When Children were Children
We actually talk to one another
By Sharon Hopper 

Someone once said out of children come some of the world’s best ideas. I was talking to an old friend of mine the other day and she noted that when we were kids we did not have the phones we have today and I do remember that one of the things that everyone in my day wanted was a phone without a chord attached. I am sure someone from my childhood invented the cordless phone. However I could be wrong. Maybe it was years later, but I know we would have surely appreciated such an invention. 

And we had something called a party line. That meant that if you were talking to someone there were others on the same line that could hear everything you were saying and vice versa. Hence the term phone gossip. And to top that one we had a 3 minute talking time with an extra 30 seconds to say goodbye. The buzz sound warned us that in just 30 seconds we would be cut off. It really took a group of ingenious kids to figure out how to talk to a friend for hours or do homework over the phone. 

And to add to the frustration we had to dial the numbers on a rotary dial which took a lot longer than today’s punch buttons. And it was almost unheard of to have more than one phone in the house; therefore everyone could listen in on your conversations. Needless to say we were a lot more careful with our language and thoughts and words. 

When I had to call my dad to come and pick me up at the drugstore it took a “signal call” because often I did not have a nickel for the call. The phone would ring and when dad answered the operator would say “deposit a nickel please” and my dad knew to come and get me right away. My how things have changed in the phone department. It is a wonder that we survived? 

It is no surprise that many in my generation can’t understand the fun in texting. 

My friend and I still call one another on the regular land line phone to talk. We don’t email, text, Facebook, twitter, or Skype our friendship. We actually talk to one another. What a novel idea. I see people everywhere texting while eating, shopping or driving. Unless one is really good with written words, so much can be misunderstood via text. 

I wonder why we as people want to create more problems for ourselves than we already have. Our new communication is good, but leaves lots of room for human involvement. I still prefer a human voice on the other end of the line.