Recently I was having lunch with a friend. After the first course he took off his jacket to be more relaxed. His cell phone was in his shirt pocket with the cord around his neck, when suddenly it rang. Whatever the message was, it seemed to dampen his previous high spirits.

For the remainder of the meal he appeared on edge, perhaps waiting for another call. As he sat there with the phone cord around his neck. I couldn't make up my mind whether it looked like a dog collar or a hangman's noose. To my way of thinking, he was not connected, he was trapped. Seeing how it spoilt our lunch, I asked myself, is it worth being connected at lunch?

patrick mansfield