How did they ever cope before mobile phones were introduced to the world and caught on fast as a necessary item to have with you at all times? It would seem like so many things that we have today the 'must have' factor outweighs the 'is it necessary?' question, especially if that question comes with consequences such as not being able give the impression to those listening in the carriage how important you are in your business dealings. It is amusing to hear "I.... " "I....." "I......." followed by a dialogue that says how great and clever they are for having stitched up a customer into a big deal.
Perhaps the key is letting it be obvious they are giving us no choice but to eavesdrop on their conversation however private they think it might be by either looking in their direction, smiling, even chatting with a companion obviously regarding the conversation. I wonder if the mobile phone chatters with megaphone voices realize how much of their private business they are sharing or if they even care.
Of course, as they are so blatantly sharing half of the conversation with you the least they can do at the end of it is to fill in the gaps so we get the whole story and not half of it. After all, it could make a long train journey very interesting.
