That was a phone number that I dialed more than one thousand times from 1957 through June of 1963. So was Beacon two zero five five nine! I dialed them form various phones but mostly from Roger’s Drugstore, Marden Avenue and then later from my number at home and here in California which I cannot recall at this time. My Marden Avenue number was Columbia five four four three nine. I even recall Talbot five zero six nine seven. You may have guessed that these are significant phone numbers in my life. There are so many more that I cannot remember but conjuring up these brings back many memories. At my age, to remember these is a blessing.
The one great thing about these phone numbers is that when you called them you actually spoke to the person. Hearing the other person’s voice is why you called. That is what makes the human connection human. Yes, I can recall time when I need to communicate on an immediate basis and texting would have helped – but we are a texting society and that reduces the human interaction. There is no voice inflection, there is no emotion that comes through. How do I know that you have a cold, your text is not nasal, you don’t cough in your texting. How do I know that you are not ecstatic about something? Emoticons, come on! How do I know that you are not sad about something? I can hear tears in your voice. Oh yes, the emoticon in your text L.
The first two numbers belonged to my girlfriend who later became my wife. The second number the Beacon number, belonged to her grandmother. I knew that I could get her at that number when the Longwood number was busy. There was no call waiting, voicemail or any other means of connecting except by calling back and back and back again.
Recalling the phone numbers also brings up some mundane questions: Like what happened to exchanges? I remember the Original Amateur Hour and their number for voting was Murray Hill something or other. I also recall when phone numbers had two letter and just four digits. Life was simpler then except if you had a party line. A party line was when two phone numbers shared the same line. When you pick up the phone you can hear the other party’s conversation. It was always considered polite to wait until they finished their call before you tried to make your call. They best that I can say about the other party was that they were rude and inconsiderate. I am sure they said the same thing about my mother when she was talking to her sister. It was common to hate the other party. You rarely knew who they were and that was a good thing.
There was no mute buttons then so listening in on their conversation was not easy – they did tend to know you were listening and then used some very interesting language such as the “nosy ba___rds are listening in.” You couldn’t respond or you will confirm that you are nosy ba___rd!
I think having an exchange is classy. Seven eight was “State” and two seven was “Crescent” - Beverly Hills exchange. Once the letter disappeared there was no status attached to your number – just seven random digits. With the area code came status. Three one zero – Westside of Los Angeles. Eight one eight – all the way from the west San Fernando Valley to Pasadena. Then they developed the overlay so local calls went from CO-4439 to 16172654439. That is what we call progress. Actually, auto dial was progress.
The memories that old phone numbers create are wonderful. Is that going to apply to our children and grandchildren? Probably not because their numbers are not stored in their heads but on their smartphones. Technology is robbing them of warm memories. They are being robbed of triggers that recall these memories. I guess they can go back and look at the text messages.
The one great thing about these phone numbers is that when you called them you actually spoke to the person. Hearing the other person’s voice is why you called. That is what makes the human connection human. Yes, I can recall time when I need to communicate on an immediate basis and texting would have helped – but we are a texting society and that reduces the human interaction. There is no voice inflection, there is no emotion that comes through. How do I know that you have a cold, your text is not nasal, you don’t cough in your texting. How do I know that you are not ecstatic about something? Emoticons, come on! How do I know that you are not sad about something? I can hear tears in your voice. Oh yes, the emoticon in your text L. I am not disparaging the new technologies. I use them and enjoy them. I am just saddened that we cannot get past them when we have to. When my mother wanted me in for dinner she went to the porch and I heard her voice calling me in. Such a great memory. Were it now I would get a text, “Dinner is ready!” Something is missing here.
That is my take – you decide. Text me!
