Did you ever watch Laugh-In? It was a weekly television show in the late '60's to early '70's that featured several people who went on to become well-known comediennes and actresses. One of them was Lily Tomlin, one funny lady, who introduced a character she named Ernestine. Ernestine was a telephone operator dressed in clothes and with a hairstyle reminiscent of the late 1940's or early '50's. She snorted and dialed with a flourish, usually asking the party she had just reached, "Have I reached the party to whom I am speaking?" I started many a phone call to a friend in that way and, depending on the call, still do to this day. Funny, how those things stick.
Anyway, at the time my own family was not far removed from the day in which we had replaced our oak box on the wall with black ear and mouth piece and a number that was "two longs and a short," with a black rotary dial phone that seemed like something out of science fiction. We thought we'd really moved up in the world as we no longer had the neighbors down the road listening in on our party line. We all had new numbers that started with nice words. Windsor Seven was ours, which had nothing to do with likker, Kimball Eight was to the south of us and folks to the north had numbers that started with Orchard Five. Heady times.
Let's zip ahead about forty years.
Just before we turned the corner into 2002 and shortly after I arrived in Santa Fe, I bought my first cellphone. I knew I'd be spending a fair amount of time on the road and it seemed like a good idea. I could appreciate the almost instantaneous connections it allows for and more than once it's come in very handy. Once, while returning some paintings to an artist who was up in Denver, I ran over something in the road which mangled my tire, and while I helped my car limp off the interstate, I was able to call on my cellphone, get a tow truck out to my location just outside Trinidad, Colorado, and get back on the road with a new tire all in just about an hours time, with no harm to my valuable cargo.
On a lesser occasion, my sister and I were able to find each other while shopping without having to walk from aisle to aisle with eyes peeled, but instead called and said something terribly erudite like, "I'll meet you up front." Hey, it has its conveniences.
Having said that, and after almost ten years of having a cellphone exclusively, I've recently returned to using a land line. The local internet provider offered one for less than five extra dollars a month. I said yes. No, I didn't completely give up my cell, it will still be nice to have on the road when I travel, and I'm still using it for some long distance calls, but I gotta tell you, I'm loving the return to a land-based phone to match my more land-based life. It actually has a cord on it. And it feels so good in my hand and against my ear. It feels real. It feels solid. I can hold it between my ear and shoulder if I need to. I like that.
Maybe it just reminds me of what was, once upon a time, but I like the notion of heading back to the future, in more ways than one. I have a magnet on my refrigerator that says, "Sometimes, right back where you started from is right where you belong." The same could be said for many things, many aspects of our lives. I don't view it as going backwards, I view it as moving forward with all the good that existed then, and still exists. I aim to make that good not just a part of my life, but my life.
I can't explain it, but it feels really good. I feel liberated.
Hello Teresa:
ReplyDeleteAll of this takes us back. Oh, the power of nostalgia. And although British Telecommunications, as it then was, was of course different from what you describe here, there are so many similarities as to be uncanny. Oh, the dreaded 'party' line and the wait for the operator to connect long distance calls!!
Like you, we have a land line which we use in preference to a mobile phone.
Jane and Lance, Nostalgia can be a powerful vehicle, can't it? I truly cannot explain how good it feels to be using a LAND line again. Thank you for taking the time to read and comment.
ReplyDeleteI can relate to this, Teresa. Sometimes I think about giving up my cell phone completely. Yes, they are convenient, but the cost is also high. Remember how lovely it was when we were able to enjoy the privacy of a simple drive in the country, knowing that no one could find us or talk to us. After the cell phone goes, I think I will dispose of the television. Giving the computer, however — that would be a bridge too far.
ReplyDeleteWe turned off our landline last year because only telemarketers had that number. We're in and out all day long, and we travel, so cellphones are more practical for us.
ReplyDeleteHowever, about going back, we've formed a little community with our neighbors. We took down a fence and replaced it with a picnic table and a hammock. We chat spontaneously and share each other's lives. This is after 15 years in this quiet town where we knew our neighbors only slightly.
I've moved many times in my life, but I still remember the three years when I was 7, 8 and 9. We lived in Chula Vista, California. My mother had just had her second baby. I remember being outdoors all the time, playing with the neighbor kids. Over 50 years later, I can still remember their names, the pepper tree, the horse farm, the walnut orchard.
Now, with our shared space and our young neighbors, it feels like the good old days again.
