Mighty Fine Cell Phone

When it comes to owning a cellular phone, I have very few requirements. It has to be functional, it has to have good reception, and it has to be able to take a beating. We've been pretty hard on our phones throughout the years. I have a tendency to randomly forget where I've placed it, and it has a tendency to get dropped a bit. Then, of course, there's the bit about small children wanting to talk to Grandma. We've had one cell phone that couldn't keep its battery cover on and another phone that busted it's hinge so it was hanging by the data connection. It was a sad little phone. This brings us to our present-day phone. It, too, has taken some punishment. However, nothing could have prepared it for what happened over our Christmas break. Insert ominous music here.

We were staying at my aunt's house over Christmas and having a good time. We were playing with the kids in the snow during the day, playing cards well into the night, and gorging ourselves no matter what time it was. Pretty much my idea of a great vacation. It was a day or two before we'd have to start the trek back home, and I thought that I'd call my father-in-law to see what the weather was like to know for what we'd have to plan. I couldn't find our cell phone. So, I asked my wife Anne if she knew where it could be. The exchange went something like this:

Me: Honey, where's the phone?

Anne: I don't know. Where was the last place that you had it?

Me: Last night when I took my pants off before getting into bed.

Anne: Did you take it out of your pockets?

Me: Are you doing laundry?

That's right, the phone was in the wash. Unfortunately, this wasn't at the point where we had just turned on the washer. No, the final spin cycle turned off right before I got to the washer and opened the lid. The cell phone was washed, agitated and spun. The only thing that we didn't do was run it through the dryer, and it shows. The phone just doesn't have a springtime freshness that seems to last all day. I guess we'll have to live with it that way.

Immediately after finding it in the wash, I took out the battery and set it on the counter to dry overnight. I started wondering about how much it would cost to replace it since we wouldn't be due for a phone upgrade anytime soon. Turns out that it would cost us a lot. The next day, I popped in the battery, said a quick prayer and fired it up. The phone worked, but the interior display wasn't working. That's okay, we could live with it the way it was. We were just happy to have a cell phone that worked. But wait, there's more! Later that day, I opened up the phone to make a call, and the display was working. In fact, it's still working just fine. I appreciate a product that's well-engineered and seems to be able to handle a bit of punishment. Therefore, I highly recommend the LG VX5200. Well, unless you want a phone that has that fluffy softness. For that, you'll have to look elsewhere. Sorry.