Many things have changed over the past few decades. Transportation has changed with more and more electric cars filling the freeways. Education has changed with online learning where teachers and students connect on the internet with Zoom.
Communication has changed too. Everyone has a cell phone or smart phone. Landlines are obsolete. People use texting and messaging instead of conversation.
Recently I saw something that was a vital part of communication only a generation ago. It was a pay phone. I didn’t know that any still existed. A pay phone was mounted on a wall or in a booth and required payment to use it. You could find them in public buildings, hotel lobbies and airports. And you could find them outdoors in public settings, sports stadiums and street corners.
When I was growing up my parents encouraged us to always carry a dime so we could use a pay phone to call and get a ride home from the local movie theater. Later when the price of a phone call increased to twenty-five cents we told our kids to carry a quarter.
Most pay phones also had a phone book attached to them. Phone books listed the phone number of every business and individual in a city or community. They have also become obsolete. Now people look up phone numbers, addresses and other vital information with their cell phone.
I wonder what will be the next thing cast on the trash heap of progress. Things that seem so essential to our lives today may become obsolete and antiques in another decade or two. I think our grandchildren or great-grandchildren will look at a computer key board in the future and wonder what it was for. They will probably just use voice commands to dictate their messages and information and not need to lift a finger to write an article, send a message or make a call.
Let me encourage you to embrace the advances in technology and communication. Things will continue to change. And if you see a phone hanging on a wall in a public place try to explain to your kids what a pay phone was for. They will be glad you did and you will too.
Read more stories by the author in his book Let Me Encourage You by Mark Hopper. Purchase two copies for only $30 plus $5 postage. Buy one for yourself and share one with a friend. Order your copies today at markh@efreedb.org.
Let Me Encourage You by Mark Hopper 