Cell Phone Manners, or the Lack Thereof

Was just reading the article about the person who finally got escorted off the Amtrac train because she’d spent nearly 16 hours on a trip glued to her phone, while seated in a quiet car that specifically forbids such action. This leads me to wonder what it is about cell phones that seem to make some people forget common courtesy (which was never common anyway). You know the ones I’m speaking of, you have probably encountered them as they chatter their way through your local Walmart, Target, Sams Club or Costco. They may be seated nearby while you are trying to enjoy a meal in a restaurant, but they seem to feel their conversation; carried on in a loud voice for some reason, is more important than you trying to enjoy a meal. These are the same people who tell the clerk in a fast food franchise that as a cell phone user, their conversation is more important than the 1) clerk, 2) the people behind them waiting to order or 3) the food they are ordering. For what reason do they think their conversation is something I want to share? People like that rank right up there with the folks who have the huge bass boxes in their cars that rattle all the windows in my home when they travel down the street in front of my home. I don’t make them listen to symphonies when I do, so please, don’t make me listen to your hip-hop or whatever when I don’t want to. Oh, and if you don’t mind, take your phone call outside and let me get on with my day.