For today:
You modern up-to-date people know everything about
that phone (computer) you carry around.
You know what? For years we traveled the USA
and other parts of the world that we will never see again, and the only
communications with family was from pay phones.
I mean pay phones that costed up from $5 to $20 a minute for long
distance. Now you must understand long
distance could be 20 or 30 miles according to how Ma Bell decided.
Now? We cannot walk around the block without
hearing,"Do you have your phone?”
I call them ‘the leash!’ We are bound to a phone. Even some children have a $1000
phone. How did all this happen?
OK, last night I was working on a blog entry you have read by now, about our travels in desert areas. Sherry asked, “Do you want to try and answer this?” as she slid her tablet over to me. I had no idea what I was doing but I saw my crazy cousin Dewey’s name. WE never know where Dewey is. For some reason he has a love for Oriental countries. I think that call was from Thailand. WE talked and looked at each other for 15-30 minutes. In 1963 that would have cost about two months pay, without the visual, just the phone conversation, from Thailand to Florida USA.
Anyway, I told him I did not know how to do this
stuff. He said, “I thought you were the smart one in the family?” I told him I
was, but do not do this again! WE did
the Merry Christmas’s, and I finally figured how to hang up.
I am not complaining. I KNOW how wonderful that
would have been when I was on a ship in the North Atlantic, the Mediterranean Sea
or even Gitmo.. If I could have talked to Sherry and see her and the boys. I
thought we were pretty modern for a while we exchanged tape cassettes, and I
could HEAR her voice. But to have been able to SEE her, that would have been
WONDERFUL.
BUT for now, we are happy to live with the phone
as we did most of our later lives.
And YES, I am old. I remember four-digit phone numbers, operators who asked, “Number Please?” and party lines. You could only move 3 or 5 feet because of the land line phone cord.
Anyway, my word # is up. I hope you had a great
Christmas. And enjoy your phone
Nite
Shipslog
PS
My Sister Shirl (RIP), Dewey and sitting is my oldest cousin Harold still around in his 90's. When Dewey is in the area he makes sure we go see some kin.
I don’t
want to sound ungrateful. It was good to see and hear Dewey. He is probably
the closest family I have from the past. He keeps me informed of family happens 30 miles away from us and him halfway across the world.
Thank each of you for stopping by! We appreciate it.
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6 comments:
That was nice of him to call but I know what you mean about the new technology that isn't really that new now that I struggle with! Ha! I hope you had a very Merry Christmas Jack and Sherry!
Oh yes I remember party lines too,
When we lived in Scotland we didn't even have a phone. I use my neighbors phone to call my mom sometimes. Then she would call me at times at my neighbors house and my neighbor would run next door to get me. Such a nice neighbor and she got to know my mother too. :)
i always keep my phone close these days. I never know when one of my children will call, and I did enjoy a few very nice calls yesterday. Yes, it is so much nicer than is used to be when we had to pay long distance for a call. Thankfully those days are long gone. We were just talking about how none the kids today would even know what a pay phone was. We seniors have used them but no of the younger generation has.
That call was awesome. I used to be so mad at Bell Telephone and their pricing compared to now when it is so cheap. We lived in Chicago, and it went by miles - one of the biggest bills we had.
I don't remember party lines. I think the phone can be a blessing and a curse.
I've got to share this one with Tom! He, too, refers to his cell as 'the leash' ... but despite all protests, enjoys hours and hours at a time yakking with his friends.
Yep, I sure remember when the Privilege of talking long-distance was a pretty penny. My mothers even kept a little hour-glass timer at the ready when she'd call her folks in Minnesota.
PS - At first I thought little children who carried their own cell phone were a bit spoiled -- until I read an account where a little girl was nearly abducted on her way to school. Thankfully, she had the presence of mind to get away, then use her phone's camera feature to capture his license plate number.
I literally hate the modern smart phone. Don't need it / can figure out how to use it. I have a Lively 'Jitterbug' flip phone that suits my every need. Cost $50 and $30 / month unlimited calls. Call me old I guess, but I'm a Luddite and proud of it.
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