Amherst Three. And before that, on the party line, we were 3342J. When I recall that, I think of our living room walls, which my folks painted a soft gray, and the dinette, painted pink. I had quite a few pink and gray things in the 50s. I tell you all this to say: Yes, nostalgia can lead us to things that are comforting and right and good. And besides, land lines are now often packaged with internet and cable service! :-)
ReplyDeleteGeorge, I have been giving some thought to going completely cell free myself and perhaps shall. I recall driving through Maine last year and when my phone went into "Searching for Service," I went from Oh no! to Oh Yes! It made the drive more pleasant to be out of reach for a good portion of it. I have all but given up my TV some time back. I get a handful of channels reached with an antenna on the roof! I almost never watch it anymore. But, yes, the computer would be "a bridge too far." I love being able to write with the expediency of capturing my thoughts as they form. Thanks so much for your comments.
ReplyDeleteLinda, I just Love what you and Art are doing with your lives: an organic garden in place of portions of your yard, the place between to visit with neighbors. It gave me goosebumps when I read your comment. That always tells me that I'm reading or hearing something that matters. The good old days can be the good new days. We just need to set aside our fears and can't dos, and replace them with can dos. Then Make it happen. Thank you for your comments and for sharing all you're doing to create community.
ReplyDeleteBlog, Nancy! I love that you, too, remember your telephone "number." It's fun, how thinking of one thing leads to another. The '50's had such fun color combos, especially a good time for pastels, even in cars. I have a friend whose kitchen was bright - lime green and watermelon.
ReplyDeleteI get my land line and internet for the same price as what my cell phone alone cost before I switched servers. It pays to look at the options. Things are changing.
I watched Laugh In every week.I had almost forgotten having the party line. I had a regular listener, it was unique.Not much going on the farm I guess.
ReplyDeleteI see a lot of repeated ideas in ways I do things. My father said it would catch up with you as to where the things you learned and use came from .I laugh when I see him so well in myself
Steve, We had regular listeners,too. One particular family had nothing better to do, it seems. We would tell them by name to get off the line, to no avail. Privacy is one aspect to the new system that is awfully nice. :)
ReplyDeleteI find it interesting, too, to see my parents pop up in ways I do things, how I say things. History repeats itself. For me, that's mostly a good thing.
I loved Laugh in...so funny! One ringy dingy : )
ReplyDeleteOur phone prefix when I was young was "Sherwood". That really brought back memories.
We're just the opposite. We still have our land line, but hardly ever use it. We've thought of giving it up, but just can't cut the cord : )
LadyCat, I thought of One Ringy Dingy as an alternate title. Funny stuff. "Can't cut the cord..." Hey, that's pretty good. :)
ReplyDelete"One ringy dingy, two ringy dingy..." Yes, I remember Lily Thomlin's "Ernestine". I loved that show. She was over the top with her antics and she was so good.
ReplyDeleteI understand wanted to return to a land line. Most folks I know are getting rid of theirs and using only cell phones, but I think a regular phone is safer.
I have fond memories of a blue Princess phone that I got for a birthday when I was in my first year of High School.I still like talking on a real phone better than a cell phone.
We have had cell phones for 12 years now because we live in a place that doesn't have a telephone line we can connect to, so I guess we were kind of pioneers in the early days of cell phones. When we first got a cell phone it cost us a dollar a minute to talk on it.
We also have a landline here and much prefer it, but I really miss the days when local calls were only four digits. I have a cell too, but only for travel and emergencies and don't give out the number. Technology is often good, but I don't think it is to be worshipped.
ReplyDeleteOurs was Lucerne. Lucerne 2...Wasn't that a great time? And I used to work for a subsidiary of the phone company called Western Electric. If you lifted up your phone, on the bottom of it it would say Western Electric. I still have my heavy old black phone with rotary dial. I will NOT give it away. (I hope my husband didn't throw it away in the move...I'd better check!) Nothing like holding a phone. And no concerns about brain cancer either!!
ReplyDeleteOh, I fogot..."one ringy dingy, two ringy dingys"/
ReplyDeleteTeresa, I wouldn't dream of giving up my landline. My cell is just for emergencies when I'm on the road.
ReplyDeleteThere is something so reassuringly solid about a 'proper' phone, it has big keys I can see and feel, but I can still carry it around the house. It has extensions in other rooms too.
No doubt, these phones will soon become 'no longer viable commercially' and be got rid of, like bank cheques. I shall be very sorry.
farmlady. I'd forgotten how expensive those early calls were. Yikes! To live in a place without a telephone line has its own benefits so I can understand having a cell. It sounds like you live in a pretty cool place. I Love your description of your small town wine and art festival nearby. My cup of tea.
ReplyDeleteMontucky, Not to be worshipped. Exactly. Unfortunately, we live in a world where one's worth is often measured by how many gadgets they own, not realizing they've become imprisoned by them.
ReplyDeleteTeri, Oooo, Lucerne is nice, too. Yes, I like that solid simplicity.
