are all supposed to act grown-up when driving. I myself am practicing the art of sliding my cell phone down my sleeve upon sighting a police officer and pretending to scratch my head instead of talking. It’s all in the wrist action.


“Why no officer I don’t hear anything and I don’t have a ringing armpit, how absurd.”


Getting busted after February 1st could be interesting.


The law now clearly states that if you are caught talking on a cell phone while driving you will be executed in terrible ways, possibly involving pitchforks, and your remains will be stuck on a pole at the entrance to the city and tazed repeatedly by authorities while chanting, torch-waving crowds scream invective at your corpse.


I’m sorry – I’ve been reading about the Middle Ages lately and I got a little carried away there.


What I meant to say was that your corpse will be tazed only once at the gates of the city. My bad.


My eyelids are getting heavy…


“…For lo did the younge peoples and contractores and sellers of homes and many others use the fone devices while driving, and they didd then plow into the hind endes of the autos in fronte of them. Such crashes upset ye apple carts so to spill their goodes and wares and injure the occupantes and hinder the tax collecteth thereby and possibly involveth lawyers God forbidde amen.


“And so it came to pass that the ruler Gordone of Victoria did invoke a Lawe which stated that henceforth all citizenry woulde Nought speake into hande held devices whilste driving their powered automachines.


Foresooth it be further proclaimed that shoulde ye be founde typing of texte or Twitteringe or reading of the Holy FayceBookes while driving, yea verily wouldst thou be an idiote and dolte and hindquarter of a donkey and shouldst be pelted with stones verily.


The people did righteously say “Art there also lawes forsaking all doughnuttes and koffees and drinkes contained in bottles and lippstickes and combes for the brusching of the hairs whilst in my horseless carriage? Wouldst thou ban me from changing the numbers upon my wireless music boxe? Verily there are notte such lawes so buzze off!”


But the people didde sigh and line up at the Future Shoppes anyway because they are Canadian and sheepishe and they didde get new fones with Blueteeth things for the eares from the lande of Dorke, and cool touch screenes and kameras whiche would take naughty pictures of girlfriends and post them to their FayceBookes, blessed be they without passwords.


And Gordone of Victoria shall sende his sherriffs farr and wide to enforce his decrees, and collecteth the taxes (sorry – fynes) from those who commit peril upon the rodes and byways of the land, and they shall all live happily everafter with fewer dentes in their bumpers and fewer dents in the pedestrians and shoppes.


So sayeth The Gord.


I am so sorry - I must have nodded off there. Is that your cell phone ringing?


What’s that thing on the side of your head?