I was visiting my dad at the nursing home when one of the nurses wheeled up a woman and told me it was her 104th birthday. I pulled out my iPhone, took a picture of her and told her I could send it around the world. "I remember the first automobile." She said thus widening the generation gap even more. Must have been nice to live when she did.
And if you got separated from your friends you would call the same mom and say, “ if so & so calls you, tell them I’m at a certain place” My mom had a chalkboard by the home rotary dial phone; to keep track of what to say when friends would call. 🤪
What a cool mom. I'm thinking of dumping my smart phone that tracks my every movement and listens to my conversations and go back to an old land line. Create some separation from the matrix and go back in time. I miss the old days.
A very interesting question. Your essay brought back a memory. Nobody goes anywhere today without their cellphone. When a friend and I graduated high school, we decided to drive from Pittsburgh to Florida for a vacation. My brother a year younger and a friend from his class went also. We took my Pontiac Grand Am with the 400 engine. Somehow we packed 4 golf bags and luggage in the trunk. Great trip. Saw Daytona, Disney World and stayed there. Cape Canaveral too. Seeing all the rockets, etc., was awesome. Way back I was driving all night and in North Carolina the passenger front wheel decided to break off. The brake kept it with the car. No wreck. We were on the highway out in BFE and screwed till a tractor trailer skidded to a stop and called a tow truck for us.
I had a Pontiac 400 too. A 1968 GTO. I wish I would have drove it across country. Yesterday I saw a new Honda and something broke on the right front when and it skidded and bounced to a stop. The wheel didn't fall off but it was f'd up. Thanks for sharing the story.
Sep 2, 2023·edited Sep 2, 2023Liked by Mike Huggins
You're welcome. Interesting you should mention new. We lived in Pittsburgh and decided we wanted to move out West. Montana. Sold the house. Boarded horses and stored furniture. Ended up doing a 3+ month tour of Wyoming, South Dakota, Montana, Idaho, Oregon. What a blast! Ended up in Washington. Point. All the broken vehicles we saw on the way were new. Trucks towing travel trailers and cars. Older stuff just kept on going.
And when the older cars broke down it was either this, this or this and you only needed a crescent wrench and a screwdriver to fix it. Our technology is taking us backwards and that can easily be proven.
Couple years ago, was looking for a decent used car. Everything over here was beat and overpriced. Found a 2008 Land Rover LS HSE with only 87,000 in Belleview. Everything done on time, even oil, at the dealer.(That was weird. The GROUND actually vibrates from the traffic in Bellview!) Better price than I could get a Toyota RAV with 160,000 miles over here! Love the car and it is a beast! However, this year when it was getting around100°, all the sudden it decided the "bonnet" was open so you can't lock the car. Hood not open, sensor getting touchy.
Riding through New Brunswick I came a cross a sweet young French cyclist, hitchhiking at an on ramp. "I want to go to Moncton." "Why? Have you been to Moncton?" "There are no facilities!"
I wished I could have helped her get to a washroom but I was on a motorcycle. "I'm sure you'll get a ride soon."
There are no tourist facilities in New Brunswick. None that I've seen.
In Quebec there is one every 40 kilometres or so with washrooms, picnic tables and even a phone booth.
Not where I live, maybe you just don't notice them. Many of them along the lake, a smattering elsewhere. I'd say it's more like Quebec than New Brunswick for that. Mind you they don't have phone booths.
public phones used to have 'A' and 'B' buttons. coins went in at the very top and when the call was answered the 'A' button had to be pushed in to release the coin down into the secret innards of the big black box. Being a short 9 year old, pushing the very high - near the top of the big black box - and very stiff 'A' button was beyond my strength. Receiver would say 'hello, hello, oh bugger off.'
Then I had to push the 'B' button to get the money back. 'B' was near the bottom so was quite easy.
Then I had to repeat, until I managed to get 'A' pushed in within the time limit.
My father wouldn't have a phone installed at home because "people will call".
I was visiting my dad at the nursing home when one of the nurses wheeled up a woman and told me it was her 104th birthday. I pulled out my iPhone, took a picture of her and told her I could send it around the world. "I remember the first automobile." She said thus widening the generation gap even more. Must have been nice to live when she did.
