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Previous Challenge Entry (Level 3 - Advanced)
Topic: CALL (01/14/16)
“Hello!”

Can you imagine how exciting it was the first time the coded 'tap', 'tap', 'tap' from a 'wire' was sent, and then successfully received on the other end, so many miles away? It wasn't long after that when telephone poles started to be a natural part of the landscape. Soon they were lined up across prairies and fields, and were lining the streets of cities and towns everywhere. Before long, there were telephones in nearly every household.

I get such a kick from watching old television shows and movies that show the characters using the old candlestick-type telephones, like on “Andy Griffith” or “It’s A Wonderful Life”. They just don't make them like that anymore. The phones, or the shows. Fast forward a few years and you can see a sultry Elizabeth Taylor who can be reached at “Butterfield 8” or how about those 'party' lines, when you could listen in on other people's conversations?

Why, I even find myself feeling nostalgic for when I would spend as much time that my parents would allow talking on the family phone with my friends. To obtain maximum privacy, I would stretch that coiled cord as far as possible, into my bedroom or into the bathroom. It was inevitable and most welcomed when the cordless phone became a fixture in our homes. I'm pretty sure most of us had two or three phones in our houses as well! And I know I had at least a dozen phone numbers memorized in my head. Now I have trouble remembering where my phone is, let alone the many numbers stored inside.

The evolution of the telephone is truly revealed when we compare the 'communicators' used by Captain Kirk and Mr. Spock in the original Star Trek television series. Just short of being able to have Scotty 'beam us up', our phones are there, and beyond. With Face Time, we can view each other while we speak. We are even able to determine a person's location by the signals sent out from our devices. We now hold our own virtual world and all of its' knowledge in the palm of our hand.

If all this wasn’t enough, we don't even have to talk on the phone anymore. We can simply type what we want to say and to add the desired emotion, and a gazillion exclamation marks can be added to help us express what we are feeling. If that doesn't work, we can always input the appropriate smiley face or expletive to convey our thoughts. Today, if you watch closely all around you, you’ll see people 'tap', 'tap', 'tapping' away on their own hand held devices, sending their coded messages all over the world. Isn’t it ironic that we have gone through all of these technological advances, just to return to where we began? “Hello!”
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This article has been read 447 times
Member Comments
Member
Date
Bonnie Bowden 
01/22/16
I remember rotary and pay phones. We didn't own a colored television until I was five, and Banquet t.v. dinners had just come out.

How times have changed.
Troy Manning
01/22/16
While younger readers might not have as easy a time identifying w/ the narrator's experience, the many specific examples you provide will give them something of a telecommunications history they may find of interest. For those of us who've been around for many of the changes, they enable us to easily relive the journey.
Sharon Eastman
01/23/16
Well written and humorous way of relating our phone communication history. I remember all these examples. I really enjoyed this interesting entry.
Francie Snell 
01/23/16
This article really brings it home and makes me think of the good ole days and where technology has brought us. A very thoughtful and well written piece. Thank you.
C D Swanson 
01/27/16
Excellent job! I enjoyed this!

God bless~
Michol Ludwig
01/30/16
I love this line the most- Isn’t it ironic that we have gone through all of these technological advances, just to return to where we began? "Hello!"

Technology can be a good thing when it makes the basic things in life easier, but how much more so has the modern day phone, or other technology for that matter, hurt us.