A very recent phone-related story: For the purposes of our trip (which was eventually truncated), my sister invested in a cell-phone for the first time, for my mom and I to use on the road, whereupon after our return she would reclaim it for her own use (which has indeed occurred by now).
Anyway, when my mother and I had stopped in Cross Plains to see the home of Robert E. Howard, we discovered upon approaching the house that various local phone numbers were posted beside the front door, the visitor being instructed to call them if s/he were interested in touring the site. We made repeated attempts to use our new newfangled device, to no avail--we supposed we were forgetting some necessary procedure my sister had briefly shown us the night before.
Then, a touch of serendipity: A car drove up, and the man getting out (there was a woman also) asked us if we wanted to tour the house. We said yes, and said we had just been in the process of calling; the man said that his number was the last one listed. The woman (the man's wife [nee Estes, she eventually told us]), who took us on the tour, said to us, after we had related our trouble getting our phone to work, that Cross Plains was noted for poor cell-phone reception. That may have been the source of our problem, but everything worked out quite okay in the end. And I hope never to be compelled to work a cell-phone again.
