Razors Edge ★ Posted August 18, 2021 Share #1 Posted August 18, 2021 Or even collect calls, busy signals, or call waiting??? Man, when we got our first cordless phone in ~1980 or so, it was revolutionary (but you could still eavesdrop on a line). And getting a detailed, line-by-line phone bill with long distance charges itemized was crazy! Heck, remember answering the phone and NOT knowing who was on the other side? 2 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Popular Post Kirby Posted August 18, 2021 Popular Post Share #2 Posted August 18, 2021 At one point we finally got a phone in the house in the Catskills. It was a party line. Shoot, I should have waited to post in this thread later tonight when the rates are cheaper! 2 1 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Parsnip Totin Jack ★ Posted August 18, 2021 Share #3 Posted August 18, 2021 “At the tone, the time will be…” Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Razors Edge ★ Posted August 18, 2021 Author Share #4 Posted August 18, 2021 1 minute ago, Old No. 7 said: “At the tone, the time will be…” "The power went out. Can someone call Time and let me know so I can start resetting all the clocks?" 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
donkpow Posted August 18, 2021 Share #5 Posted August 18, 2021 26 minutes ago, Kirby said: It was a party line. Which party? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sheep_herder ★ Posted August 18, 2021 Share #6 Posted August 18, 2021 I still make some using a card. However, make less after tracfone has unlimited minutes for $200 annually. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sheep_herder ★ Posted August 18, 2021 Share #7 Posted August 18, 2021 We had a party line when I was on a fire crew in Colorado in the mid60s. Doubt the others on the line appreciated it when I got calls at 3 in the morning. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
donkpow Posted August 18, 2021 Share #8 Posted August 18, 2021 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bikeman564™ Posted August 18, 2021 Share #9 Posted August 18, 2021 And I knew peoples phone numbers. 2 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ChrisL Posted August 18, 2021 Share #10 Posted August 18, 2021 I remember my parents calling family in Holland in the early morning. If mom was on the phone at 5 AM & yelling in Dutch had to be a family call. WoChrisL & I spent some time in our relationship on opposite coasts so yeah we had some high long distance bills. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ChrisL Posted August 18, 2021 Share #11 Posted August 18, 2021 20 minutes ago, bikeman564™ said: And I knew peoples phone numbers. Right…. Early in my career I carried a small notebook with client & staff numbers. However after a while I memorized most numbers. The notebook was later replaced by a Palm Pilot which then went away for a smartphone linked to my outlook. And my memory has gone to shit in the process. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Razors Edge ★ Posted August 18, 2021 Author Share #12 Posted August 18, 2021 7 minutes ago, ChrisL said: Right…. Early in my career I carried a small notebook with client & staff numbers. However after a while I memorized most numbers. The notebook was later replaced by a Palm Pilot which then went away for a smartphone linked to my outlook. And my memory has gone to shit in the process. I had a handwritten, then typed, ~1.5" x 3" sheet of "laminated" paper with names, numbers, & addresses that fit in my billfold section of my wallet. I'd update it every once in a while and re-laminate it (put clear packing tape on both sides). It worked well for a decade or more. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JerrySTL ★ Posted August 18, 2021 Share #13 Posted August 18, 2021 I also remember party lines. WoJSTL and I were 1250 miles apart for 2 years in the '70s. Both were broke so phone calls were rare. When we were in England from 1988 to 1992, phone calls to the States were about $1 a minute. When youngest daughter lived in Europe around 2010 we could Skype basically for free. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bikeman564™ Posted August 18, 2021 Share #14 Posted August 18, 2021 22 minutes ago, ChrisL said: Right…. Early in my career I carried a small notebook with client & staff numbers. However after a while I memorized most numbers. The notebook was later replaced by a Palm Pilot which then went away for a smartphone linked to my outlook. And my memory has gone to shit in the process. Yup. I still remember my home phone number as a kid, and a couple friends' numbers back then. But now I don't know hardly any Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Razors Edge ★ Posted August 18, 2021 Author Share #15 Posted August 18, 2021 4 minutes ago, bikeman564™ said: Yup. I still remember my home phone number as a kid, and a couple friends' numbers back then. But now I don't know hardly any My mom used to give out our phone number by saying "Midway-2" instead of 642??? WTF??? Sometimes said "Em-Eye-7" for the 647 folks. Not sure where the "midway" came from but the first two letters are M and I, which were/are 6 and 4 on the dial. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bikeman564™ Posted August 18, 2021 Share #16 Posted August 18, 2021 9 minutes ago, Razors Edge said: My mom used to give out our phone number by saying "Midway-2" instead of 642??? WTF??? Sometimes said "Em-Eye-7" for the 647 folks. Not sure where the "midway" came from but the first two letters are M and I, which were/are 6 and 4 on the dial. years ago, there was a dude in my bike club IIRC, who's phone number spelled DRY-BIKE Cannondale's number is 800-BIKE-USA Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Razors Edge ★ Posted August 18, 2021 Author Share #17 Posted August 18, 2021 1 minute ago, bikeman564™ said: years ago, there was a dude in my bike club IIRC, who's phone number spelled DRY-BIKE Cannondale's number is 800-BIKE-USA Am I the only one who HATES words as numbers???? I can easily dial 800-234-5678, but 800-BIKE-USA???? WTF is that? Now I have to look at the darn numbers and spell??? ARGH!!! 1 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bikeman564™ Posted August 18, 2021 