The Mysterious Caller

Tonight, my cell phone rang and I answered it. The caller's voice sounded distorted and hung up almost immediately after I spoke. Many thoughts went through my head, none of them positive. I checked the number but it was restricted. I figured whoever it was would call back. If it was an emergency, our family members know to call the house. So I went and sat down for dinner. Again the cell phone rang. Now, I was annoyed. I got up and answered the cell phone. Again, the call is dropped. I told my family that the next time it rang, I would ignore it. And so I did when it rang for the third time. The only difference now was that a message was left.

Cell phones and I have always been at odds. I realize the importance of technology, but I feel everyone including myself, have become dependant on an object that is not beneficial or unique to communication. Certain industries, like banking, real estate, medicine and others rely on the cell phone to stay in touch with their clients and offices. But is it absolutely necessary to answer the phone for business while you are having dinner with the family or you are enjoying an evening at the movies ?

Teenagers, even the pre-teen generation, act as if their lives will die if they can not reach their friends. Yes, communication among friends is important, but how about using the house phone for a change. It would save us some minutes and money too. It would also allow us parents the opportunity to hear who you are talking to. That is our way of knowing your friends. Even though we may never meet them, at least we'll recognize their voices .

This brings me back to my mysterious caller. It was not a family or friend calling. It was a computerized message telling me that my dog smells. I was very offended by the prank call. My dog does smell and the only one who noticed this was a friend of my daughter. She knows because I mentioned it when she visited yesterday. A coincidence ? I do not know. This is just an example of why cell phones are unnecessary in the lives of bored teenagers. Even though this is the first time I received such a call, it definitely will deepen the chiasm between me and cell phones.
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New Vocabulary

• distorted: not clear
• through my head: expression meaning an idea / thought came to mind
• beneficial: positive or good
• for a change: expression meaning something different
• offend: deeply hurt by something
• chasm: deep opening
• make a prank call: expression meaning someone calls and leaves a mean message at home as a joke.

Fill in the blanks with new vocabulary :
1. The kids made a ___________ to the fire department.
2. I was __________ when he called me by my rival's name.
3. We had to jump over the _________ between two buildings.
4. It was sunny today ___________ instead of being cloudy and rainy.
5. It was________ for the boy's health to go live in Arizona.
6. The image on the picture was ___________because he moved the camera when he took the picture.
7. It never went ________________that Jerry was lying to me.

Grammar for the Day:

Conjunctions: Conjunctions are words whose job is to join or to bring together parts of the sentence, like two clauses.

Example: Joe went to the beach. + He swam in the ocean. To join these two ideas together you use a conjunction. Joe went to the beach and he swam in the ocean.

Please re- read the story. Pay close attention to the conjuctions. See if you can find at least 5 conjuctions.