The light blue Princess phone waits on the repainted bedside table surrounded by paperback novels, scraps of poems, and the peacock blue ballpoint pen. The remnants of the distant life of a quiet, teenage girl.
The phone speaks . . . a ring so quiet you might not hear it in the hallway, but I knew it was for me. A friend? The tall boy I handed notes to in the hallway? There was no way to know, until I said, “Hello!”
How I loved those brief moments or occasional long, winding conversations when even a few miles was too great a distance. That sleek phone with the lighted rotary dial kept us connected.
Waiting
I also remember party lines where you knew the call was for you by the ring pattern. A mischievous child, or adult, might listen in, accidentally, of course. Then you would wait for their conversation to end before you could use the line.
Phone calls announced a birth, the passing of a loved one, a new car, or a new love in your life. All of the small and big moments shared with a voice.
Fast forward 50 years. Most of the time, the ringing phone announces “SPAM RISK.” Pick up at your peril. Some days, I’m tempted to answer, but then it still is not a human voice but an AI-generated facsimile of human life.
All I want, all I need, is a voice. One that cares. Someone who wants to share a monumental moment, or just “Hello, how are you?”
We live in a different world. The world of email, text messages, and social media. I suppose I’m old-fashioned, but I’m concerned that we have lost touch with our humanness.
You Called?
Text messages have their place. “I’m on my way.”
“I’m at the table on the right.”
“Can you call?”
I might very well be the only person in the world who misses a ringing phone with someone I care about on the other end. We all have our preferences and needs.
But sometimes, the human heart longs for more—a voice.
Just a few short words in a song
How did he know?
“The day will come when the man at the telephone will be able to see the distant person to whom he is speaking.”
—Alexander Graham Bell
Image found on oldphoneworks.com
I always welcome your thoughts, so please leave a comment
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And always—
Be kind. Be brave. Be you.
All Photos: © Kathryn LeRoy
I’d dial you up but you left off your number.😏 No, i couldn’t agree more. So many different kinds of telephones, this one a beauty, the Princess! Grieving so much!
I’m glad I’m not alone,but do call someone who needs to hear your voice.