How many people out there still use rotary phone? There must be some folks out there still using them. After two decades we still get the message when dialing into the corporate world - "If you are using a rotary phone, please hold on for an operator."
Back in the mid-eighties, I bought a cherry red rotary phone from my sister in-law Jennifer when she worked for TelNet. You could buy rotary at that time, but they were already well on their way out. I bought it because I've always been a retro kind of guy (even as a kid). I used the phone until about the time I got married in 1990. By then, I was convinced that push button was quicker and easier on the finger. New technology always makes one more impatient. Enough with the retro-technology thing. I'm for progress!
Growing up, our old home phone number used to be (205) 547-5658. Back in the sixties we only had to dial the last four digits of our number 5658. I don't remember what my parents had to dial before that. We then had to dial 7-5658 by the time I was in junior high. That lasted for a long time. I was irked when we had to dial the entire seven digit number. I guess it was about ten years ago that our area code changed to 256. Recently we have all had to start dialing all ten digits when calling someone in town. Imagine having to dial ten digits on a rotary for every phone call. Thank goodness for buttons - thank goodness for speed-dial!
Rotary phones are something that all of us old and crusty babyboomers can hang over the head of all those young whippersnappers.
"Back in my day, we had rotary phones!"
"Rotary phones? What are those grandpa?"
"Yep, we didn't have to walk thirty miles to school or study by candle light - but we had to use rotary phones. We also got to talk to real operators too - real people."
"Gee whiz grandpa - real people?"
1 comment:
What about party lines. We had to wait for the neighbors to hang up before we could make a call. I love to tell young people about the good old days!
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