Community News
Pahrump Valley Gazette, Thursday, October 23, 1997 21
I II I I
The ecstasy of modern tec:hnology
Cellular telephones, the ubiquitous icon of the last decade
of the 20th century. Everyone has a cell phone. Half the auto
accidents of the 1990s involve a driver with a hand full of
telephone and a head full of conversation. Back packers carry
them, school children carry them, on call ladies oftbe boule-
yard tuck them demurely into their bodices. Thanks to cellu-
lar technology, from anywhere in America we can reach out
and touch someone, except maybe in Baker.
I have been no stranger to cellular telephone use. Many of
the people I bring to the desert make extensive use of cell
phones and I've learned exactly where they work in the arid
outback. There are certain piles of stones at Dumont Sand
Dunes that indicate cellular reception areas. Often we park
motorhomes in places of good reception. I know where the
actual cells are located on the mountain tops and I know what
cell services work and which don't, or at least I thought I did.
I decided I needed a cell phone. Not for any exciting and
adventurous messages I might transmit to the world, but
rather for the most mundane of purposes. Iwant to be able to
check my answering machine from the field. Seems a simple
thing. I'm certainly a simple fellow.
In the busy busfliug Barstow Wal-Mart there is a kiosk for
LA Cellular. LA Cell has a nice promotion running where you
only have to sign up for two years and after a couple of low
price months, the service rises to $20 per month for the rest of
the two years. Sounded good. I walk up to the kiosk and a
pleasant young man named Scott introduces me to the won-
ders of cellular. Once I have decided to spend the money, it
gets to be fun.
I pick out a phone that works both analog and digital (how
about that fancy tech talk). I purchased a cord that I can use
in the dune buggy and I get the super battery that can power
Las Vegas. After the credit check, which overlooks a few
minor indiscretions, I sign articles of indenture and I'm on my
way. I am one very happy fresh whelped techie.
At home, with Shirley out for the evening, I set up the
charger and start powering up the battery. I retire to the bed
room and start working my way through the owner's manual.
Interesting stuff. Some of it, I almost understand. I circle and
underline the most useful bits and am planning security
numbers that will be easy for both Shirley and I to remember.
I have visions of my high powered buggy sweeping over the
dunes while I suavely talk on my new phone. Maybe to
President Clinton or Oliver Stone. Maybe there'll be a picture
In The Thermometer's Shadow
by Mike Dougherty
iii:
of me on "Time Magazine" with a
phone in my hand.
Time for the fast call. I snap in the
warm battery. I push the power button.
The machine flashes, "Hello Mike" on its screen. Three dots
of a possible five indicate I have a cellular signal. It is time.
I dial the number of the General Store, push the red send
button, and all the technology of the 20th century goes into
action. Shirley answers the phone with a cheerful "General
Store, May I help you?"
Standing tall and proud with a wide smile in my voice, I say
"Hi, Honey, this is the fast call on our new cell phone, I love
you," hisss, crackle, sputter and disconnect.
Something isn't right. I call on the regu!ar phone. Shirley's
circuits are OK. I call from the front yard where I can actually
see the cell on Turquoise Mountain. Same thing. Five seconds
and then disconnect. Call LA Cell, they call back on the cell
phone and the same problem. The cell service says it must be
a malfunctioning phone. Certainly couldn't be their fault. I am
not a happy techie.
Return to Wal-Mart, Scott exchanges the phone and it
works swell in the store. I return to Baker, same problem. I
talk to others in town. They assure me their phones are
working fine. We try them and find they're not. I travel into
the desert between here and Shoshone. Someplaces the phone
Around Amargosa with Andrea
by Andrea Lynn
The PTA Halloween Carnival will be held on October 29 this year. There will of course be
games, food, and lots of fun. Come in costume.
The Amargosa Christian Fellowship is having a Mother/Daughter Brunch Saturday, the first
of November. It will start at 9:30 a.m. at the community center. There will be a speaker, songs,
brunch and a crafL The craft is easy, so if you are worried about that, don't. Anyone can make
it. Please bring $5 each to cover the cost of the craft and brunch. If your morn or daughter is not i
close by, adopt one to bring along.
OCTOBER
Friday October 24: School pictures, 8 a.m. to 12 noon, community center.
Tuesday, October 28: Cemetery Board meeting, 1 p.m. at the community center.
Wednesday, October 29: PTA Halloween Carnival, 5-8 p.m. at the community center.
Thursday, October 30: Town Board meeting, 6 p.m., community center.
works and others it doesnt It definitely doesn't work at all of
the Dumont Dune sites, where I really need it.
I am very unhappy. I wait until the next morning and try to
call Scott at Wal-Mart. He isn't in yet. I am steaming. I call LA
Cellular. Very nice lady on the phone, Donna Williams. She
listens to my tale of woe and says they'll be glad to refund all
of my money and cancel the contract and there'll be no
charges at all. She gets Scott on the phone and we have a
happy three-way chat. Well, maybe I'm not so angry after all.
I return to the Barstow Wai-Mart (70 miles) meet with
Scott, and he clears the transaction from my credit card and
issues a refund receipt. I still don't have a cell phone, but at
least I tried and the cell folks did make it right. I'd rather they'd
just returned to the service they offered six months ago, but I
suppose they're improving it and it'll be years before it works
so good again.
LA Cellular did send me a bill, but another phone call
cancelled it. A simple desert fellow could get confused. And
to think 12 years ago I had never had a telephone. What
happened to the simple life.
Hey, a brand new, refurbished IBM Seleetric II..Mit could
only spell.
Mortgage Life
Insurance
727-7172
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