I am not, I repeat, NOT a fan of cell phones. My brother gave me one a couple of years ago, but I refuse to activate it. I don't want the intrusion. I get along just fine with e-mail and voice mail, and I resent the constant abuse of the devices I witness all around me on a daily basis. I don't want to be tempted to join that crowd.
This past week, however, an incident occurred on a business trip that both confirmed my opinions and made me lighten up a bit about these high tech tin-cans-with-string. I ended up giving the cell phone and its ubiquitous use mixed reviews, even though what occurred definitely appealed to my best instincts as a Shameless PoopReporter.
It was early in the morning. I was traveling towards my sales destination several hundred miles away when my loaded cargo van indicated that it needed to take on some gas. At the same time, my loaded bowels indicated that they needed to emit some, along with some crappy cargo I'd been working on overnight. I'd gotten up way too early to do my usual nekkid turn on my home throne.
So I stopped at one of my favorite service stations along one of my familiar routes, filled the tank, and then headed for the unloading dock. This bathroom is on the small side, offering two urinals and one closed stall, and is usually not too busy. This particular morning, however, there was already a guy at one of the urinals, and the stall was occupied. There was no way I was going to be able to drive even five more miles without a blast or two from the ol' slide trombone, so I patiently waited by the sinks. A minute or two passed. My stuff kept right on stewing, and I shifted my weight from one foot to the other a couple of times.
Suddenly, the guy from behind the stall said, "What price would you be willing to give me?" For a fleeting moment, I thought the dude on the crapper was considering not giving up his seat unless I paid him first. Damn, that was cold!
Then Mr. Pay A Toll To Potty added, "I've got a hundred acres of prime bottom land to unload. I need to know your price."
The guy at the urinal, who had just finished up, turned around, and he and I gave each other a smirk. "I thought he was talking to one of us," I said discreetly while he was washing up. We both chuckled, and everything fell into place. There was a crack between the partition and the stall door through which I could now make out a cell phone pasted to the crapping dude's ear. He was clearly doing his business while doing his business, and he didn't seem to be aware that someone else needed to drop trou and plop now.
The other guy left, and it was now just me and Mr. Bottom Line On The Bottom Land With His Bottom On The Can. "When do you think you'll be getting back into town?" he continued, with nary a sign of a wipe on the horizon.
Probably long before I get to crap, I thought to myself. Finally, I cleared my throat and tried my damnedest to catch the fellow's eye through the crack in the stall. He got the message. "Listen," he told his prospective buyer, "I've got to do something real quick and sign off. Call you right back."
Thankfully, he stood up, his head clearing the stall, wiped himself, flushed, and came out. Our eyes met. He was a clean-cut, nice-looking businessman like myself, and he was smiling pleasantly. "Didn't mean to rush you," I said, while he was tucking in his shirt. "But I have to go."
"Yeah, I did, too. My coffee went right through me this morning," he answered.
The shameless bond between us had been established, and the cell phone had added a little humor to the mix, so I continued the convo as I closed the door, ripped down my pants and settled in. "Guess you can conduct business anywhere these days."
He laughed. "Yeah, I've got to close this deal today, but nature called. These phones do come in handy sometimes."
Just then I hit a high note on the ass trumpet. "Yeah. There it is!" I announced. It felt so good to relieve all that pressure!
"Oh, what a feeling!" he answered back, chuckling, while washing up.
As I achieved blissful splashdown -- eight or nine inches worth -- he told me to take care. He walked out, presumably to resume his negotiations.
Amazingly, when I walked out of the store, he was parked right out in front, sitting at the wheel of his car, that pesky cell phone growth reattached to his ear. He waved at me as I walked by, and I couldn't help but think to myself that he was probably going to close that deal and unload that bottom land quite nicely. After all, his negotiations were no longer in the toilet.
-- The Big Wiper