Share #18 Posted August 18, 2021 4 minutes ago, Razors Edge said: Am I the only one who HATES words as numbers???? I can easily dial 800-234-5678, but 800-BIKE-USA???? WTF is that? Now I have to look at the darn numbers and spell??? ARGH!!! Reminds me of an old commercial when I was a kid Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Longjohn ★ Posted August 18, 2021 Share #19 Posted August 18, 2021 When we moved to where we live now we had a horrible land line company and they were located north of anywhere I had lived. All the local calls were that direction. We never made any local calls, I didn’t even know anybody local. All our calls were long distance. I have a Mercer address but to call Mercer was a long distance call. They gave us a Meadville phone book and yellow pages. I threw it away. When we got a cell phone tower in sight of our house I called the land line company and said bye bye. I have never regretted it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Razors Edge ★ Posted August 18, 2021 Author Share #20 Posted August 18, 2021 1 minute ago, bikeman564™ said: Reminds me of an old commercial when I was a kid When I was a kid we didn't use no stinkin' area codes! And when we had to use those stupid area codes, we didn't even know about the "1-" part! We were rebels and we just knew seven numbers and it was good enough for ALL of us. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MoseySusan Posted August 18, 2021 Share #21 Posted August 18, 2021 29 minutes ago, bikeman564™ said: Yup. I still remember my home phone number as a kid, and a couple friends' numbers back then. But now I don't know hardly any My first phone number as an adult with an account had all the same digits as my parents’ phone number, but in a different order. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Longjohn ★ Posted August 18, 2021 Share #22 Posted August 18, 2021 Just call me at BR549. 1 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Solution bikeman564™ Posted August 18, 2021 Solution Share #23 Posted August 18, 2021 Just now, Razors Edge said: When I was a kid we didn't use no stinkin' area codes! And when we had to use those stupid area codes, we didn't even know about the "1-" part! We were rebels and we just knew seven numbers and it was good enough for ALL of us. When I was a kid, the lower peninsula of Michigan had 3 area codes. Now there is probably 10-12 The upper had one...and still does Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ChrisL Posted August 18, 2021 Share #24 Posted August 18, 2021 I remember my mom recalling their number as Klondike (556). When my parents moved to the house I grew up in they had a 714 557 number so it had changed some from 556. I remember there was one area code for Orange County (714) which also included Riverside county, one for LA (213) one for San Diego (619). OC has 2, Riverside has their own, LA has 3-4 and San Diego has 2. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bikeman564™ Posted August 18, 2021 Share #25 Posted August 18, 2021 2 minutes ago, ChrisL said: I remember my mom recalling their number as Klondike (556). my number is BIKEMAN 564 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
donkpow Posted August 18, 2021 Share #26 Posted August 18, 2021 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shootingstar Posted August 18, 2021 Share #27 Posted August 18, 2021 Never lived anywhere with a party line. Probably good idea. Sounds like a headache. However I remember sharing 1 phone with 7 other family members. Got complicated with teenagers. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shootingstar Posted August 18, 2021 Share #28 Posted August 18, 2021 2 hours ago, donkpow said: I do remember someone's older teen sister working at a phone exchange centre. That would have been in mid 1970's. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ChrisL Posted August 18, 2021 Share #29 Posted August 18, 2021 42 minutes ago, Razors Edge said: Am I the only one who HATES words as numbers???? I can easily dial 800-234-5678, but 800-BIKE-USA???? WTF is that? Now I have to look at the darn numbers and spell??? ARGH!!! Hey Tom remember “USA 1000”. Go ahead, sing the song! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Razors Edge ★ Posted August 18, 2021 Author Share #30 Posted August 18, 2021 2 minutes ago, shootingstar said: Got complicated with teenagers. EVERYTHING gets complicated with teenagers - especially female teenagers! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Razors Edge ★ Posted August 18, 2021 Author Share #31 Posted August 18, 2021 Just now, ChrisL said: Hey Tom remember “USA 1000”. Go ahead, sing the song! My brain is stuck with Kars for Kids - ARGH!!!!! I HATE THAT ONE. And then out of nowhere, Jhoon Ree Self Defense pops in, but I don't even think that had a number! 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ChrisL Posted August 18, 2021 Share #32 Posted August 18, 2021 1 minute ago, Razors Edge said: My brain is stuck with Kars for Kids - ARGH!!!!! I HATE THAT ONE. And then out of nowhere, Jhoon Ree Self Defense pops in, but I don't even think that had a number! How could you forget the jingle??? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ChrisL Posted August 18, 2021 Share #33 Posted August 18, 2021 I remember rolling out to an alert and my squad is loaded for bear. I as we are ready to load up on the tarmac (imagine 50 heavily armed soldiers on a flight line) I shout out, muther fucker nobody bothers me!!! Huuuuah!!!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kzoo Posted August 18, 2021 Share #34 Posted August 18, 2021 I also remember calling my mom from the payphone in the lobby in junior high. I would call but not put money in (why waste a dime). If I did that twice in a row then meant she would call the payphone's number for me to answer. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ralphie ★ Posted August 18, 2021 Share #35 Posted August 18, 2021 1 hour ago, Longjohn said: Just call me at BR549. I though it was BR46? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Randomguy Posted August 18, 2021 Share #36 Posted August 18, 2021 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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