Monday, April 16, 2007

Good Morning....Good Monday Morning Fellow Bloggers!! It seems like I have been away for a long time but just a few days in fact. I did get a post in yesterday about my fastastic weekend conference with my church and Beth Moore in Columbia, South Carolina. Today I am back to washing and Curves..MY how I missed my exercising!! I was sore everywhere. I am a Curves addict I think...It could be worse!!

Yesterday My honey and I went shopping and bought ourselves some NEW PHONES. We have been needing them for sometime now but like a lot of things in our lives we have just been putting them off. They are very expensive but finally we gave in. This made me start thinking about phones and their progression just in my lifetime.

My first experience with them came when I was little and we had a party line. I bet some of you younger than oh lets say....40 probably have NO IDEA what a party line is...well for your knowledge today it is when you share...YES share a line with several other people. That means when you pick up your phone to make a call there was a chance that more than likely there was somebody already using that line. You could hear EVERY word they were saying to the person that they had called. If you very quietly picked up your phone you could listen in on their conversation...NOW I am NOT saying that I EVER did that..Oh no, not me..I would NEVER EVER do that!! Nope not me!! But there were a lot of older ladies that did just exactly that!! They had nothing else to do all day so that is what they did. All day you heard different rings. Your number might be 24FF. That might mean that you would have to listen all day for 2 short rings and 4 long rings. They just set you up that way. Hmm!! Sounds like a hard thing to learn...right but that was the way it was then. We had the old phones that hung on the wall...you know the ones that you wish you could buy now and have on your wall!!

Then we went to the old heavy ones. They were black as I recall...NO colors!! Just black and the receivers were very heavy. In high school the great thing about the party lines was if you and some of your classOF COURSE mates were on the same PARTY LINE then if you were having a problem you could all get on together and do HOMEWORK. I did that with bookkeeping. Those of you that REALLY know me know that Math is NOT my subject...NEVER was and well now is NEVER EVER GOING TO BE!! Two other classmates and myself would get on the phone and try to work out the problems. The next day we 3 would have the same answers......but the problem was...they were WRONG!! OOOPS!! Our teacher, Mrs. Allen finally caught on and WELL...we had to quit doing that!!

Phones have really evolved over the years. I used to try to stretch the phone cord as far as I could to change one of my babies diapers or do the dishes while hanging onto it. Then the cordless ones came out and I thought that the phone business had finally arrived...Now we have cell phones and those blue tooth thingies...EXCUSE me if you have one...I think they look funny in peoples ears...My BLOG MY OPINION...remember!!

I just wonder what the average house phone will look like in the future. I don't believe there will be land lines just cell phones. I would never have imagined that we would be where we are now when I was little and talking on that old phone that hung on the wall. When I was calling someone on my party line by ringing one short and two longs or by picking up the phone and actually talking to the operator. It seems like eons ago but really it has not been that long ago.
Technology is wonderful!! I would love to live a long long time if only to see the changes that it is going to bring!! I am so into seeing and wondering what will happen!!

What are we without memories of what things were????

12 comments:

Akelamalu said...

I remember party lines!! I agree about those bluetooth thingies in the ears - look like something off Dr. Who!

Jane said...

We were not on a party line but I do remember our phone number being only 4 numbers and actually picking up the phone and telling an operator what number you wanted! My hubby had a party line when he was a kid though.
Times really have changed!

Peggy said...

right there with you on every memory! William has a blue tooth and keeps trying to talk me into one... no way. I hate things on or in my ear.

Pear tree cottage! said...

Hello! I am back kinda and promise to be about for a good old! chat very soon. My hubby has been so SO! ill that we have been very worried but he is now on the mend and so I can down size my "fussing" I am so plesed as I had a cry or two I was so worried about him.

I will be back a little later to read all your posts I have missed.

until then - your friend Lee-ann

Norma said...

We had a party line--I still remember our phone number and the neighbor ladies! One was hard of hearing and would always pick up on our ring, so we'd have to talk to her first and ask her to hang up.

My MM today is about prom dresses.

Melli said...

Well, I wasn't around for the OLD wall phones ... I started out with the black model! Then we stepped up to a turquoise princess phone! We also had an avacado green -- you remember avacado green, right -- avacado green WALL phone in the kitchen to match the stove, fridge and dishwasher! (you could also get harvest gold... you remember harvest gold, right?) Then we revolved through all the colors - including hot pink and silver! WHY did we think new colors were so exciting? LOL! When we first moved into THIS house I had an 18 foot stretchy cord on the kitchen wall phone! That let me get to the dishes anyway! It let Amanda get to the table to do her homework and talk at the same time! LOL! And yep - then the cordless arrived. The crackly cordless - snap, crackle, pop! I hated it! Only Amanda used it! NOW we don't even answer our house phone anymore! We keep that attached to the answering machine for the solicitors! They better NEVER get my cell-phone number! I'll toss that baby in the River and give up talking! LOL!

GREAT post today Sandy!!!

Baba said...

Sandy,.... I remember the party lines and how hard it was sometime to get a person off the line, so you could use it.We did have pretty colors of phones.We had a special phone seat that looked like a school desk.You would sit in it and it had a arm to hold the phone ....I like my cell phone and would give up the land-line, but my husband says no to that.Thanks for sharing. Baba

Heart of Rachel said...

Oh yes, I remember the party lines. I heard of stories how some people would get into heated arguments over the phone because of usage and privacy issues. We didn't have this problem. I was still in grade school at that time and didn't have much use for the phone. Good thing that we got an exclusive line by the time I reached upper grade school.

Yes, amazing how the technology and appearance of the phone changes in time. I remember those black, round dial and heavy phones. But my dad said they were very durable unlike the phones we have now.

It's nice to look back and remember such details.

Take care Sandy.

Linda said...

I too remember the party lines. We had the black heavy one that sat on the telephone stand in the dining room. On the farm where Daddy was born was the old wall phone you would crank to get the operator. I was very young, but Daddy let me make a call. I thought I was so special. I now have that old oak wall phone and the telephone stand. I love my antiques.

I also enjoyed reading about your trip to see Beth Moore.

Grandparents Corner said...

Sandy, I had fun reading this post and rembering those party lines. I do remember my parents waiting a long time to get on the phone. lol And then I loved it when princess phones came out and I got a pink one. Oh that was a special time. I wrote my boyfriends name (hubby) all over the cord, lol. Wish I still had that pretty pink phone. Thanks for sharing the memories.

Thank you also for offering to let me use the bicycle pic. I was thinking of one to share in email with someone though as it reminded me of dear special friend in my life who got a new bicycle for Christmas. I don't think I should send through email though as I wouldn't want it passed around and getting used all over the web. But I do thank you for your sweet offer. God love you and have a blessed week! ~ Bonnie

Christine and FAZ said...

I think blogging is like a new version of party line. We never had this when I grew up in Australia but I do remember seeing them on US TV programs so I know what they are.

Unknown said...

I remember party lines. Oh my Sandy, we do go back a ways! Loved reading this post. Thanks for sharing.

BLESSINGS!