I’m sitting in the coffee shop this morning behind a man who blows his nose too often. I know because he sits behind me every morning and talks to his little dog and sings to whatever music is playing in here. I put my headphones on so I can’t be distracted.

The other day, I think it was Sunday, a man whom I’d seen sitting on the sidewalk several times asked to use my smartphone to make a call to his wife. He didn’t look like a husband. And where was his phone? Who would marry a guy without a phone? These thoughts ran through my mind while he was in my face, and I felt pressured enough to where I let him use it, which was foolish of me. I should’ve said no, but he was desperate and forceful.

“You gonna be here?” I asked him.

“Yes, I’ll be right over here.”

So I dialed the number for him and recognized the area code as being local. He took my smartphone and used it near me. I watched him the whole time to make sure he wouldn’t do anything funny with my phone, such as walk away with it or do something malicious that would get me in trouble. I’m never going to loan him or anyone else my phone again. He had the real audacity to ask me in the first place, but I figured this was a friendly town. I’m no longer living in Los Angeles, where I was so used to shady people.

I wrote about cell phones a few weeks ago and how payphones don’t exist anymore. This dude could’ve really used one instead of asking me to use mine. This is the problem with society: no payphones anywhere anymore. So desperate people have to ask to use my phone. It isn’t cool.

He also asked me what time it was. I figure you’re in a bad place if you can’t find out for yourself, and you have to ask someone else. Decades ago, people used to ask other people for the time, and it was a polite gesture to give it to them. But that politeness doesn’t fly anymore. It’s considered harassment now if you ask someone. Like the saying goes, she wouldn’t give you the time of day. Just how many people would go through the trouble of giving the time to an absolute stranger? It’s rare. I wouldn’t have the nerve to ask someone.

I’m pretty good at guessing the time, with a highly-functional internal clock, without needing to look at my watch. I don’t even need a watch, but I wear it to count my steps. It syncs with my phone, so my phone can record all my activity. I’m married to this thing. I can’t live without it when it runs out of battery power. I get anxious. It needs to track what I’m doing all the time or my day is ruined. It has happened on multiple occasions, and I have to wait until the next day to charge it again if I forget my charger, usually on trips such as the last time I went out of town. I stayed in Santa Barbara and realized I’d left my watch charger back in Palm Springs. They didn’t use to be this way. I never used to worry about charging my watch. The batteries would last much longer than a day, which is how long this one lasts.