UPDATE: The winner is…Shirley Long!
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This post will seem a little strange to some of y’all. Or maybe you’ll just think I’m really, really old (although my dd feels the exact same way!). Today, our family decided to do away with our landline. You know, the old-fashioned phone you plug into the wall that never lets you down, power or no power. After all, we have five cell phones in the house that have proven they work and connect in the worst of conditions.
You’d think we would’ve cut the cord long ago because, at $40 a month, it’s not an expense we need to pay. We never used it except when we (okay, I) called my cellphone number to find the damn thing.
However, that landline, with that number, holds a lot of nostalgia for our family and extended family. My parents had that number since the ’70s. When it was first installed, I remember we had a “party line.” For those who’ve never experienced it, a party line was shared with neighbors. When you made a call, you lifted the receiver to listen to know whether someone else was using the line. It was a pain in the ass when one neighbor hogged the line. You’d be polite the first time you picked up and quietly disconnect. The second time, you might clear your throat. The third or maybe fourth, you’d butt into the call and ask how much longer she would be. Fun times.
My mother was the hub for family information and reunions for the extended family. Everyone knew our number and would call regularly to chat. When my brother and I were stationed all over the world, we’d call that number to let the folks know how we were doing or when we’d be coming home for a visit. That line, that number, is part of our family history.
But today, it is no more. I’m heaving a big, heavy sigh.
For a chance to win a $5 Amazon gift card, is there some object or service you had trouble letting go of because of the memories attached to it?
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We had a party line for the longest time when I was little. I was forever forgetting to check the line before dialing, and the person already on the line would have to yell into their phone until I heard them and stop trying to dial out. And we had a rotary phone until I went away to college! And this of course was the era of payphones and real people operators. lol
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Yes! I got yelled at once or twice, too! So funny thinking about it now.
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I hate no having a landline as I never remember where my cell phone is.
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Still have our landline… I remember growing up and having a rotary phone… my sister showed me videos of people asking younger people today to try to make a call with one… too funny!
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I remember party lines when I was a kid. We also just got rid of our landline–it was tied to our internet service, and we just changed that in the last couple months. But I had a much harder time shutting off my aunt’s landline several years ago when she died–the phone number had been my grandparents’ number forever, and I can still recite it now, because I called it so many times in my life.
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We were connected by a party line when I was growing up. There weren’t enough telephone lines for everyone to have their own, so lots of people had to share way back then. I’m talking about the UK in the 60’s and early 70’s…. 💕
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I’ve kept a landline because I tend to have issues with cellular phones. I wish I had the old phone from my grandparent’s house. It weighed a ton but it was so elegant looking.
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I have my land line still for the same reasons you listed. My mom picked the number out when we moved years ago because she had problems remembering numbers. When we went to change the phone service she asked the man for an easy number and why, he turned the list around and told her to pick one. She scanned the list and picked the number. She’s been gone 25 years this year and I just can’t make myself disconnect the phone though I use my cell. The landline now gets all the sales calls, which I ignore. The landline is part of a monthly package deal for internet, TV, and phone and cost $15 a month, so for $15 it can stay.
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can’t think of any
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I grew up with a party line. When I was bored I would listen to other calls and then make up stories about what I heard.
Think of the fun that I’d have now!
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I am pretty good at letting things go, especially services I no longer need. With so many mobile phones in the house, a landline was just a waste of money.
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I still have a “land line” but it’s through our cable company. I keep it because it has the area code local to where we live now and our cell phones have our home town area code.
My husband’s family had a party-line when we first started dating in 1970.
I have a lot of things that I’m having trouble letting go of but I did let go of a lot of things when we down sized from 2,800 sq ft to 1,300. LOL
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Ah, the party line. Got some really good gossip from that. We weren’t supposed to listen in, but everyone did. Some even threw in their two cents. *sigh* Those were the days. I still have a land line. Actually, it is my only phone. I don’t go anywhere, so don’t see the need for a cell phone. The phone number I have is from the last cell phone I had. I just transferred it to the land line when I decided that was the less expensive choice for me.
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Girl, I could have written that myself. When my parents passed away, they still had the old rotary phone (just like the one in your photo) even tho they very seldom used it. It still worked but they always used the new wall phone in the kitchen. Me, being the sappy, loves old things person that I am, could not part with that phone. It had been a part of my entire life growing up ~~ from party lines to private line, 1 ring or 2, to adding the prefix (ours was PL). My brother & sister didn’t want it so I contacted the phone company and I bought that phone. I think I paid maybe $20 to $25 for it. Well worth every penny. It sits in a place of honor in my family room and every time I glance at it, I smile.
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I don’t know of much I would of missed back when I was growing up. But I used to roller skate all the time, so not having my skates and being able to compete like I did when I was in my younger youth was hard to let go of. I was probably in the 7th or 8th grade. I’m 70 now and would break my neck. LOL
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We got rid of the landline and had to give up our phone number. My parents had had that number my entire life. After about five years they decided to get another landline because it is just wonderful not to be available at any moment. I really miss that old number, LOL. (Not entering)
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I have to say landline too. We still have one plus our cell phones but being on the other side of 50 I remember when cell phones were bulky and fit in a bag in the 90s. So even though they are a lot smaller now. I’ve just never been a cell phone person.
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No, I was so glad to get rid of the landline. All we got were people trying to sell you something. We all had cell phones and that’s how they got hold of us.
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I still have my landline for in case in an emergency cell towers are down and I can’t use my cell phone!
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Wow! Who knew so many of you are as sentimental as I am! Thanks for sharing!
The winner of the Amazon gift card is…Shirley Long!
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Hey thanks Delilah. This one brought back a LOT of good memories.