Texting

I must admit, I totally don't understand the purpose of "texting."

I just hate it when my phone hollers a loud squeak at me, indicating that I've received a text message. Usually, it's from Verizon confirming that I've paid my bill.
Okay. Press 7. Gone.

The very best closed-captioning or court transcribers manage 250 words per minute, which is just about as fast as anyone can speak, and they train for years to do that.

Yet, these young people feel compelled to communicate with each other by thumbing three buttons just for the letter "c".

I just don't get it. What is the appeal of texting? Moreover, what is the aversion these kids have for speaking on the phone to each other?

I remember the very day that I was able to make a direct-dial phone call for the first time in 1969. Before that, in order to call my relatives in Midland, Texas, we had to dial "O" and tell the operator that we'd either like to place a person-to-person call or a station-to-station call to Midland Texas and give her the number. (Any of you remember those?)

I remember the very first time I was able to dial Area Code 904 plus the number to call my cousin, Patrick. It cost 20 cents per minute back then in 1969, but I remember so distinctly giving my mom a dollar bill after I direct-dialed Patrick, spoke to him for five minutes, and what a thrill that was!

We were ten years old and were just amazed at the fact that we could SPEAK to each other just by dialing a few numbers on the phone. Probably at over 500 words per minute. And yet, these young folks find it appealing to press three buttons just to enter ONE letter on the phone!!

I just don't get it!! That is just so . . . . . . STUPID!!

I recently received a text message from someone who texted, "WH U AT"

I called the number right back and emphatically left a spoken message: "Hey, it's me and I'm AT a place where we don't end our sentences with prepositions!!"

On the rare instances where I need to reply by text on my cell phone (with one of my staff members who is deaf and sometimes uses text while he's away from the office and on the road) I'm such a dolt at doing so.

I hate not knowing how to use capitalized letters and proper punctuation when texting. I usually spend the next ten minutes managing a reply to him, something like: thts ok.email me back ltare and then my phone squeaks back and I don't really know if my text "went out" to him.

Regarding the other text I received in which the sender wanted to know, "WH U AT" (Where are you at?") I had no idea who it was, nor should I (or anyone) further any sort of relationship with someone who inquires, "Where're you at?" in any mode.

Wouldn't this society, Democratic or Republican, be much advantaged if everyone adopted the same principle?

God, I'm such a fuddy-duddy, old snob.