In just a few years, cell phones have taken over our lives. They’re as much a part of us as our socks and underwear. We don’t dare leave the house without our phone. It’s true. I love my phone’s convenience. So handy. So useful.

I want cell phones to go away, though, when others around me forget their manners when using their phones. How many times have you thought you heard someone nearby speaking to you only to discover that he or she was carrying on a loud conversation on his or her cell phone? This can happen anywhere, outdoors on a public sidewalk, in stores, gyms, hospitals, hotel lobbies, elevators, anywhere others can hear every word you’re saying, and don’t wish to hear any of it.

Yes, I know. I’m presuming to impose my own rules for the phone manners of others. I’ve started, so I might as well keep going. When you enter a theater, concert hall, place of worship, funeral home, any public place where respectful silence is called for, for heaven’s sake, turn off your phone outside the place, BEFORE you enter. This has to do with respect for others.

So does this: Never talk on your phone while driving. Yes, I mean never. Your argument favoring hands-free phone conversations fails to convince me. I believe the public safety statistics that demonstrate the inescapable fact that the distraction of the conversation, not the holding of a device in one’s hand, is what causes all of those crashes, many of them fatal. This applies to you, everywhere you drive a motor vehicle, unless you’re driving your own tractor in the middle of a field with no other vehicle in sight.

Texting while driving? Are you out of your mind? Let’s be clear. This is not about you and your precious phone. This is about us, everyone else, all of those other people. If you and I happen to be driving on the same road at the same time, you are putting my life in danger. I find that unacceptable. I prefer not to take that risk. I deserve your full concentration on your driving. We all do. This also applies to your loud conversations in public. We prefer not to listen to your uninvited personal business. Take care of it in private and leave us alone.