The Urban Grind

We encounter them everywhere -- on the bus, on the street, in restaurants -- always talking to an invisible companion. They're people gabbing on cell phones, and they can be obnoxious.

And just to elaborate, they can also be found topless in the women's locker rooms at gyms in Manhattan obliviously yapping away. That's just one of the reasons I no longer belong to any gyms.

Fortunately a group of entrepreneurs has come up with a solution.

The people making these notecards give some advice on how to use them:

If downloaders are going to use the cards, Coudal suggests handing one out and then leaving the immediate area.

"We don't really want to be responsible for a confrontation in the shoe department of Nordstrom's or anything," he said.

What about a confrontation in the women's locker room of the chi chi Equinox gym? Would that play out any differently with a topless woman.

Maybe they should also make a card that reads "keep it down and show some modesty, will you?"

But seriously, obnoxious cell phone users, I think, act that way because they believe they come across as important. It's like how some people always say they're busy.

A while back, Allure magazine did a commentary on people who always go on about how busy they are. (This was a long time ago, and I don't have the link.) The writer of the piece opined that telling people about their busy schedules gave them a feeling of status, and also that the words "I'm busy" are used to justify all kinds of rude behavior.

In her view, which I agree with 100%, truly busy, important people never pontificate about how busy they are, and, their desks are spotless. (I guess that does it for me, since I've always been a slob with a messy desk.) She ended by quoting Ross Perot who said, "If I had wanted an appointment every hour, I'd have become a dentist."

Very well put.