ReplyDeleteFriko. We stand together, perhaps a dying breed, land line And bank checks. I still pay my bills with them and send them in the mail with a stamp! Good grief! Isn't it dreadful when corporations decide what's best for us? We've relinquished too much. But it's hard to beat systems. When sci-fi writers talked about machines taking over the world they hit the mark.
ReplyDeleteI've used that phrase on folks years ago when I'd call them - is this the person to whom I am speaking. Ha what a hoot.
ReplyDeleteWe had one of those old black phones that hung on the wall of our home in Arkansas, the home was built in 1963 and the phone still worked. The best part of that phone was that it had a real ring like a phone should ring. It seems phones we get nowadays only last a year. I have a cell phone for emergencies but it's one of those pay as you go phones, so no monthly fees. Gary and I both used to have a cell phone with monthly fees but no longer. When we were traveling without a home base we used a cell phone, but with mobile internet, we didn't seem to need one as much the past time we traveled for six months. Sometimes I do long for more simple times with simple gadgets.
When we moved to the PNW in retirement, we left our landline behind in Colorado. We've never missed having it, but it feels like a different world today. I was afraid of my cell for awhile, it seemed WRONG to be able to call somebody from your car. And now, in Washington state, it will get you a ticket if you are the driver! I loved Laugh In, and especially Lily. Thanks for the trip down Memory Lane, Teresa!
ReplyDeleteHi Linda, My cell is a prepaid one now, too. I'm so glad to be rid of that monthly bill. What a drag that was. Simplicity has so much more beauty and peace in it, I think. Thanks for commenting and sharing your own stories around this.
ReplyDeleteDJan, More and more cities and even states are passing laws against driving while calling. It's a terrible habit. It feels like it leads to more and more anxiety and pushing ourselves to go faster. And for what? I had to remind myself, I'm not in a hurry. So much can wait for a better moment.
ReplyDeleteLike all my trips down memory lane, I hope they lead us back to what is still possible and the good that still resides there. Thank you, Jan!
Hey I know just what you mean. I much prefer to use the land-line and feel a 'real' telephone against my ear. But then I was a telephone-operator for six years when I first started work way back. I operated just such an exchange as the one in the picture I hope my hairstyle didn't resemble Lily Tomlins though!! ;)
ReplyDeleteHi Jane, Lily created quite a character in Ernestine, didn't she? A real phone feels right. I am so glad to have it back. Thank You!
ReplyDeleteTake me back I pray
ReplyDeleteTo that old place I adore,
Right here in my heart.
Paul, You're speaking in haiku. And yes, in the heart is where it lives.
ReplyDeleteI have a land line, but the phone is cordless so it is portable. I rarely use my cellphone. I bought it for emergency calls from my car. Thanks for the trip down memory lane, Teresa.
ReplyDeletegigi, You're welcome.
ReplyDeleteDear Teresa! For some reason I cannot leave comments on my own blog, nor can I post under my blog name on the posts of others! So frustrating and I can't figure it out. So I disabled my comments section for now. But I wanted to tell you thank you for reaching out to me with your heart. I felt it. I needed it. Big hugs to you, my dear.
ReplyDeleteKristy from Koda's Totems
Dear Kristy, I am still struggling with all you and your beloved family of furry friends endured. A middle of the night evacuation with fire looming must a harrowing experience. The bear...it still seems so hard to understand.... Thank you so much for coming over to let me know and I hope blogger gets it's act together. There have been a series of problems in the past month or so. Best to you and your "family." Love you. T
ReplyDeleteGlad you mentioned "party line". That is why I don't do da FBook because to me that is the modern day party line. Ah the stories.
ReplyDeleteIt took a long time for me to break the umbilical cord of the land line and had both for awhile. Several I know that finally dropped the land line were kicking themselves for not doing it sooner. It's just human nature in play with that. It was the saving that were important to me. Over the years I have literally spent thousands calling people and keeping in touch. These days I hardly get a call and that's a fact. I'm thinking of buying minute cards.
I do not see myself having a land line anytime in thew near future but I understand exactly where you're coming from!
One Fly, I left FBook last fall. I hear you.
ReplyDeleteI can't explain it, and I thought I'd forever be land line free, but there it is. It works and really well, for me, and for reasons that I can't even articulate.
I joined Facebook awhile back as Cletis and it has wrecked my nerves. Like Fly said I can hear the screeching even when the computer is turned off.
ReplyDeleteOne ringy dingy . . . snort, snort.
ReplyDeleteOur phone exchange was Fillmore 3, after the president. I always wanted it to be Lincoln 7.
We kept our land line even though we have cells and portables. I use it all the time in my little den. We have portables, but, this is nice and I find I can multi-task with a greater ease with a phone. The only problem is every once-in-awhile I forget I'm talking on it and get up to get something and telephone comes flying across the desk, and I'm trying to grab it while loudly telling the poor soul on the other end, who likely has never talked on a real telephone, that I dropped them, which has a whole different meaning now.
