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Sam walked into the mall only to see what changes had been made in the years since he had last been there. The place was crowded, yet not overly so. There were stores and people in all directions, and he noticed there were kiosks set up in the main aisles for what he liked to call mini-stores. These kiosks reminded him of the old hawkers he had read of in the past, the merchants in a bazaar who would call out their wares to any interested passerby. At this mall on this day, the kiosk merchants called out to anyone and everyone who happened to be within earshot.
As Sam made his way through the mall, he heard a very persistent voice calling: "Sir, sir . . . sir!"
Sam stopped next to a kiosk and saw the man within looking at him. The man smiled. Sam simply nodded his greeting.
"Have you seen the latest Blackberry?" the man asks Sam. "It's got a touch-screen keypad."
"Wow," Sam replies, not moving. "I am not interested."
"You're kidding," the man says, frowning. "This is the latest, the greatest, cell phone you can buy."
"I don't have a cell phone," Sam says. "Don't need one."
"What? You're kidding," the man says again.
"No."
"Then you've come to the right place," the man says. He grabs a clipboard with what looks like an application. "Just fill this out and we'll get you started." He tries to hand the clipboard to Sam.
"I'm sorry," Sam says, not reaching for the clipboard. "I meant to say, I don't want a cell phone."
"You have to have one, though," the man says. "Especially in this day and age."
"Why do I have to?" Sam asks. "And why specifically this day and age?"
The man looks at Sam and frowns some more. He cannot believe this, a person on this planet who doesn't have, doesn't want, a cell phone. "You're kidding," he says again.
"No."
"Don't you want to be connected?" the man asks plainly.
"Connected to what?"
"To . . . well, to . . . everything." The man holds up another phone. "With this, you can connect to anyone in the world."
"Wow," Sam says again. "Why?"
"To be connected, sir."
"Why do I need to be connected?"
"What if you want to call someone?" the man asks, quite reasonably he thought. "What if there's someone you need to call?"
"I call them," Sam replies. "Obviously."
"Exactly!" the man exclaims. "You get it!"
"I call them from home."
"No, no . . . what if you absolutely have to talk to someone right this second? What then?"
"Why would I have to?" Sam asks. "I mean, unless an asteroid was crashing into the roof of this building, why would I have to make a call right this second?"
"What about texting your friends?"
"I call them, or email them."
"What if you want the latest headlines?"
"I watch the news."
The man shakes his head. "You don't understand, do you?"
"Of course I do," Sam says. "Cell phones are great. In an emergency, they're indispensible. For doctors on call, they can be life-savers."
"Exactly my point," the man says. "That is exactly my point."
"But I'm not a doctor," Sam replies. "And I'm connected enough. I don't have time to have a product that will cost me time."
"Cell phones save you time, sir," the man says. "I think you have it backwards."
"Not at all. Think of how much time you spend on your phones texting and surfing the web. Think of all of the phone calls you make. Are all of them really necessary?"
"I couldn't live without my phone," the man says. "Not many people can."
"That's sad," Sam says. "That you have so little free time for yourself."
"I'm connected, though," the man says, not so enthusiastic any longer. He seemed more resigned, and not only for a lost sale. "And I like being wireless."
"Me too," Sam said, smiling. "And I'd like to keep it that way."
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