YOUR PHONE NUMBER

YOUR PHONE NUMBER

" My Mother Wants Your Phone Number."

 

This is so 1950’s .  Parental control.  Harmless.  We grew up thinking, "….. this is what parents do."  And left it at that.  Sound reasonable, at the time it did.  Now things are twisted and go sideways a lot.  And before we go too far, I have to remind myself. 

"  Things don’t just happen, we allow it."

Things like the cat and dog sitting on my lap, calm me in ways only I know for sure.  Innocent and they just want to be with me.  Or so it seems.  Creatures of Habit.  Aren’t we all.

 

There was a time and it was familiar to us all.  I would walk up to a teacher or a friend or a friend of a friend, or somebody’s parent and say, " Mother wants your phone number."  Could be anywhere.  At school or at a little league game or even at church.  We didn’t give it all that much concern or thought.  There was a time, for a brief moment when I would pause.  And say.  "  Oh O."  And wait for the hammer to drop.  Sometimes I would get some feedback and would not have to ask myself, "What’s that all about."  It was familiar to us all.  Mother’s and Fathers and parents-in-general were suppose to care and to ask such things.  But that’s not how it is today.

Today your phone number could be a hot commodity.  Verizon gives your number to somebody.  A pop-up asks you for your mobile phone number.  And its just the way it is.  Things don’t just happen, we allow it.  In a bar.  Hot girl says, "Hand me your phone."  Could be harmless, but probably not.  Anyway, the bottom-line for all of this is the part of this blog that seems to be on everybody’s mind for this week.  Our own government probing our personal data for reasons of their own.  And we must have an opinion about such things.  Just like in the old days when you were told to tell somebody, " Mother Wants Your Phone Number."  Necessary.  Harmless.  Until it happens to you, it isn’t all that important.  Or is it?

 

Mostly that is my opinion.  And is why I can sleep at night.  Has been clear for sometime now.  Not all these people who want your personal data or phone number are your friends.  Took a while for the model to emerge, and be it Apple or Microsoft or The Government, it became very clear.  Its big business.  Google got big.  Facebook got big.  How?  So if you understand that they are collecting information about you, and then selling it to anybody who will pay their price, you kind of see the big picture.  Its complicated.  Free services.  Not really.  Get something.  Give something up.  Its a balancing act.  And not every body is 100% happy or satisfied by these developments.  Hardly matters.  Life goes on.  And when somebody leaks the story, and it all has a life of its own.  Electronic Frontier and on The Internet.  And if you have to think about it too much, changes probably must be made.

It could be harmless and cause a smirk and chuckle.  Liberated Moments and People.  Mother just got divorced.  You tell your 20 year old friend.  "My mother wants your phone number."  He smiles.  Or its just the fact that everybody wants your phone number or access to your phone records, online skype or gmail conversations, or in general there is a market and purpose for gaining access to personal life and data.  Who knows these days what’s really going on.  But I will leave you with this, and is the same as I said before:  

‘….Things don’t just happen, we allow it."

 

Before I become misunderstood, let me be clear.

"….Things don’t just happen, we allow it."

I am old.  Have experience and a reference point for most things.  Loving Parents.  People who care about me. 

 Cats and Dogs.  So I offer this:

 

Heard it often during the war years.  (  WW II and Korea and VietNam and Iraq and cold-war-Russia and China ). 

Speak softly and  carry a big stick.

If this expression is not familiar to you, it can be googled now.  But remember instant information is not free.  Every time you use this service, somebody knows.  They pay for this service or its your government.  Who knows.  But somebody knows.  And if all this becomes public, well some of us are offended.  Or should be.

Anyway.  Learned it young.  Tough lesson.  NYC neighborhoods.

Speak softly and carry a big stick.  I liked the baseball bat, but could not hit that little white thing they were throwing at me.  So I had to go out for track and running and football.  Average at best.

Mother liked the belt.  Or the mixing bowl paddle.  Over time we learned.

When you see the bat or the belt, as a small child I would behave.

So for this week I have written 3 blogs that in some way reflect that I notice, when it goes sideways and mother or other’s are doing something that might involve me.  Good or Bad.  Won’t know until it happens or unravels or all the fuss just goes away and it doesn’t happen again.  For now, I will live with the media stir.  

Fast and Furious.  It happens.  

And.

 

Spying is an option.  Selling my information is an option.  Read the small print.  Get a clue.  Or not.  Spying is an option and looking in on an old friend becomes a feature of modern society, but is tainted by methodology, and as presented lately, is a feature we dislike as it comes with its very own tautology.  War of Words.  What do you mean:  "Looking in on Me?"  Before it was obvious.  Knock.  Knock.  Who is there?  " A friend."  Door opens.  Not as obvious now, the methodology and who is really there.  

 

And will leave you with this.  Things don’t just happen.  

We allow it.