Speaking in Tongues: Are You Talking to Me?

Long gone are the days when we only talked on the phone at home. Since the inception of the cell phone, and its use becoming more of a necessity rather than a luxury, a lot of things have become common with the use of them.

One thing that is common nowadays with the cell phone is the hands-free option. And lately it's not the wired types, but the bluetooth headsets. Thanks to these gadgets, I have witnessed people in public places who seemingly are talking to themselves from a distance, only to discover that they weren't. It would make you think that there was something mentally wrong with the person especially when they start laughing or arguing. Not to eavesdrop on someone, but when a person is loud, you tend to hear it.

Well I finally succumbed to the idea of having a bluetooth earpiece for my cell. It's cool and actually nice to have when driving or doing some work using your hands (as you don't need to hold the phone to your ear).

So the other day I went to the grocery store, and realized my mother might need some some stuff, thus I had to make my phone call. Lo and behold, I whipped out my shiny new toy, and placed it on my ear. It synced to my phone and I proceeded to make the call.

Normally when I talk with my mother, I speak with her in Marathi. So my conversation with her started, asking what she wanted from the store, and what not. Standing next to the bakery section, I noticed from the corner of my eye that I could see a middle aged guy looking at me curiously, peering at me as if I had come from another planet. I chose to ignore him, but he kept looking at me, like he was waiting for something.

I kept wondering....why is he looking at me like that? Is there something wrong? Is it something I'm wearing? Does he not like brown people? Is he from Amway? Or is he gay?????

The guy approached me and asked, "Are you talking to me? I don't understand what you are saying, sir." To which I replied, "Sir, I wasn't talking to you."

He realized at that moment I was wearing a hands-free, pointing to his ear with a facial expression of an "Oh!". Feeling like a fool, the guy turned red, apologized and walked away swiftly. I couldn't help to laugh.

I guess in a few years the hands-free will be a norm, that people who seemingly look like they are talking to themselves, are really talking to someone else. We might even have headsets built into our ears like they had in that Tom Cruise movie, "Minority Report".

But then again what if some is talking to themselves and need some mental help? Or what if the person is really talking to you, and you are ignoring them?

I see issues coming about! Hehehe....