Cell Phone

by Mario Ugalino
(as published 3 years ago in MVP)

antenna site at bussawit hills

What do you all think are the two most important and possibly the most favorite entertainments invented by inventors of the world In the last half century? If someone would ask me that question today,  there are hundreds to mention but the two most important and two most favorite are - (1) The transistor radio, and  (2) The cell phone respectively.

To me, my first favorite and possibly my fellow Baby Boomers favorite, is the invention of the transistor radio. Who are the Baby Boomers? Baby Boomers are described by many as a group of people who were born right before or after WWII but before 1960. It is hard for me to believe that I belong with this group of people, Seniors or soon to be Seniors. Although I consider myself as not yet a Senior. Ten more or so years from now and I would be one. Sometimes I get offended when people un-purposely think that I am a Senior already.

One time when my wife and I went to watch a movie, a young cashier asked my wife if I was a Senior. (Senior citizens have privileges such as to see a movie for a discount price here.) But instead of me saying thank you to the young cashier for the discounted price offer (sorry we told the truth), I was angry. Who does she think she is, I would say to my wife softly, making sure that nobody heard me. My wife told me that the cashier was right. I should not blame her for telling the truth, she reminded me. And I finally asked my wife, how then would I improve my looks? She just smiled back and hinted to me to start exercising more. My wife thinks that I am out of shape. She might be right cause I used to weigh not more than 140 pounds throughout my 20 years in the US Army. How heavy I am now? All I can say is, I gained some weight! Hehehe!

Most Baby Boomers believe that they are the most important generation-born people in the last half century. But this generation of people I think have also created the Global Financial Crisis that has presently been making havoc to the World Financial System and well being to many people around the world, most especially the Industrial Nations. The inventor of the radio actually was born well before the Baby Boomers came into this wonderful earth. Yes we all live on this beautiful and wonderful earth but its beauty would not last long if we continue to destroy our beautiful  environment that surrounds us. This great environment was given to us free. But we are not taking care of it better like we should.

our late grandfathers house where we grew up

The first time I ever saw and heard a transistor radio was in the late 50s when my haircut then was high and tight. Hehehe! In my early years, once a month, our Nanang would take me to my cousin in  laud San Clemente for a haircut. And my cousin would happily shave my head, except the top portion of my head, with his semi-sharp labahas.  Ouch! I did not understand then why they would have kids my age have a haircut like that! And my Cousin who did the barbering seemed to like doing it. That was probably his OJT for cutting hair because when he arrived in Hawaii, he would work part-time cutting soldiers hairs at nearby Schofield Barracks, not far from where he once lived. I am sad to say that he passed away some years back. Every time I gave one of my grandson a haircut when he was younger or see some little boys getting a haircut, I always remember my cousin who used to give me free haircut. I could still vividly remember his bright smile and sense of humor. I will never forget him!

Let us go back to the radio. During those years when the radio first came out, my boy-mind did not understand how the radio would work.  The radio fascinated me very much as a little boy. And so with the rest of my Kaporokan when the radio first came out.  If you are a Baby Boomer like me, you would be reminiscing that experience right now. And even after many years when the radio was introduced into the world, the radio today is still a favorite to many of us. Before and today,  it is where many sources of our entertainments and information come from.

As a very curious little boy growing up in our grandfathers house in San Clemente, I would investigate our radio when there were nobody looking.  I would peek inside it and investigated it. Many times I thought that those tiny wirings inside, were the people who lived there.  I would think and very much baffled as to how in the world would so many people would fit in to live inside the radio!  How could these small people inside talk so clearly and loudly, I would think! It really amazed my young mind at that time.

