The "Decisions, Decisions and Decisions" Story

It was an ordinary day.  Carol and I are trying to decide what to do about our phone service.  For years we had a land line and when the cell phone was invented in 1973 and then went public ten years later, we knew we would eventually have to follow with the trend.  We waited a few more years until the flip phone came out and broke down and got cellular service to go with our land line.  And ... that's were we are today.  I still have my flip phone while Carol has just a regular cell phone.  She uses the text feature and we both use our phones to take photos, but she tends to take more and send them to friends and family.  It's been eight years since Apple released the iPhone and we still are lagging behind.  We have many friends who have gone the iPhone/Smartphone route, but we just aren't sure why and if we need one.  We can still receive cellular calls and call others when we want to do so.  But, we can't search the web for info or check driving directions when needed.  Not sure if we should talk to our current provider, Verizon, or try the Consumer Cellular (CC) service that is advertised on TV and in our AARP Magazine.  Found out that we can purchase an iPhone and use the CC service, but not sure if the service we get will be the same reliable service that we now have.  The reason we are thinking more and more about changing is the fact that the copper network behind landline phones is slowly fading away after a century of use.  The new fiber-optics lines that will replace then are not able to withstand power outages as the copper ones and could leave us without service.  The cable companies that sell internet packages which include home phone lines are required to let you know about the possible outages, but that still won't solve the problem.  And having just a cell phone may not be the answer since cell service in some areas isn't reliable.  We also use our land line provider as our provider for our Internet service and are satisfied with the speed of the service.  Verizon tells us that the new fiber optic lines will be better than copper and will not need as much maintenance.  But, if there is a power outage, both the home phone and the Internet will be lost.  Today about 55% of homes have a land line.  The lower that number gets the more costly it will be for land line service.  And, what about a phone book.  Will there be a directory, printed or online, that can be used to obtain phone numbers of our friends and businesses?  There probably is an online one right now that I don't know about, but will there be a printed one in the future?  I hate to see the printed world go away.  Both my boys are employed in printing and fear they will struggle in the future if all printed items fade away.  So many changes and choices to make!  I sure it will all work out, since it always does, but I hope it isn't more expensive that it is right now.  Again, I know it probably will be, but at least I can hope!!  It was another extraordinary day in the life of an ordinary guy.