Sometimes you think something is permanently lost, but with a bit of perseverance, it can be found again.
We parked our car near a restaurant and started to get out. I was holding my iPhone, but just as I opened the door something made me lose my balance a bit, and I dropped my cell. Usually this is not a problem, because I have a well-lined case that ensures my phone is not damaged when I drop it.
Unfortunately, this time when I looked down I saw my iPhone 4s hit the ground and — almost in slow motion — slide into the storm drain. I was stunned.
My husband tried to get me to explain what had happened, but it took a while, because for a few moments I stood there, speechless. Then I threw up my hands tearfully, assuming that after dinner at the restaurant we would head over to the Apple Store where I would purchase a new model that I was planning to buy anyway.
Wait a minute, my husband said.
Let’s back up the car and look down the drain. I was doubtful, but he backed up the car about six feet, turned on the headlights, and got down on his tummy to look into the drain. No luck. He grabbed a flashlight from the trunk, got down on his stomach again, and shined that into the drain. No luck.
Then we remembered that, like many mobile phones, my iPhone lights up whenever it receives a call. So I used my husband’s cell to call my iPhone while he got back down a third time to look into the drain. Sure enough, it started ringing and lit up. My phone had not fallen deep into the drain but onto an easier-to-reach shelf, perhaps three feet down. Rich, my husband, reached for it a few times — he had to stretch.
Amazingly he retrieved the iPhone on his third try— and in good condition, too. Who knew that the storm drains in my community have that little shelf?
Do you have a mobile phone rescue story?
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