It is no secret that I have a love/hate relationship with telephones.
I grew up on a farm where we had no telephones. As a child, it was no big deal. I never worried about emergencies, where it would be an advantage to be able to call for help.
I am sure there were other emergencies, but the one I remember the most was when I broke my leg while in seventh grade. It was a cold December, late afternoon Sunday, and my brother and I were sharing a sled and sliding before it was time for barn chores. It was at that time that I skidded down the slippery, rutted hill, on my booted feet. My right foot got caught in a rut, and the rest of me kept going. I heard my leg break, but my brother thought I was joking. When I finally convinced him, he went into the house to tell my parents.
Pa carefully picked me up and put me into the car and drove me to the nearby Clintonville Hospital, which no longer exists. If we had a telephone, we likely would not have called an ambulance anyway, so I guess it really didn’t matter if we had a telephone or not.
The only exposure I had to even seeing a telephone as a child was on the wall of my Grandpa Nuske’s house. It was an old-fashioned crank telephone, and I don’t even know if it worked or not. When I grew up and lived on my own, I eventually got a telephone. I didn’t make many calls, but it was there in case it was needed. At least my friend and I used to call each other.
When farmer Herbie and I married in 1969, and I moved to Tigerton, we still had phones with other people on the same line. Then I had to listen to what kind of ring — there were a different number of rings — or length of rings. It wasn’t long before progress arrived, and everyone had their own line.
Now phones are digital, there is caller ID, call waiting, answering machines and the like. Telemarketers pester at times, and with an election nearing, there are political calls and polling calls.
Many people have switched to cell phones and have had their land lines taken out. I have thought of that but haven’t quite made the decision. When my house was built, there were phone jacks placed throughout the house, so I have landline phones in many rooms. That way, it is available to me no matter where I am. Mainly it is a safety issue, in case of falls, and the like.
I do have a cell phone, but I think of that as mainly for my safety also, because it is with me when I am traveling, and if needed, it is available. I don’t always hear it ring because I keep it in my purse, and my hearing is not as good as it used to be. It seldom rings anyway, as very few people have the number.
It rang this morning, just as I was turning into the bank drive-through area. What is more surprising, I heard it ring, and answered it. So there I was, trying to communicate with the medical appointment person on the cell and the bank teller at the window.
It is difficult to set up two medical appointments while at the bank, and not near my calendar. However, somehow, it was all managed, with no appointment conflicts.
I think it is getting more and more difficult to live in 2014 with all the new gadgets and ways of doing things.
I wonder if Alexander Graham Bell knew what he was doing when he invented the telephone in the 1870s. I am sure he had no idea what would be coming into the future.
Categories
