Wednesday, March 6, 2013

WHERE ARE ALL THE PAY PHONES?


As I was walking, out of the grocery store yesterday, limping might be a better term because walking up and down the store aisles encourages the MS in my leg muscles to rebel and try to quit working, but back to my story.  I saw a black metal object in front of the store, was it a sculpture. No, it was where two pay phones were once mounted.

Was I asleep or in hibernation the last ten or twenty years? When did we quit using pay phones? I remember as a young girl being asked before leaving the house two important questions…was I wearing clean underwear and did I have money for the payphone. It was a dime in my younger years, but did go up to a quarter sometime or other. Then came those glorious calling cards. We thought those were the ultimate deal because we could spend every last cent we had on our activities whether legal or not. What do you expect I went to high school in the 60’s? Now, where are the pay phones?

I started my cell phone journey with the cumbersome bag phone when it first came out. Gee did I think that was hot stuff, even though two tin cans on a string provided more clarity.  Then I got the smaller more convenient phone that I’d need to park the car and get out and walk around the car to find a spot for any somewhat decent reception. About a dozen or more cell phones later I am using an iPhone, that talks back to me, tells me where to go and how to get there and I never noticed our old friend the payphone disappearing one by one.

No comments:

Post a Comment