Call me! |
My Dad is the last surviving member of a family of thirteen,
the youngest of eleven children.
This week, he has been reminiscing . . .
One of Dad’s elder brothers, Alonzo (hereinafter known as Uncle Lonnie), became a wealthy man by the simple practices of thrift, caution and wise investment.
Besides being brothers, he and Dad were good friends and
often ranched together.
Which necessitated good communication.
Living fifty miles apart, this meant telephoning.
I should explain here that, in the late sixties, phone plans
had not yet been invented.
You had two options.
You dialed a number directly. And paid.
Or, if you weren't certain that the person you wanted was
home, you could dial ‘person-to-person’ and have an operator facilitate the
call. This was more expensive if your party was there, but cost you nothing if
they weren’t.
Understand?
Moving on . . .
Uncle Lonnie, he of the sound mind and thrifty practices,
needed to talk to Dad.
But it was the middle of the day, a time when phone calls
were at their most expensive. Uncertain if he would find Dad at home, he opted
to have an operator place the call.
Dad answered the phone.
The call went something like this . . .
Dad: “Hello?”
Operator: “I have a person-to-person call for Dr. Mark
Stringam.”
Dad: “This is Dr. Stringam.”
Operator: “Go ahead, sir!”
Uncle Lonnie: “If I’d known you were actually there, I’d
have dialed directly!”
Dad, grinning into the phone: “Well, I’m here!”
And he hung up the phone.
Gotcha.
Like I said before...an evil genius.
ReplyDeleteYou've certainly got him pegged, Delores!
DeleteI liked Uncle Lonnie's comment when he phoned Dad back. Unfortunately I can't repeat it here.
ReplyDeleteOkay, I never heard that part of the story . . .
DeleteQuite the solution! C'mon, George, spill it :)
ReplyDeleteI'm with Jenny. I think . . .
DeleteI remember travelling between Red Deer and Edmonton. Mom always wanted to know that I make it home to Edmonton safely. So I would call 'person to person' and as for me. She would say I wasn't home. So Mom knew I made it to Edmonton safely and the phone call didn't cost anything. Not the most ethical way to do it, but since 'texting' hadn't been invented yet, it would suffice.
ReplyDeleteGetting this comment has been quite the ordeal. Anyway, sharing that when travelling between Edmonton and Red Deer, Mom always wanted me to let her know that I had arrived home safely in Edmonton. So I would call 'person to person' and ask for me. She would say I wasn't home. That way she knew I got to Edmonton safely and the phone call didn't cost anything. Not the most ethical, but 'texting' wasn't invented yet.
ReplyDelete