Cletis, That's what happened to me. I was feeling an undercurrent of anxiety that I attributed to FB. It's a sea overwhelming banality, for the most part. Well, that's my opinion. FWIW :)
ReplyDeleteOh Penny, Can't you just hear the snort now? I dropped the phone once, too, forgetting I was tethered. Yes, dropped call does take on a whole new meaning. Love it. Thanks so much for your comments.
ReplyDeleteHej Teresa!
ReplyDeleteI've got a real phone and a cell phone. I only use the cell phone when I'm out on my own. In the woods , by the beach - if I should fall and break my leg or something!! I use my usual line daily for all other calls. The cell phone is so costy!
I was at the tecnical office of the telephone company for over 40 years so I have seen every smart and unsmart phone that was designed! My own landline-phone now is a simple one , and it is so light-weight that it falls to the floor just looking at it! I don't use all the smart technics, and my friends tease me because I worked with the technics! What is it you say about the shoemakers' children?
(I love Lily Tomlin from the films I have seen with her. She's a funny lady!)
Cheers
Grethe
Good for you using a land line for health. I only use my cell for emergencies. But then I drove to my Granddaughter's, 30 miles away and she had just moved. The last thing we said was I would call for directions but lucky she had also told me the address because I forgot my cell phone so that did me a lot of good.
ReplyDeleteYes, I never missed a Saturday night of hearing Ernestine's snort.
Grethe, I think a cell phone can come in very handy at times, but I have never gotten into the technical aspects of the cell phone. I keep it very simple. Yes, the shoemaker's shoeless children. :)
ReplyDeleteManzanita, I was thinking this morning about who really benefits the most from cell phones and it is not we, the people. Like credit cards, we buy into (pun intended) their use as though they were created for our benefit, our ease, only to discover we are enslaved by them. Corporations benefit, not people. And everyone's health suffers, emotionally and physically.
ReplyDeleteGladstone five here....agreeing with the land line use as the best. I purposefully leave my cell phone home when I'm out just so the kids can't get in touch with me. They call just to irritate me I think! They're old enough to figure out things in an emergency...Emergencies
ReplyDeleteUsed to be what the cell phone was for...and yet if I have tried to call for assistance to one's cell phone...it goes right to voice mail. Now voice mail is on my hit list. I'd like to see that gone as well as cell phones...and to think we pay extra for that service.
Great post Teresa...thank you for the nostalgic trip...
Gladstone 5! Karena, Thank you for your input here. I just gave my land line number to a friend and requested they use that now. I'm getting everyone used to the new number. If people need to find me they can through directory assistance. I also do not have an answering machine. The first few days I had a few telemarketers but I told the Universe 'No more!' and not one more telemarketer has called! That was about four weeks ago.
ReplyDeleteI feel like I've been let out of a virtual prison of technology.
But they better not come for my computer, although, I know I need a break from that, too. Baby steps. :)
I have to admit, I do prefer my iPhone to the land-line, but that is because of my deafness. I can plug my implant straight into my iphone and thereby make out most of what is being said to me : which is very often not the case with the land-line.
ReplyDeleteHi Alan, I can certainly understand that technology has made life easier for you in that respect. Hearing is good.... :)
ReplyDeleteInteresting. I very coincidentally did the same thing, and -- yes, it feels good.
ReplyDeleteAnother strategy a lot of people don't understand that I use is not using voicemail. I haven't activated a voicemail account in many years, and many people assume there's something wrong with my phone system. I always respond with, "I don't use voicemail because the people who really need to contact me know exactly where to find me."
There's all sorts of modern distractions that don't really enhance our lives at all. Our job is to figure out what works for us as humans.
Thanks for this, Teresa.
Tommy, How nice to hear from you. I am grateful for all you do to raise awareness around the issues of great importance in our lives. Your last paragraph says so much.
ReplyDeleteThank you for reading and commenting, and for caring.
Oh yeah, take me home country roads. Ludlow 46319 here. CA: lots of people, lots of numbers. My moms first job out of high school was as a phone operator. There were still some of the wooden wall phones around in my early years, but the phones I remember with great fondness were the black phones born between the time of the two you have pictured. Weighted and dependable, like the magic that traveled through there lines. And, they were cool to the ear on the hottest of days. Party lines were so frustrating.
ReplyDeleteWe have land and cell. For health reasons I must carry a cell smarter than I, but oh for those days when the phone would ring from a distance and my first thought was...no problem, they can call back. Hugs to you Teresa and to Lily.
Hi Chris, what a nice surprise this Sunday morning, finding all your nice comments. So good to hear from you.
ReplyDelete