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| prompt- telephone colored pencils |
I was first allowed to use the phone as a right of passage when I was in the fifth grade.
My best friend Kathy and I would walk the 20 minutes home each day from Herrick Elementary chatting like magpies over the days events. When we arrived at her house we would say good bye and I'd walk the half block to my door. We were both "latch key" children (that means both parents work and you enter an empty place till they got home). So to stave off boredom till they arrived we would grab a snack and rush to the phone to see who dialed first.
Forget chores or homework because we had hours of catching up to do before the folks arrived. I have no ideas what on earth we talked about but it bonded us forever as friends.
My love for talking on the phone continued through High school with numerous friends and boyfriends. When I met my true love we continued the habit. After every date (even though we lived less than 3 miles from one another) he would call as soon as he got through the door in case we missed something on his drive home!
Once we were married and he joined the Air Force and were transferred from California to places around the world. I still loved the phone but it was hard when every minute was accounted for and the bill would get expensive for those long distance calls back home.
Mike went to the Philippines for a year leaving me with 3 children under 5. Back in the 1980s it was snail mail or $30 a minute.
As our family grew from 3 children to 5 it got harder to spend time on the phone but not to be deterred I found the answer at the phone accessory store. For a few bucks I could purchase a 25 FOOT cord. No longer would a naughty child be just a finger tip from getting grabbed as they ran off, the clothes could be loaded in the washing machine, the bed made and I didn't miss a beat. I could share my most intimate troubles while I prepared dinner or changed a diaper!
The only draw back that I saw ( Mike and the kids may have felt there were a few others)
was that the 25ft cord seemed to have a mind of its own. It was able to twist, trip and tangle like a boa constrictor ready for lunch. At least once a week I had to take the cord off the phone spending 10 minutes straightening it out.
I still love the phone but now that it is cordless I can bring it everywhere. The funny thing is I don't TALK much on it because sending a text, taking a picture or Googling to prove I'm right has given it more portable pleasure than I could have imagined.
