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My cell phone rang and
I was surprised to see the caller ID display Kenya. Anyone with a mobile phone
has got to be extremely irritated with all the robo-calls that come through. It
makes us very suspicious when an unknown number shows up. But I do know a few
people in Kenya and we had just been there a couple of weeks prior on our Good
to Go with Patti Beth Kenya Wing Safari. So, I answered the phone. The (live)
person on the other end introduced himself as Nickson, and said, “I have your
phone.”
A little history here… I
lost my phone in Africa. I remembered taking a photo, but after that, I
couldn’t come up with my I phone. I dumped all my luggage and dug through
pockets and couldn’t find it. I literally was ill. I’m sure many of you can
relate when I say our brains have taken the shape of those silly phones. We
depend on them for everything. They are our address book, our yellow pages, our
camera, our photo album, our day planner, our calendar, our encyclopedia, our
notepad, and of course, our telephone. We depend on them to hold all our
sensitive information and it’s only when we misplace or lose the crazy thing do
we realize how dependant we are on a mobile phone. Can you relate?
Luckily, I have a techy
husband who spends gobs of time doing techy stuff that I don’t understand and
honestly don’t care to understand. As I was blubbering about my phone, he
assured me that because he “backs up my cloud on a regular basis” that he could
“shut down my phone and wipe it” where ever it was, and “put a command on the
phone if found” and “secure the Simcard”. Huh. I have no idea what all that
means, it must be part of his magical talents.
I sniffed and said, “Ok”.
We returned to the
states and I knew I’d never see that phone again. I cried again when I had to
buy a new phone, but the magic guy pulled stuff outta the clouds or whatever,
and “Ta Da!” my new phone now had all my old phone stuff! Amazing!
Then I got the call. Nickson
had found my phone, and the command said to call my number to report if found.
He did. Working through the friends I have in Kenya, he returned my phone and
it arrived in the mail a couple of days ago. Wow.
I share this story for
a couple of reasons. Just when you think that people can’t be trusted, it is
wonderful when something happens that restores one’s faith. The person that
found my phone could have discovered it had been “shut down” and just tossed
the contraption in a trash can. But he did the right thing. And we will do the
right thing by thanking him for his honesty and send a reward.
The other reason I
share this story is if you don’t do the techy geeky things to your phone to
make your stuff go in the clouds or know how to wipe your info off your device
if you lose it, well, you better figure it out. I am blessed to have a wizardy
husband when it comes to this type of stuff. Because all was not lost. Not even
a little bit. Protect your handheld, square-shaped brain, it’s not fastened on.
