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My Father´s Cellhpone
My Father´s Cellphone (Pedro Gómez de la Garza; September 2015)
What is a ringtone to you? To me, it means complete silence, a race to the source and as fast as possible give the cellphone to my father. Because for sure it´s for him. Do not think of making a sound, for my father will not hear the other line, but cover your ears as he thinks the person on the other side will not hear him either. His cellphone means work, never ending work, not on vacations nor holidays, not on his free time nor in the night. Because he is a pediatrician, which comes with its advantages and disadvantages. For one, I´ve never gone to the doctor, my hospital is my house. But other kids do not plan on breaking their arms or their heads, having the flu or chickenpox, but it seems they always pick the wrong time to do. When eating, when sleeping, when resting, the phone will always ring; his phone. But phones do not last long, they must be charged. So my father always keeps his charger near him. It doesn’t matter if he is in a restaurant, in the movies or at mass, if the phone needs charging he will charge it. It is funny to see how sometimes he gets bothered of the so uncomfortable timing of his cellphone, but once he takes the cellphone to his ear, he forgets about the timing and talks to his patient as if there couldn’t be a more perfect chance to talk. But there are times in which he and his cellphone must be apart, it is never easy, but if it succeeds, it is one great achievement. I remember how astonished my father was when he locked his cellphone for a week in summer vacations. He couldn’t stop bragging about it, for him it was unbelievable, but for us, his family, was completely necessary. And there are other times in which he doesn’t lock his cellphone, but it is missing. Those are not pretty times. No one is allowed to do anything until the cellphone is found, but it is hilarious to see how desperate my father looks when he is searching for his cellphone which is just on the table. It is never missing more than five minutes, but he always acts as if it had been missing for an hour. Nevertheless, his cellphone doesn’t just mean work. It also means taking photos, capturing those memories worth remembering, and my father has been a photo maniac ever since he understood what Facebook was. With all that, his cellphone is not something I hate or love, it is just my father´s lifestyle, and I´m proud of him, for I know he has saved a million lives.
