Just image the horror of allowing cell phones on airplanes while in flight.

Yes, there is nothing more annoying than sitting in a college lecture hall with 300 students and have cell phones start going off 10 mintues into the lecture.

There is nothing more terrifying than to see someone driving a testosterone fueled SUV with one hand, whiling manipulating the buttons on a cell phone with the other while turning onto a two-way street full of traffic. I have been rear-ended and broad-sided on two separate occastions by these idiots. Whatever happened to the driver's manual recommendations of "two hands on the steering wheel in the 10 and 2 o'clock positions."

If these people talk all day on the phone to their family and friends, what do they say to each other at the end of the day when sit down at the dinner table, or does that happen anymore?

Brian, I also run into these situations everywhere. i didn't know there were so many important people on this planet

Bravo, Mr. Williams!
I wish more respected people would speak out about this. Maybe then our society could adopt an unwritten (or written) code of ethics regarding cell phone usage.
One thing you neglected to mention: there was another (somewhat) guilty party involved -- her dad! When friends call me on their cells the first thing I do is ask where they are. If they are driving, I ask them to call back. If they are in a public place, I make certain they don't veer into "private" topics and I keep the conversation short.
The last thing I want is for a well-meaning but rather clueless friend to blurt something like "So how's that rash?" while in the middle of a cafe I frequent.

Brian, it is times like that I wish I had the cell phone technology that some churches have adopted. The kind you cant stop cell phones from working. Now you cant even take your spouse/children/friends to dinner without hearing the intimate details of one other patron's life. I praise the resturants that clearly say NO CELLPHONES in use. My friends are surprised that if they call me and I am in the middle of something that I acutally say, I am sorry I am checking out or I am sorry I will have to call you back. People who have to stay on their cellphones at all times, basically have no life. It just a matter of respect, something many people in our society lack.

I was in a big meeting (hundreds of people) where the president of my company (7000+ employees) was giving a presentation. When a cell phone in the audience rang, the president quipped "If that's for me, tell them I'm in an important meeting right now!"

Cell phones do have "off" buttons. If only people knew how to use them!

Brian...once again thank you for a humorous look at a not-so-pretty-problem....narcissism rules these days, and it is a horror...better to laugh I suppose...

Hey, Brian; great story, I really... oh, hang on... I'm getting a call on my cell... wait... hang on... oh, Hi Honey, what's that? Oh, the baby just had his first P__P! Oh! Wow! that's great... what's it like? Oh man, cool! Hey, wait, I'm blogging Brian Williams... I'm gonna tell him all about it...

Hello Brian,

I am just GIVING this idea away. The market is potentially huge. I want someone to invent and sell a personal cell phone signal jammer. With one press of a button or audio command, you can mess up the cell phone signals of everyone within a 20 foot radius. One of you technie-types that reads these columns needs to get right on it. I would pay upwards of $100.00 (maybe more) for such a device. The world of civil people would be forever in your debt. Please get started asap, and make it the big 2007 Christmas stocking stuffer.

Hello Brian,

Thank you so much for your observations and comments. I would love to see common sense come back into vogue. A little less phone time and handicapped parking space snitching would be good for all of us. How about some consideration for those with whom we share the planet?

Everybody shouldn't be talking on the cell phone in public places unless it is a dying emergency. They have no consideration for others and they speak loud, laugh and carry on like their are in the home. Cell phones should be banned from any public place unless a emergency.

JM New York, New York

You are so right Brian. Rudeness and disrespect is a high priority in today's world. How sad that society has chosen this path. The "ME Generation" needs to grow up.

Brian, Didn't know you had such a good sense of humor. I may read your blogs more often now.

Brian,

First, congratulations to you, Brian, on reaching two years this week in the Nightly News anchor chair.

Thank you for a thoughtful and hilarious recount of an experience that so many of us seem to be having these days. Upon returning from work-related air travel, I often report to my wife the 'hit parade' of things I reluctantly overhear during an airport gate-waiting session.

I wonder if there are other, similarly obtrusive behaviors that we've been able to temper over the years? Could airport gates begin to be outfitted with "no-cellphone sections" similar to those on trains in Europe? I'm all for exploring any ideas that folks may have here on this. It's a problem that is not going to get smaller any time soon.

I only wish that someone would make an electronic cell-phone jamming device that could be carried in the pocket.

Sounds all too familiar, was it one of my sisters? Mind you I have a sister who calls me to tell me she ISN'T talking to me and leaves me a VM that she will be deleting any VM I leave for her....ah, the wonders of technology....

