The word telephone has all but vanished from our vernacular. Yes, that is the first time I have ever written that word “Vernacular”. Yes, I know it wasn’t written, it was entered into the “Puter”! No, I didn’t spell computer correctly! I could see you needed something that would allow you to ask a question or make a comment!
The word Telephone was reduced to phone, and then it went to cell phone, and now it is smart phone. Where does it go from here? (Speculation: it ends up being referred to as “Chip”, due to the chip that will be implanted into ones ear. The chip will connect via Bluetooth to the device in your pocket, purse or on your wrist.)
I received a text message this morning when I turned on the Ford’s old cell phone. Yes, I turn the cell phone off at bed time, and back on about 6:00am in the morning. I have an idea the text message was sent last night shortly after I turned off the cell phone. My phone shows the time received not the time sent.
I, being an old head, still look at the cell phone as a backup phone, to be used when I am away from the Ford Homestead house phone. The question today might be, why do I have a house phone?
As a children, (I like to say children as opposed to child, it gets some people’s attention) our first phone was a party line. The phone was big and black, it sat on a table. It was heavy and you had to dial the number using a finger. Now days, you can say to your smart phone, “Call Billy Jo”, and if Billy Jo’s name and number is in your contacts, the phone will call her. J
The phone number we had originally was the only phone number our family had. I remember the number was first, “53010” and shortly after we got the phone they added to our number the words, “Edge Water or ED”, which numerically was, “335-3010. At a later time they came up with a three digit area code.
With the party line, you would pick up the phone to see if anyone was talking before you dialed. You could also listen in to others conversations. There was no real privacy on the old party lines.
60 years ago if you told someone they could get into their car and they would be able to talk to anyone anywhere, they would not believe you.
Maybe we should, here at the Ford Homestead, consider getting rid of the home phone. If that is the decision, we should probably first try to get use to the idea of leaving our cell phones on at night, and placing them by our bed.
How much money could we save if we got rid of the house phone? Possibly my spouse of 48 years could have a day off each week, from walking the highways and byways looking for the aluminum cans! I know she would like to have a day off! We will consider this more!
Wow, who knew we would need to make all these decisions this early in the New Year.
May all your decisions be easy and profitable!
Don Ford
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