The America I Remember ...

Telephones ...

Rooster remembers crank handle telephones. Where you called the operator and she connected you to the party you were trying to call.

Rooster remembers party lines. His family's phone ring was two longs and a short. Of course the phone numbers were also something along the lines of SHerwood - 54499. You had to search out the "S", the "H" and then the numbers.


We both remember rotary dial phones.
We both remember push button phones.

We both remember our first "hand held" phone.

We remember "mobile" phones that were wired into your vehicle and would honk like crazy when the phone rang.

We remember "affordable" mobile phones that came in a bag.

We now, no longer have a land line. We only have our cellular phones.

Do you remember any of these things ....

Of course these were simpler times, times where you were polite and did not listen in on the party line. If you had to break in you only did it in an emergency, and you apologized for interrupting your neighbors phone call.

Neighbor, now that in itself is a word that is lost on todays society. Do you know your neighbors? Neighbors were those people you used to sit on the front porch with in the evening while the kids played hide-n-seek, kick the can, or even tag football if you were from my neighborhood. We girls practiced the latest "cheer" on the sidewalks while the boys played ball in the street. Our dad's didn't have to referee, because the older brothers made sure that the game was fair, even for the littlest of players.

I miss this America ... the land of the free, the home of the brave ... the one that still trusts in God.