15th February - Phone

Ahhh the telephone. 

What started out as a miraculous invention to help people get in contact without having to leave their homes turned into a quaint piece of equipment, which everyone took for granted. Then came the mobile phone. Nowadays, phones have turned into a status symbol - Do you use an iPhone or an Android? What are the camera features? How much internet downloads do you have on your plan? The specs on my phone are better than your laptop! Etc.

But what of the lowly house phone? Or answering machine?

A friend came over one day to do an odd job for us when our house phone started ringing. As I answered it (pretty sure it was a telemarketer on the other end) I heard him make a remark, "Who owns a home phone these days?" As I hung up, he said, "What are you, 50 years old or something? My parents are the only people I know to still own a home phone". I felt embarrassed, but then I remembered why I have it - for my family to make cheaper calls to me from long distances mainly. 

I used my house phone today to make a call. For the first time in months. I always seem to use my mobile. Anyway, Mick's phone is frazzled from getting wet on our run the other day, so it is sitting in a bowl of rice - trying to dry out. He popped down to the shops to get a few things for tonight's dinner and I realised we'd be having another mouth to feed. So I looked up the number to the local shopping centre and called. From my house phone. Upon hearing the voice at the other end, I explained my situation - Husband is in your shop and has no phone on him. What a strange concept these days. The lady was very helpful and had me hold the line while she paged Mick over the loud speakers. I was able to deliver my message to him even though, in this day and age, he was mobile-less. 

Hooray for outdated, landline technology!

Enjoy the rest of your night!

BzeeJ x