An Old Fashioned Phone

When I'm old enough to get a phone, I want an old-fashioned one, my 7-year-old granddaughter told me.

Old-fashioned? You mean one that plugs into the wall? Where you turn a dial to call someone? I asked.

She looked confused. No, one with a circle in the bottom.

I think she means an iPhone 8, my daughter explained. (See above!!)

When were they new? I wondered. Hmmm: 2017... The year my granddaughter turned one! Yes, they would probably be "old-fashioned" to her...

To compare, I looked up what phone came out the year I turned one. It was the black phone above. 

Phones looked like that much of my adult life - though eventually black phones were replaced by coloured ones and rotary dials were replaced by push-button dialing.

TO ME... an old-fashioned phone looks like this! A box on the wall with a bell, and separate components for talking and listening.

I remember using one at my uncle's house. They had a shared "party line" - shared with half a dozen neighbours in the country.

Each family's number had a unique ring. One long or two short - or any combination of long and short rings. If any of the neighbours were talking on their phones, we could lift up the receiver and hear the conversation. But we couldn't make or take a call unless the line was clear. 

So many changes!!