And if you got separated from your friends you would call the same mom and say, “ if so & so calls you, tell them I’m at a certain place” My mom had a chalkboard by the home rotary dial phone; to keep track of what to say when friends would call. 🤪
What a cool mom. I'm thinking of dumping my smart phone that tracks my every movement and listens to my conversations and go back to an old land line. Create some separation from the matrix and go back in time. I miss the old days.
A very interesting question. Your essay brought back a memory. Nobody goes anywhere today without their cellphone. When a friend and I graduated high school, we decided to drive from Pittsburgh to Florida for a vacation. My brother a year younger and a friend from his class went also. We took my Pontiac Grand Am with the 400 engine. Somehow we packed 4 golf bags and luggage in the trunk. Great trip. Saw Daytona, Disney World and stayed there. Cape Canaveral too. Seeing all the rockets, etc., was awesome. Way back I was driving all night and in North Carolina the passenger front wheel decided to break off. The brake kept it with the car. No wreck. We were on the highway out in BFE and screwed till a tractor trailer skidded to a stop and called a tow truck for us.
I had a Pontiac 400 too. A 1968 GTO. I wish I would have drove it across country. Yesterday I saw a new Honda and something broke on the right front when and it skidded and bounced to a stop. The wheel didn't fall off but it was f'd up. Thanks for sharing the story.
You're welcome. Interesting you should mention new. We lived in Pittsburgh and decided we wanted to move out West. Montana. Sold the house. Boarded horses and stored furniture. Ended up doing a 3+ month tour of Wyoming, South Dakota, Montana, Idaho, Oregon. What a blast! Ended up in Washington. Point. All the broken vehicles we saw on the way were new. Trucks towing travel trailers and cars. Older stuff just kept on going.
And when the older cars broke down it was either this, this or this and you only needed a crescent wrench and a screwdriver to fix it. Our technology is taking us backwards and that can easily be proven.
Couple years ago, was looking for a decent used car. Everything over here was beat and overpriced. Found a 2008 Land Rover LS HSE with only 87,000 in Belleview. Everything done on time, even oil, at the dealer.(That was weird. The GROUND actually vibrates from the traffic in Bellview!) Better price than I could get a Toyota RAV with 160,000 miles over here! Love the car and it is a beast! However, this year when it was getting around100°, all the sudden it decided the "bonnet" was open so you can't lock the car. Hood not open, sensor getting touchy.
Let’s go conspiracy. They’re designed to fail.
Yup. Throw away appliances too. Even refrigerators
Riding through New Brunswick I came a cross a sweet young French cyclist, hitchhiking at an on ramp. "I want to go to Moncton." "Why? Have you been to Moncton?" "There are no facilities!"
I wished I could have helped her get to a washroom but I was on a motorcycle. "I'm sure you'll get a ride soon."
There are no tourist facilities in New Brunswick. None that I've seen.
In Quebec there is one every 40 kilometres or so with washrooms, picnic tables and even a phone booth.
Ontario is terrible for that too until you get wayyyyy up north.
Not where I live, maybe you just don't notice them. Many of them along the lake, a smattering elsewhere. I'd say it's more like Quebec than New Brunswick for that. Mind you they don't have phone booths.
public phones used to have 'A' and 'B' buttons. coins went in at the very top and when the call was answered the 'A' button had to be pushed in to release the coin down into the secret innards of the big black box. Being a short 9 year old, pushing the very high - near the top of the big black box - and very stiff 'A' button was beyond my strength. Receiver would say 'hello, hello, oh bugger off.'
Then I had to push the 'B' button to get the money back. 'B' was near the bottom so was quite easy.
Then I had to repeat, until I managed to get 'A' pushed in within the time limit.
My father wouldn't have a phone installed at home because "people will call".
He was prescient, you see.
Phone booths and collect calls went the way of the dodo bird when smart phones became ubiquitous.
That Jim Croce song reminds me of Dr. Hook's "Sylvia's Mother"
https://youtu.be/7LXpnNKNxJI?si=BjRNj0POxgqsZWdI