The only thing I did not like about those small people inside the radio were, they would not talk back or answer any of my little boy questions when I tried talking to them. I also thought that those people inside could never get tired of talking. They could talk all night! They could sing all day! They also played some drama inside almost everyday! I could not find their stage. They must really be very small, I would say.  The drama would not end that day. You would have to listen to them the next day again and so forth. The Radio would entertain us many, many years. And still going strong and popular up to the present!

san clemente with its newly erected sign

Then the cell phone came along. Cell phone is also a favorite to a lot of people and very addictive to some. But very helpful to many.  Why?  One reason, it could be used to call for help in emergency situations.  And second, can be used to enhance progress to people especially in Third World countries like our Motherland , The Philippines.  To our Kailians living outside the Philippines who have not gone home for many years, you would be curious to know that almost everyone in the Philippines has a cell phone.  In fact, I want to bet my one last tinubong that every household in the Philippines has one or more cell phones. For your information, the Philippines is one of the worldís top text messaging countries. One time a Filipino was once a text messaging Champion of the world! Every time I go home to our town in Magsingal,  I would be so amazed how those young Magsingalenos are able to even text at night. Even without a light? Believe it or not, yes!

But Cell Phone using could also be an addiction.  Some people would not function properly without their Cell Phone near them. Some of them would not leave their houses without their Cell Phones. Cell Phone is like a part of them. Everywhere they go,  their Cell phone goes with them. Away from their Cell Phones for just few minutes would be like years. Some of them would only stop using their Cell phones when they go to sleep at night.  To some people, the Cell Phone is King! Hehehe!  Right?

The Cell Phone also is a very important gadget to our society if we all use it properly.  But there are also few people who would regard the Cell Phone as a bad gadget.  They say that it should have never been invented at all.  They believe that too much using of the Cell Phone could damage our health and could cause brain cancer. They believe that its electronic x rays wave could penetrate into our brain cells thus causing cancer when using very close to our ears and head. So texting would be OK then since the Cell Phone we would use would be far from our head?  But texting to me is a lot of hard work.  In fact, I never did text while in the States, until I went home to Magsingal a couple of years ago. The young people of Magsingal I met taught me how to text. I would be embarrassed because people like me did not know how to text then.  If you live in the USA, I think you prefer calling instead of texting because it is much cheaper and easier to call. This is one reason lots of us never did text.

 But I think that the Cell Phone is also an excellent instrument of helping and enhancing our way of life. Especially for those people living in the developing countries like our Mother country,  the Philippines.  Cell Phones can be used for everything and would expedite many things up. From calling for help, make a business deal or simply use to call your loved ones whenever, and wherever they may be.

looking towards beautiful panay sunset taken from banggay

Sometimes, Cell Phone users would irritate us. Some of them would text and use their Cell Phones while driving on the highways and freeways which to me is very dangerous to do and could cause accidents. For some text drivers, they believe that it is very safe to text while driving. Some of the Cell Phone users when driving think that it is not a big deal to text, talk and drive at the same time. But some scientific studies have already been performed whether Cell Phone using is bad while driving.  And the scientific studies learned that Cell Phone using while driving can for sure diminish anyone's ability to drive. To me,  there is no way that you could drive properly and concentrate driving while talking to someone on the Cell Phone at the same time.

The mobile Cell Phone has been around for a long time now. But only on the past two decades would the Cell Phone  grow.  By the way,  it has been around since the 1920s in America but they just did not want to introduce to the public then because they believed that it would have destroyed the telephone land lines on its early existence. Years later Japan brought the new wireless Cell Phone to the world and now have changed the world forever concerning communications to all, rich or poor, far or near. In other words,  the world has gotten smaller because it is now possible to use the Cell Phone to reach anyone very cheap anytime. Unlike the past decades that it would cost an arm and a leg to call far-flung places where our loved-ones would live.

I could also just imagine my late grandfather, Francisco Ulibas,  having his own Cell Phone with him every time he would go to the field.  I can still remember my late grandfather with his own ìkaluna-sanî strapped to a rope and around his waist whenever he goes to the field. I can imagine him with a kaluna-san on his left hip and with a Cell Phone on his right hip.  It would have been a wonderful sight to see! Or I am imagining him  riding on top of his water buffalo with a Cell Phone, talking to my grandmother or to our Mom asking what the dinner would be for the night. Hehehe!  My late grandfather saw and used the radio but not the Cell Phone. He was amazed with the radio when it first came out and he would be amazed the same way with the Cell Phone.

By the way, my late grandfather died over 40 years ago at the farm where my parents now reside (in Banggay adjacent to Bussawit Hills) but my memory of him when I was a little boy is still very fresh in my mind.