So I called my city’s Water Department and I was sitting through one of those interminable automated menu systems. You know, Please listen carefully as our menu options have changed. Press 1 for blah, blah, blah. Anyway, while tapping my fingers, waiting to get to the menu selections, I hear If you have a rotary phone… . A rotary phone? Someone still has a rotary phone? Enough someones that the city felt the need to mention it in their recording? Who has a rotary phone still?!? Do they even make them anymore? Talk about backwards compatibility. My 5.5 year-old son doesn’t even have a concept of a phone that you plug into a wall (we’ve cut the landline and gone all-cellular). To him all phones are called ‘cell phones’. I don’t think he even knows the iconic shape of a handset. He probably doesn’t even know that the “ring” of a phone was called that because there were actuall bells that rung when a call came in.
<old-man-voice>Back in my day, we didn’t have buttons, we spun a wheel to dial. You kids with your new-fangled buttons, you’ve got it easy. I’ve still got calluses from those wheels.</old-man-voice>
On a similar note, referencing the 21st century and all, where’s my damn flying car? I was promised a flying car by the year 2000! I remember being in elementary school, calculating how old I would be in the year 2000 (26), and dreaming of never having to go to school again while driving my flying car.
Oh, well. It’s not all bad. I’ve got a minivan.
#1 by john's mind on June 24, 2008 - 9:15 pm
We had a phone with a wheel growing up. It was red. But it was my great grandfathers phone. We pretended it was the bat phone.
#2 by maggie226 on June 27, 2008 - 9:11 am
I have a rotary phone sitting here on my desk…it’s turquoise and I love it. I use it a lot. It rings very loudly.
The original number was 615-687-3121 and how do I know? Because it’s printed in the center of the dial.
And yes, your fingers DO hurt while dialing until you get used to it. Kids these days have weak fingers!
#3 by Jenny Wadley on June 29, 2008 - 12:55 pm
Well, actually, you wife has a minivan…. Is this why you build so many flying cars our of legos?