I have a somewhat long and not so good history with cell phones.
I started with a "bag phone" in 1992. It cost me $150 to buy and plugged into the cigar lighter in the truck. I had to have an antennae on the roof to get any reception and a book of roaming codes to call long distance. It cost $14.95 a month plus fees and $1.50 per minute for all calls. I left the sunroof open one night and it rained. The phone would still work with the exception of the #4 digit. The problem was the only folks I called were Dad at 3141 and Grandma at 3184. At that point I decided it was not worth replacing.
Flash forward to around 2002. My Dad could not even figure out how to put a VCR tape in the machine but by gosh he got himself a flip phone. I still did not have one nor had a desire for one. One Saturday around noon I was getting ready to mow hay at the neighbors. The ole New Holland mow-co was notorious for breaking down. Dad was watching a NASCAR race on TV so he was going to be in the house and gave me his phone so I could call if I needed help. I stuck it in the breast pocket of my bibs and took off. As usual I plugged the mower and had to crawl around on my hands and knees unplugging it. I finished and went back to the shop about. Dad was doing chores and getting ready to head to the track for the races. He asked me for his phone. As I went to get it and slapped my breast pocket I about dropped a turd. I just said "hang one" I went back to the field and searched through the windrow where I had plugged. Sure enough the damn thing fell out of my pocket and went through the crimping rollers. I took it back to him and said "I hope you had insurance" He chuckled and said "yep"
I still did not have a cell phone until around 2012. At that point I started buying the $9.99 Trac Fones. They were $10.69 out the door. I just used them for calling family. They were cheap flip phones and I washed many of them in the washing machine because I failed to check my pockets. It just cost me $10.69 to get another. I had no problem with that.
Well about 2016 my wife went to US Cellular and got a bunch of I-phones. She knew I did not want one but she got me an indestructible flip phone. I took that as a challenge but the damn thing was solid. I have to say I never did "wash" it though.
On December 31, 2021 I got my first "smart phone" it was a cheap Android from US Cellular. The phone was $50 and the service was (still is) $33.10 per month total. I was too cheap to buy a case and cracked it that summer. On October 22, 2022 I had a bad accident here and was severely burned. That phone allowed my to get to the ER. The ole Army Doc sent me home telling me to "suck it up" Well by October 29 it had gotten much worse and I knew I was headed to a burn unit. I wanted to get things cleaned up here as I figured I would be in the hospital a few weeks. I was burning trash and the damn phone slipped out of the breast pocket of my bibs ...into the fire. I could not drive and could not call anyone but I hopped in the Mule and went to find one of my sons. He took me to US Cellular and for $16 and change they gave me a spiffy new phone.
Then a few months later I busted it. It cost around $30 to replace
A few months later I busted that one
I am still using it though
