I was a first-grader when my parents moved into the house in which we grew up and where they still live. There were two telephones – one at a built-in hall shelf, the other in the kitchen. The kitchen one, I distinctly remember, was yellow gold. It was the 1970s, after all.

We still had at least one of those rotary-dial phones when I went away to college – that 70s gold did last forever, didn’t it?

Perhaps that’s why I really didn’t think of my 2008 Blackberry technology as outdated. But when it ceased to hold a charge last weekend, and no one who called could actually hear me, I set out to find a replacement, intent upon getting an iPhone.

The reps at my service provider seemed just as intent on talking me out of it. Seriously. They sent me, a serious shopper who was ready to swipe her credit card, away not once, not twice, but three times.

First, they couldn’t recommend it. If anything happened, they couldn’t service it, it’d just be me and Apple. I would have to use iTunes to download any apps. I really should consider a different brand.

I explained that I’ve been working with Apple products for more years than I care to admit and none of that scared me. Still, they thought I should reconsider.

Dutifully, I got to googling, but I wasn’t swayed.

On to Round 2. This time, one of the reps on duty told me she had one that she regretted buying. Another rep said I should wait because iPhone 5 is due out soon.

“When?” I asked.

“Well, it was supposed to be June, but …”

You might have noticed that June ended this past week. Back to googling. Based on my research, it will be September at the earliest before the newer version is on the market. And what was I supposed to do? Just keep listening to those who called my Blackberry for the next three months without being able to respond?

Back I went.

“I don’t know why you are trying to NOT sell me this phone, but I’m here to buy it,” I said in my most determined voice.

They’d sold out. How they did that is beyond me if they tried as hard to talk others out of the purchase as they did me.

Thirty or so hours later, they had a new shipment and we successfully completed the transaction.

There’s a reason they call these things smart phones. I can talk, text, and email, just like when my Blackberry worked. But the amazing thing is the user-friendly way in which the iPhone works for our industry. During Congressman Martha Roby’s portion of the tea party program Thursday night, I was intuitively able to get a photograph and information about the meeting posted to our Web site. In short, iLove my iPhone.

It beats the heck out of that gold rotary-dial phone we used to have in the kitchen.