Jerry got one of those digital cell phones a month or so ago. In fact, since he was not a big telephone talker, he even cancelled his regular phone and just used the cell.

Last weekend he was doing some work around the house. He had already missed a couple of calls because he could not hear the cell phone's ring everywhere in the house. Well, that's easy to fix.

He jumped in the car and went down to the cell phone store and bought a belt clip for his phone. Now, he could work anywhere in the house and always have the phone right nearby.

Several hours later he was doing some painting when he heard the muffled sound of a phone ringing. He turned toward the sound of the ring and could not see the phone. The second ring seemed to come from a different direction, so he turned again. Still no sight of the phone. He started to walk in the direction of the last ring. The third ring seemed to be just to the right and behind him, but still muffled. Jerry was getting a bit fraustrated. The fourth ring came, after which Jerry knew it would go to the voice mail system.

Jerry stood there shaking his head and put his hands on his hips. What was that he felt under his right hand? He twisted around, lifted his t-shirt, and saw the cell phone in its brand new belt clip!

© 2000 by Richard W. Killey

This story, originally published Mar 9, 2000, is based on a true story recalled by our webmaster.