The President is on holidays in Martha’s Vineyard right now. Whoo! Or not? Well, however upset/indifferent this makes you, it’s doing one amazing thing. Obama has brought the gift of decent mobile service to the citizens. It’s like Christmas!
Martha’s Vineyard is known for especially spotty coverage for most of the year. If you go up there you might as well be off-grid, which is one of the reasons why I never go for my own stately holidays. But when the Obama family arrives, the island is suddenly awash with ringing mobile phones like a holiday chorus. Why? The two Verizon cell towers the president brings with him are to blame.
According to the New York Times:
Many residents and visitors said they considered the few weeks of better connections a kind of gift from the White House. Some described jumping when their phones went off in the library or post office, unaccustomed as they are to hearing them ring at all.
What’s that noise my pants are making?? Not everyone benefits, though. While Obama’s fellow Verizon customers can rejoice, folks on other carriers will miss out. And not everyone likes the extra noise. Noisy phones gets in the way of all that golf, you see. [NYT]
Photo: AP Photo/Carolyn Kaster