SAM 9000

I'm really hard on cell phones. They typically only last one year. Last year I was given a particularly sturdy-looking Samsung phone. Things were going well with the phone for about six months, then my daughter decided to waterboard the darn thing. She handed me the damp phone after she had accidentally dropped it in the toilet. Hmmmm. After it dried out, it worked - sort of - sometimes. Occasionally the screen would go entirely blank. And when i really needed to make a call, it would fritz-out, as if to say "I'm sorry Dave, I'm afraid I can't do that".






















Then, it fell out of my pocket into one of our lawn chairs - unnoticed. The next morning, I retrieved it after the rainstorm. I thought it was a goner. After several attempts at resuscitation, I resorted to setting it on top of a lamp. I hoped the heat would evaporate the moisture inside the phone. As so often happens with parents, I ran to take care of a false-alarm child emergency. When I returned - the smell of scorched plastic awaited me. I grabbed my hot phone and saw that it was warped and the external LCD dispaly was melted off. Not good. I sprinted out the door to get diapers and wine - with my smokin' phone in hand.
The screen was as white as the new-fallen snow.
As I cruised the supermarket aisles, a Christmas miracle occurred!! The screen gradually faded in and I could see the clock emerging from the digital fog. I tried dialing, and lo and behold, it worked! Except for the number six on the keypad, it works fine. Hallelujah!