The old telephone table
Each week I ponder what to chat about this week – and generally it comes to me as I am doing something arbitrary. So whilst I was brushing my teeth I was thinking, its so crazy hey – one day – okay I wasn’t actually doing anything momentous when I thought to myself time flies. I used to get, irritated when my mom used to say that – but its true. All these years later – it still flies dear mom – I finally agree with you! So, I was brushing my teeth and thought I cannot believe it’s another Thursday. Life happens and changes so quickly, everyday without us even being aware most of the time how time is marching by, and things are becoming out of date and new things are becoming hip, hop and happening! Why am I saying this? Recently in my tidying I found an old cassette of the Fine Young Cannibals. I chucked it into the garage bag and then thought “Keep it” – anyhow whilst in the study the other day I happened to glance up and there stood the dustiest, seriously dustiest radio/cassette player. I put the cassette in – and besides the squeaky noise of the cassette turning I could faintly hear the Fine Young Cannibals. When we played that back in the day we had no idea we would be downloading music on our phones of all things! Back in the day who would have thought that we would be walking down the road and talking on a phone – or driving whilst Sheilagh guide’s you to your destination. I remember ensuring the bedroom door was closed before dialing my friend. Remember dialing the number and after all that effort it would be engaged so yu would have to redial. My word – I wonder if the elderly peruses this modern world in awe and think how times have changed – or if they, like us, just step into the changes and the future? One thing though, everybody – E-V-E-R-Y-B-O-D-Y has a cellular device – have you noticed that!
Our Fingers and arms must have been so strong!
Who recalls, – well firstly when I was at school, one of my subjects was typing! On a good old typewriter! On your report it was always crucial the teacher included how many words per minute you could type. Shucks remember the Tippex ribbon, but before the fancy tippex ribbon – didn’t that come out with the golf ball typewriters – IBM I think it was? Anyhow, you would get out the Tippex bottle – invariably that was always thick! You would put a blob on your mistake, and it would take forever to dry, and when you reckoned it was dry and you retyped, sure as Bob was your uncle it hadn’t dried, so your key would have a huge blady blog of tippex on it!!!! Then replacing the typewriter – well first you had the manual typewriter replaced by the electric typewriter – I don’t even recall but imagine how noisy that was in a typing class or in a typing pool at the office. We most certainly wouldn’t have had time to chat away as we do now whilst we type away on our little laptops and/or tablets! And remember when all, I mean me included – the whole office smoked! Yuck imagine how clothes must have stank and we probably didn’t even notice; the walls – they were probably a shade of yellow from the smoke and nicotine! I cannot lie Gary says I am a “reformed whore” but there is nothing, nothing, N-O-T-H-I-N-G I detest more than smoking! (BUT I do love you all my smoker friends😊) Recently, I was given a typewriter I was over the moon. But I searched high and low there are no typewriter ribbons anymore. Remember the first computers took up your whole desk! Mind you I have no doubt we all made sure there was space for our ashtrays! But yip they were huge, and that was just the screen – the flashing green that little box thingy that as you typed it flashed along and the background was a black colour with the green almost robotic alphabet as you typed!
And there is that luminous green!
Gary was saying he used to go and see a client and take the computer with! What? My word that must have been a five-day event! Then remember the Beta max and the VCR? Going back even further, I recall my family hiring home movies. It was every Friday night. We would all be given a choice. There was always a half an hour funny – I recall it was “The Brady Bunch” sometimes. My bestest ever was “I dream of Genie” then a comedy followed by a horror. We (kids) would have to go to bed when the horror was screened and I recall my sister and I hiding on the stairs and watching. BUT Yikes that wasn’t always the best idea as I would have nightmares but couldn’t confess or call my folks! Remember the movie came in that ginormous box all strapped up. There were three huge reels with the film which we (my dad) would thread through the movie projector. Most of the time you couldn’t hear what they were saying as the projector made such a blady noise! I recall one night the film didn’t go onto the reel. It was actually amazing how it didn’t fall over – but ja, it just kept going round and round as the movie progressed. When the reel was finished, it was time for popcorn and cooldrink whilst my dad changed the reel he literally picked up the reel and placed it back in its movie box – sjoe what a job for the people when he took it back and they would have to re-wind it back onto its reel! That reel seriously looked like a blady tractor tyre!
The old school movie nights either the wall or a sheet sufficed!
From the old home movies, we progressed to TV’s. I know dear reader; I am repeating myself now but I recall if one had a TV wow you were the hip and happening. At school if you had a TV – sjoe you certainly were “one of the girls”. Ours lived in its own cabinet. Thinking of furniture now that served a purpose back in the day – how about the telephone table – there was a little table and a seat and, on the table, lived that huge phone directory and then of course the phone itself! My dearest darling friend – gosh I adore her – where Charmaine’s telephone was – it was in the passage in a little nook but on their wall were thousands and thousands of phone numbers and names. I guess one day someone couldn’t find a notepad and started the trend!
Oh my hat – who remembers the cabinet we had, they had ball and claw feet and were all glass. Your mom used to display all her ornaments in it – I mean what the heck – why place them all in one place – and under lock and key nogal! And then who can forget the set of Encyclopedia’s. All the knowledge you ever needed was right there – somewhere in those set of books! I mean who the heck needed Google? You would need to get started on a school project weeks before it was due with all the paging through those books.
In my tidying I came upon an invitation pad for one of the boys birthdays. Remember we used to send them via their school or even post them! Now you just whats app – and even the parties – so different today – no hiring of venues, the party was in your own garden, with your kids toys there for all the friends to play with. A table laid out with every sweet treat you could imagine! They would be exhausted at the end of the afternoon. Gosh I remember as a little girl how your mom would dress you up. You had a party dress, with bobbie socks and those Jack & Jill coloured shoes! Wow now that’s a flash back.
Talking Betamax I will never forget I went for my first scan and they placed it on that tape. And didn’t Gary tape the blady rugby over it!!! Was our one and only scan of Ryan ☹ how about how the scan’s have developed? 4D – gosh you can see exactly who baby takes after looks wise! None of that for us! If you had an affair and fell pregnant you had nine months to figure out an excuse as to why the baby looked nothing like its dad! Remember with the first scan – when you were confirming you were in fact pregnant that almost Polaroid picture they gave you with that little grey dot!
I came upon a heap; I mean shucks at least ten bags at the top of my cupboard. What the heck, no wonder I have back problems now. They were huge! I had the library, the kitchen and a chemist plus plus in those bags. Now I have a little – truly the tiniest bag ever – cellphone – check – tiniest wallet for cards and money – check – and that is it! Off Dizabeth goes! I always took whatever book I was reading for that “in case moment” but when those “in case moments” arose I never hauled my book out! I rather chat up a storm with a complete stranger as we wait alllllll day for the doctor to be ready for the appointment. Another thing – ok I still do this and no doubt will till my dying day! It could be 40 degrees out but Dizabeth in case she gets cold, ok, ok there I must be honest that is now chucked into the car’s backseat because you never know! You know how “you will always find me in the kitchen at parties” (sung by Jona Lewie) well in Dizzy’s case you will always find Dizabeth with a cardigan/Jacket etc.,So, as much as I detest smoking, I detest being cold so even when it is a heat wave and we out for the evening – yip dearest Dizabeth takes a cardigan – hey you never know. Rather safe then sorry!
And that dear reader is all she wrote.
Thanks for loving my blog the way you do.
Take care, stay healthy and be kind to yourself always.
Mwah Mwah