Party lines, cell phones and pirates

Does anyone (besides me) remember party-line telephones? When you shared telephone service with several of your neighbors so you had to take turns using the phone? When I was growing up we had a party line phone that included my grandma (she lived next door) and a few other neighbors. We knew when grandma got on the phone that it was going to be tied up for awhile. It wasn’t that she was overly talkative, but she had friends that were.

One of our party line neighbors had a bad habit of leaving the phone off the hook. I guess they didn’t want to be bothered with calls. But that meant no one else on the system could make or receive calls either. In some ways, a party line system was a hassle because you had to wait your turn to use the phone. If you interrupted someone else’s call, you risked the wrath of your neighbors. It also meant that everyone knew your business because they could eavesdrop on your calls and you wouldn’t know. Unless they were heavy breathers or something.

Sometimes I think we’ve almost resorted back to party line systems. I can’t count the number of times that I have been in a public restroom (Target, Wal-mart, McDonalds, etc.) and someone is carrying on a conversation on their cell phone in the next stall over. I’ve gotten to listen in on everything from who’s doing who to where the party is to what lie will I tell the parents this weekend.

It really amazes me that people will talk on a cell phone while in a restroom. One of these days I am going to just say “Hey – why don’t you put that on speaker because I know your friend really wants to listen to me PEE!”

It’s like the old party line system – except now it’s not just your neighbors who know your business. Milly and Silly and their three girlfriends who were shopping at the mall and were all on their phones in the restroom are sharing their business with you, while you pee – whether you like it or not.

Geez people – if you are in a public restroom – hang up the dang phone. Some things just don’t need to be shared.

On a totally different subject – I heard about a Pirate festival that will be happening in Wentzville over the next three weekends. It’s sorta tied in with the whole Renaissance Festival concept, except focused on pirates instead of the Middle Ages. Sounds like fun and I think the kids will get a kick out of it. Here’s a link if you are interested - Pirate Festival.