By Kenneth B. Lourie
July 16, 2004

I’m trying to figure something out. Something that I’m not losing sleep over (I think that’s been caused by the caffeinated iced tea I’ve been drinking), but still something that’s beginning to occupy some mental space. Space that I’m sure could be utilized for 1,001 better uses, but space nevertheless that belongs to me and, unfortunately for the future betterment of mankind, is hardly filled with tales of great Ulysses, as it were. But rather space filled with the minutiae that so frequently fill my head, as you regular readers know all too well.

In this particular instance, the minutia to which I refer is whether in fact it would be beneficial to me financially to terminate my land-line service at home (where I lease no phones, yet do pay for expanded local service that makes certain long distance exchanges local) and apply the $60 average monthly cost or a portion thereof (which contains a modest benefit package including an answering service) and buy more cellular minutes instead.

If I were to do this, however, I would have to upgrade my current cellular phone to one with the newest tri-mode technology from the dual-mode dinosaur that I currently use. This upgrade, if I understand correctly, and there’s certainly a chance that I do not, would enable me to eliminate the all-too-painful roaming charges and the separate costs for long distance as well, which for me run an additional $15 per month (on my land-line), somewhat less than before, now that my parents are local. Therefore, if I were to terminate my land-line service, combined I would save $75 per month. The question is, then, as usual, am I wasting my time thinking about nickels and dimes when dollars and sense are more important?

I realize that reducing my monthly costs by $25 or even $50 per month is not likely to change the course of my history, but if there’s value to be had and technology and convenience to be enhanced, then who am I to stand in the way of progress? Besides, I don’t need to be wasting the company’s money, and the company to which I refer, LLRP — Lourie Limited Resources Partnership, specifically, my wife, Dina, and me — though a going concern, occasionally does get stopped in its lack of cash-flow tracks. And again, not that $50 or so will stop the bleeding, but the scab will probably heal faster.

And that’s really what I’m talking about — response and recovery. Every day it seems brings new ideas, devices, creations, etc., to assist modern man (and an occasional ancient man, as well) in his pursuit of life, liberty and happiness. For all I know — which as many of you readers know is not very much, other than about sports and chocolate — eliminating my land-line and thereby committing my phoning exclusively to cellular service may be the right, less expensive and most intelligent alternative to consider.

But I can’t help thinking that there’s something I’m missing. And I’m not sure if it’s something that I haven’t been told or something that I haven’t heard. Either way, I want to be sure that it is my best interests that are being served, not the interests of the cellular phone service providers. I don’t mind responding to their offers, I just want to be sure that I can recover from them.