<VV> You Know You Are Old When (no Corvair)

[Charles Fregeau]

I've got four different versions of that round disk with holes thingy here
with me.  The first phone I remember was a big black WE 554 wall phone by
the pantry.  I remember when telephone numbers had words in them.  I
remember having relatives with numbers that couldn't be dialed like
Chauncey 11F13.

I remember a time before
Cell phones
Answering machines
Portable computers
Transistorized radios
Japanese imports 

I also remember a time we had to put new plates on every year, if not in
December then January here in Illinois.  That was my responsibility with the
Corvair we owned.

Charles Fregeau

-----Original Message-----
From: virtualvairs-bounces at corvair.org
[mailto:virtualvairs-bounces at corvair.org] On Behalf Of Wrsssatty at aol.com
Sent: Monday, September 19, 2011 6:57 PM
To: virtualvairs at corvair.org
Subject: Re: <VV> You Know You Are Old When (no Corvair)

I'm so old, I remember when people bought new cars and leased  apartments.  
Now people lease new cars and buy apartments.
 
I'm so old I remember when telephone calls came over wires and television  
broadcasts came over the air.  Now, telephone calls come over the air and  
television broadcasts come over wires.
 
Speaking of telephone calls, when I was a kid when you made a telephone  
call there was a clear plastic thing on the telephone that looked like a CD

(remember those?) that had holes in it.  Inside each hole was written a  
number and to make the call, you'd put your finger in the hole corresponding
to  
each number in the telephone number.  Once you had your finger in the hole  
for a given number, you had to drag your finger in a clockwise direction 
until  the clear plastic thing wouldn't go any further and then you'd pull 
your finger  out and it would spring back in a counter-clockwise direction.

When it  stopped, you'd then have to put your finger in the hole with the
next 
number of  the telephone number you were trying to call and start the 
process all over  again.  You'd have to do that for every number in the
phone 
number just to  make the call!  And if someone wanted to call you, you had
to 
be home when  they tried to call you.  Otherwise, you didn't even have any 
idea that they  were trying to call you!  Kids today don't know how easy
they 
have  it.
 
And, speaking of television broadcasts, when I was a kid, to change  
channels, you'd have to get up off the couch and walk over to the television
and  
grab ahold of a knob jutting out of the front or side of the television.   
This knob had numbers on it corresponding to the channel number and on the  
television there would be a little arrow pointing at the numbers on the  
knob.  You'd have to twist the knob back and forth until the arrow on the  
television was pointing to the channel number you wanted.  If you went back
to 
the couch and decided that you didn't want to watch that channel after all,

you'd have to get up, walk back over to the television and start the whole  
process all over again!  Luckily, there were at most about 3  channels that 
you could get and that was usually in the late fall and winter  when the 
leaves were off the trees.  Kids today have it so easy!
 
~Bill Stanley
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