A funny thing happened to me last night at work - although it wasn't so funny when it happened. I lost my cell phone. I’ve become so dependent on it, as soon as Comcast switched to hih-speed DSL, I cancelled my land line at home. So here i was phonelss. I almost started to panic.

Now what?

My shift didn't end until 1:30 and I had work-related calls to make. But no phone. It was after 10 o’clock and the stores were closed. No way to get a new phone until the next day. What about my numbers? I don’t have anyone’s number memorized. They’re all stored in my phone’s memory. What about my ring tones? My pictures? My messages? Was everything lost?

What if somebody finds my phone and starts using it? Runs up the bill?

What do I do now?

I’d never lost my phone, so I had no idea. I planned to go to the phone store the next day to get a new one. But what about now?

I decided to do some detective work. The first question was" when was the last time I actually saw it? … On the seat of the van … when Kate called me … on Bradburry Street in Brookhaven … somewhere I’d never been before.

So I drove back there … 4.5 miles each way … looked on the ground using my headlights as the source of light … but no luck. Maybe I dropped it in the woods alongside the road when I stopped to take a leak … nope ,,, maybe when I was making the delivery on E. Front Street … nope … maybe the one on Spring Street …nope … maybe I dropped it on the floor of the van and it was still inside somewhere and I just couldn't find it in the dark.

I went inside Pinocchio's, which is the name of the restaurant where I work, and told Amy to dial my number … then I ran back outside to my van and listened … drat the luck … no ring … it was definitely lost. No more denial.

I decided to report it lost, online, when I got home after my shift ended. But one more try on the way home.

At 1:30 in the morning I drove back to Brookhaven, after calling the local police, of course, to inform them I wasn’t a prowler, merely someone with a flashlight looking for his lost phone. (By the way, they never showed up.) Up and down the street I went, the flashlight sweeping left and right along the dark surface of the road … but no luck ... up and down a second time … and there it was … I was elated, relieved, and proud of myself for being such a good detective. I called Amy to give her the good news.

But what if I hadn’t found it? What then?

I called AT&T this morning as soon as I woke up. I use a Nokia - don't ask me the model number. You get a recording and can report your phone lost or stolen. Or you can keep clicking through the recordings and eventually speak to a service rep. Either way, they will shut off your service immediately. If you subsequently find your phone, you can call a service rep, or go online, to get your service restored. And you keep the same number, you don't have to get a new number, you keep the same one.

If you never find your phone, you have to buy a new one – unless you’re due a free upgrade. Another alternative I’m considering is a family plan. It’s an extra $10 a month, but I’d have a second phone to hide somewhere in case I ever lost my phone again and needed to make calls. I’d eventually have to report it lost and get a new sim card, but I’d be able to continue using my phone in the short term.

I don't plan on losing my phone in the future, but if I do, I now know what to do p and it ain't that big a deal,