Cool Dad Gets Razr Burn

Ron Nagasawa is on vacation. This column originally was published Oct. 5, 2005.

I think that I’m like most red-blooded males in that I like to have cool gadgets and cool wheels. Of course, since my wife and I are sending our two kids to private schools, and with college on the horizon for one of them, for now, I have to be satisfied with just cool gadgets.

As the publisher of this wonderful publication, one of the gadgets my business life depends on is my wireless phone. You’d be surprised at all the calls I get and from whom I get them, but when you work in media, it’s all in a day’s work.

Naturally, that means I go through phones like my wife and daughter go through shoes. Well, not that many, because then I’d have enough cell phones for the population of Guam. In any case, my last phone wasn’t working properly, and I needed a new one.

Since a cell phone to me is sort of like part of my wardrobe, I wanted to get one that was kind of exclusive. I wanted a Motorola Razr V3. That’s the one that James Bond would probably carry. If it’s good enough for 007, then it’s good enough for Ron Nagasawa.

Besides, I like the idea of having a phone that’s kind of exclusive. I know that sounds snobbish, but I really have few material things that make me happy. When I brought my new phone home for the first time, our 8-year-old daughter was all over it.

Go ahead and roll your eyes at this, but a couple of months ago I broke down and got her a cell phone. It was free on a family plan, so I thought, no harm. Of course, my wife shook her head, saying that our girl can make me do anything for her.

The other day our daughter told me that her classmate also just received a cell phone. She said that this girl’s dad got her a Razr. Not only had I been outdone in the eyes of my baby, an 8-year-old girl now has the same kind of phone I do.

Next thing you know, my 16-year-old son is going to come home and tell me that his classmate got a Porsche Carrera from his dad.