Ed Hirshfield, a Globalstar vice president who coordinated the installation, said he was optimistic despite the company's gloomy forecast. And providing phone service to remote regions is part of Globalstar's mission. There is nothing easy about this story and Myra learned that long ago. She's lived her life on a rugged reservation, a West Virginia-sized chunk of Arizona, New Mexico and Utah where fewer than a quarter of the homes have phones. It's a place where running water and reliable heat are not a given.
Unemployment is high and poverty is deep.
Still, Myra didn't have time Monday to worry about far-flung financials. She had to learn the new phone system. By Monday afternoon, she'd already checked her e-mail. Her mother, Marcella, had already called her sister, who lives near the Grand Canyon. You might not give checking e-mail or calling your sister a second thought.