Ring Ring

When I was a kid we had a big backyard and a rather large hill. If you were at the bottom of the hill (and the only one home) chances are the phone was going to ring.

It was an all out dash to run up the hill, up the cement staircase, around the corner up onto the steps to the deck, pull open the screen door and dash into the kitchen to grab the ringing phone.

I was pretty fast back then - I think I could get to the phone in 2 or 3 rings.

My mother always said to let the phone ring 10 times, if you were making a call to someone, that was a minute. If no one picked up after 10 rings, they weren't home or didn't want to answer. When I was at the bottom of the hill, I always hoped that the person calling also had that 10 ring rule.

Back then, we didn't have an answering machine. Never even heard of one, as I recall. We didn't have call waiting either...but I remember when we got that! It enabled me to be on the phone for hours and hours without my parents being upset that the phone was busy all afternoon.

If you missed a phone call, the person who was calling had to call you back.

Something that was frequently said was..."Can I call you back? I'm expecting a call."

If you were gone for a few days, you didn't even wonder who had called because there was no way to check.

When we called my grandparents they always said, at some point in the conversation, "well this is getting expensive," or "I don't want to run up your bill."

I remember when I was in the car with my parents and no one ever called, they pretty much had me or the radio.

I really liked the phone cord being stretched from the kitchen all the way down the hall with that 25' cord. You could always find who was on the phone, by following the cord. I liked to curl it up on my fingers or whip it like it was a jump rope. I even really liked rotary dial. I was always a little peeved when a number had a bunch of nines or zeros in it, because it took so long for it go go back to its resting spot, but still, it was fun.

Now I have a phone that is also an address book, a camera, a video camera, a message center, an answering machine, a calculator, and so many other things I can't even name them all.

I saw this seafoam green, rotary dial wall phone online somewhere recently. It got me thinking. The picture posted isn't the phone that made me think of the hill and the 10 rings, but it gives you an idea.

Hope you enjoyed it!

Have a great day!
Kristin