Play Mah Jongg/learn Mah Jongg with decorum and etiquette by following Debbie’s Golden Rules of Mah Jongg.

Golden Rule #13: Keep your phone on silent or vibrate while playing, everyone will appreciate this. If you are waiting on a call i.e., from a doctor, please let everyone know ahead of time. 

Cell phones, oh my! Most of us have them attached to our body, to the point that if we leave home without them, we feel we’ve left a limb behind. Cell phones are a way for us to stay connected to our friends and family. It’s a tool to use in case of an emergency. Or a way to get a call from your doctor or your children’s school, no matter where you are.

Some of you will be too young to remember this, but when I was a teenager, I had to pull off the road and stop at, in most cases, a gas station to make a call. There were times I didn’t have a dime on me to make the call. Or, additional dimes to extend the call and had to ask a stranger for the money. Or, If I was waiting on a call back from a doctor’s office, I’d better be home to receive the call. Voice mail systems were yet to be born.

While technology is the way of the world, it has also changed the way we socialize. When it comes to cell phones, there are times we can all be a bit more courteous while we play Mah Jongg-learn Mah Jongg. I’ll admit, I still need work on this.

Do any of these situations sound familiar?

• A cell phone rings loud enough to make you jump, or the ring tone is a song you don’t even like. The person whose owns the phone ignores the ringing and after 10 rings, it finally stops.
• A cell phone bings, buzzes, or beeps with its owner’s chosen sound. One that comes to mind and that made me laugh was one that sounding like a meditation bell. Each time the bell sounded, I’d say, “Meditation has now begun.” Not only did I think I was funny but, I was hoping I’d send a message to the phone’s owner. Guess what? It didn’t work!
• A cell phone rings, and a player picks it up in the middle of the game and proceeds to talk at the table for several minutes.

If so, try to use these suggestions to alleviate the situation(s):

• You are hosting the game, and at the beginning of the game, you say nicely, “Can we all agree to keep our phones on vibrate?
• You announce to your friends, “I just want to let you know, I’m expecting an important call from my doctor’s office,” or “My parents are getting older, and I like to keep my phone on just in case they need.”
• If you need to keep your phone on and it rings, beeps, buzzes, or dings, and you see, it is not the person you were expecting, “Hit the END, OFF, SILENT, or WHATEVER button it takes to end it.
• If an urgent call comes in, excuse yourself from the table.

Stay tuned for another Golden Rule in my next blog. Be sure to check out the other blogs in this series.

Play Mah Jongg-Learn Mah Jongg today!