[Gocamino] - Ultreya rental cell phones
hme347 at aol.com
hme347 at aol.com
Wed Aug 4 21:42:47 PDT 2010
Hey, I'm not the one getting overly dramatic about stress and suffering being separated from family - those are your words. I'm glad you appreciate how foolish you sound justifying the imperative of having a cell phone to spare their anxiety of separation from you.
-----Original Message-----
From: deborah berman <dberman101 at hotmail.com>
To: hme347 at aol.com; rspenger at earthlink.net
Cc: gocamino at oakapple.net; ultreya at yahoogroups.com; santiagobis at yahoogroups.com; saintjames at yahoogroups.com
Sent: Wed, Aug 4, 2010 5:07 pm
Subject: RE: [Gocamino] - Ultreya rental cell phones
Back off Howard. Guess what? Dogs don't care about you the way people might. My family is not suffering from a mental illness nor do you have the qualifications to make any such judgement from what I wrote earlier. My family just happen to care about me. Yours, on the other hand.... well, as cantankerous as you are, one would wonder. You need to find a less populated pilgrimage and a less populated forum in which to express your crankiness.
To: dberman101 at hotmail.com; rspenger at earthlink.net
Subject: Re: [Gocamino] - Ultreya rental cell phones
Date: Wed, 4 Aug 2010 16:58:33 -0400
From: hme347 at aol.com
CC: gocamino at oakapple.net; ultreya at yahoogroups.com; santiagobis at yahoogroups.com; saintjames at yahoogroups.com
I suppose if you "... cannot see the point in putting your family through such avoidable stress" and it "would make them suffer" if they did not hear from you, then you do need a phone.
Wikipedia says:
"Separation anxiety disorder is a psychological condition in which an individual experiences excessive anxiety regarding separation from home or from people to whom the individual has a strong emotional attachment (like a father and mother). It becomes a disorder when theseparation reaction becomes strong enough to impair people's ability to conduct their day to day lives and relationships."
My dogs suffer from the same condition. Too bad they cannot use a phone to hear that I'm OK when I travel.
Howard Mendes, NYC
-----Original Message-----
From: deborah berman <dberman101 at hotmail.com>
To: rspenger at earthlink.net
Cc: gocamino at oakapple.net; ultreya at yahoogroups.com; santiagobis at yahoogroups.com; saintjames at yahoogroups.com
Sent: Wed, Aug 4, 2010 4:33 pm
Subject: Re: [Gocamino] - Ultreya rental cell phones
A cell phone is useful for making reservations. Some hostel owners will only
hold your reservation until a certain hour---they ask you to call to reconfirm
if you find you are running late.
It is nice to think you can make this trip and only have minimal contact with
the folks at home, but that simply is not the reality for some people. I cannot
see the point in putting my family through such avoidable stress. This is not an
excuse---they actually worry about me when I am away from home. For me, on
pilgrimage, I couldn't have cared less about talking on the phone, but my family
knew they could reach me if they needed to. This made my absence easier for them
to bear, so was is a matter of being considerate of them. I send postcards too,
Howard, but people do take comfort in modern convenience and my family wasn't on
pilgrimage, so why make them suffer? Pilgrims need to remember that it isn't
only "all about YOU." Besides, we aren't living in the 11th century.
The Corte Inglés carries the cell phone brands sold in Spain. I bought one for
20 Euros and found I could have the minutes topped off most anywhere--news
kiosks, supermarkets, Movistar stores. In France, I just purchased a different
SIM card. This way, you have a local number in the country where you are
traveling.
> From: rspenger at earthlink.net
> Date: Wed, 4 Aug 2010 11:57:38 -0700
> CC: gocamino at oakapple.net; ultreya at yahoogroups.com; saintjames at yahoogroups.com;
santiagobis at yahoogroups.com
> Subject: Re: [Gocamino] - Ultreya rental cell phones
>
> I'll repeat here my reply to Wilna:
>
> Quote:
> I don't consider the use of a cell phone to be "fun." I would be using it to
contact places of accommodation. The internet is rarely available in the little
villages along the route - it is hardly a substitute for a telephone, especially
in emergency situations. There may be great magic on a pilgrimage, but when you
are 85yo and lost in a heavily wooded area, it is not all that wonderful. I
don't exactly relish living moments such as that.
> Unquote
>
> Of course that particular situation was not one where a cell phone would have
been much help, but I could have used it to let the gîte owner know that I
might be quite late and to hold my reservation.
>
> In Spain, I never felt any urgent need to have a cell phone, but France was a
different situation. In both countries, the public telephones are now inadequate
and, in France, I found the internet to be laboriously slow, since the French
keyboards are radically different from the QWERTY keyboards. Also, the internet
is not much use for making reservations (a necessity in France), since many of
the facilities do not use the internet.
>
> Bob S.
>
>
> On Aug 4, 2010, at 11:32 AM, hme347 at aol.com wrote:
>
> Totally agree with Wilna. Cell phones on the Camino are ANNOYING and
unnecessary. How did pilgrims manage so well for centuries of traveling without
them? Now they are considered by some as "indispensable" appendages everywhere
you go, not just the Camino. The excuses that people make to justify carrying
them and using them are ridiculous.
>
>
> They destroy the tranquility of the outdoors and are invariably intrusions
indoors. The argument that they are needed for "emergencies" is a stretch.
Also, if you are so concerned about keeping in touch with loved ones back home,
you can use the internet, as Wilna suggests, or write postcards. That assumes
that you can still remember what postcards look like and you know how to write.
I'm sure nothing will deter those of you who love to blather on your "cell"
everywhere you go.
>
>
> Howard Mendes, NYC
>
>
>
>
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: Wilna Wilkinson <twoxscotch at gmail.com>
> To: GASpangler at hotmail.com
> Cc: †GoCamino OakApple <gocamino at oakapple.net>; †Yahoo Ultreya
<ultreya at yahoogroups.com>; †Yahoo Saint James <saintjames at yahoogroups.com>;
†Yahoo Santiagobis <santiagobis at yahoogroups.com>
> Sent: Wed, Aug 4, 2010 12:28 pm
> Subject: Re: [Gocamino] - Ultreya rental cell phones
>
>
> Better still, my fellow-pilgrims -- leave the phone at home and avail
> yourselves of the internet if and when the need arises to let people know
> you are still fine and find out if all is well with those you left behind --
> and to get those flights. Think about what you are bringing with you on the
> Camino by bringing your mobile phone. If you are just walking for fun, by
> all means -- bring your phones and ipods and why not bring your entire
> 'filofax' as well, but if you want to be able to live in the moment and
> experience the magic and the wonder of the pilgrimage, leave everything
> behind that will not enhance your experience.
>
> Wilna Wilkinson
>
>
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