In the middle of a very hectic day I ran across your comentary and have been laughing ever since. We have all been present in such situations, however I haven't seen it depicted quite as well. "Impromptu LaGuardia Healtcare Workshop" is a classic. Perhaps we should seek out such opportunities on planes, trains or wherever the general public gathers in mass to become better educated by this growing segment of Americans. I didn't realize Brian Williams had such a sense of humor!

I'll bet you don't get any of those "How dare you" emails on this one Brian! Thanks so much for sharing your experience. The part that really cracked me up was your thought about catching the flight to Boston!!!

Your article made me laugh, but unfortunately what you describe is becoming all too familiar. I was just told a story about someone who was on a bus and he had listened to a cell phone user for some time. She was rattling on about family issues and after a lengthy conversation she hung up. This gentelman walked over to her and introduced himself saying "after hearing your loud conversation I feel like a part of the family now, so I thought I should introduce myself!" I don't know if that's a real story or an urban legend. Either way, I thought it was hilarious and I can hardly wait until I, too, can use that line!

we were just talking about this at work yesterday. the concern that we have that folks are so willing to divulge private information with so many others listening on. it is most perplexing when I board a bus and find that a young woman who is having difficulty with her boyfriend lays out all of her private information for everyone to hear. she then calls a retailer and gives out her credit card number. and so on... if the airlines allow folks to use their cell phones while flying I will have to figure out a different means of transportation.

I find that these people are undoubtedly the same ones who insist that we all experience their taste of "music" (I use this term VERY lightly) whenever we have the unfortunate chance of being within 100 yards of their vehicle. It's not that they feel that they are being rude. Oh contrar! They are "Sharing" with us and we should be grateful to have been given the opportunity to experience their world, albeit for only a (seemingly neverending) moment.

Consider our fortunes, though. Not sure how he did it, but yesterday I was at a gas station and the person at the pump next to me was in a Cadillac Escalade and, true to form was blessing the entire station with the latest rendition of "I shot the Sheriff cause he dissed my mama and now I'm looking fo my pimp" and suddenly the music (yeah, well) went low and his 400 amp. car began ringing. On-Star, I think. He reached up to the bluetooth attached to his ear, pushed a button and soon, what could only have been a young lady (another VERY loose term) began wailing on him for us all to hear. Both sides of that conversation was exceedingly entertaining.

Now this would not be near as interesting a story had the next part not happened. Pulling in next to the Cadillac Phone Operator was a old, beat up Chevrolet Caprice Station Wagon. The rear of this station wagon was apparently equipped with several thousand dollars worth of speakers and amplifiers......and the car was playing the most beautiful rendition of Amazing Grace on Bagpipes that I have ever heard, at such an ear-splitting volume that the Cadillac Phone Operator had to get inside his vehicle and roll up the windows to hear his own voice.

It was beautiful.

This is so funny! I witnessed the same scenario, but, at Newark. At first I wondered if you were talking about the same lady. The one that I witnessed about her was that she is a very passionate "hand talker". Even when she is on the phone and the other party can't see her. She had to go into detail about things that cannot be mentioned on here. I wonder if these people realize how entertaining they are.

Brian,
I am so glad you brought up this topic. It is amazing how disrespectful people can behave. Often when I am at the gym trying to escape from the chatter of everyday life I am bombarded by people on the machine next to me chatting on their cell phones. Initially I wait a few minutes and try to focus on my IPOD but their voices overpower my music. I am not the shy type so I ask that they keep their voices down. I think it is important to bring this poor behavior to a cell phone user's attention so maybe next time they will think before they do. I go to the gym to escape, not to hear about everyone else's problems!

Brian - you really struck a chord with this one! I am constantly amazed that the younger generation is incapable of shopping for groceries or clothing or even selecting a video without conferring by cell phone with someone. They seem to be terrified at the thought of being out of touch even for an instant! Once in line at the post office during the holidays I witnessed a violent confrontation. One guy was talking so loudly on his cell phone that the guy in front thought he was talking to him. He asked him what he had said - and the cell phone guy went ballistic! I had one for a while, but my maximun monthly usage was around 8 minutes...

They're illegal, but when I've been in a situation like this, I've wished I had a "cellphone jammer" that I could activate in the vicinity of the offending phone user and just summarily blank them out! Hmmm, might be worth another look at the on-line black market for cellphone jammers....