My nephew, S., had to call his mom. He was at our family's "little house" with my kids and another cousin. They'd all traipsed through the woods and across the creek crick to get from S's house to the little house, and stood around the phone with their muddy feet and legs.
I asked S., who's two days shy of his 8th birthday, if he knew how to dial the phone. He knew his phone number, but not how to operate the solid black hulk in front of him. So he said no, and my son piped up, "I know! Mom? Can I dial?"
The three other cousins watched me and my son as I dictated the number and he placed his index finger in the proper holes, carefully pulling the dial and his finger toward the metal stop.
Our dial phone used to scare me as a kid, I was always convinced I hadn't taken the dial right the way round.
Posted by: Katherine | July 26, 2007 at 11:52
I don't think my girls would know what to do with one of those.
Posted by: meredith | July 26, 2007 at 12:08
I don't think my girls would know what to do with one of those.
Posted by: meredith | July 26, 2007 at 12:08
I don't think my girls would know what to do with one of those.
Posted by: meredith | July 26, 2007 at 12:08
I don't think my girls would know what to do with one of those.
Posted by: meredith | July 26, 2007 at 12:08
I don't think my girls would know what to do with one of those.
Posted by: meredith | July 26, 2007 at 12:09
oops
Posted by: meredith | July 26, 2007 at 12:10
I used to love those phones when I was little. I loved hearing the rotary spin around when I'd call my best friend because her number had a bunch of 2's and 3's in it, but a '0' at the end. It was like fast-fast-fast-slow-fast-fast-slooooow.
Posted by: Catheroo | July 26, 2007 at 12:11
Oooh, now I WANT one! Ebay, here I come!
Posted by: AndreAnna | July 26, 2007 at 13:01
Rotary phone envy. Who'd of thought that the world would come to this?
Posted by: ally bean | July 26, 2007 at 13:15
We have an old-fashioned rotary phone in our bedroom. My husband loves it, and I hate it. (too slow)
Posted by: Margaret | July 26, 2007 at 13:37
I'll bet you have a buggy whip there too.
Posted by: The CEO | July 26, 2007 at 20:55
I miss them sometimes... though it did take forever to finish dialing!
Posted by: sunshinecity | July 26, 2007 at 21:09
Aesthetically they're very satisfying to use, but I like autodial just a little bit more. Do most people even know other people's phone numbers now that you can just use the contact lists on cell phones?
Posted by: Joolie | July 27, 2007 at 00:54
It's been a while since I've seen one of those.
Posted by: cassie-b | July 27, 2007 at 06:36
I want a rotary cell phone... Then I can finally live my dream of being the "phone dude" from the green plastic army guys. The one who never fought, merely tattled on the enemy.
Posted by: Thomas | July 27, 2007 at 08:42
I remember I used to sort of push the dial back to its stop - faster dialling. I have no idea why my life seemed to be so short of time that I needed to get the dialling over with quickly, but there you go...
After a while the big black monster phones we had as a kid gave way to a silly white plastic thingy that was still dial action but didn't ring like a bell - an electronic dweeble that led to the instruments being called 'Crickets'.
Before rotary dialling we had party lines - a bunch of subscribers on a single line with a coded ring - we were two longs two shorts - and everyone listening in on each others conversations, and everyone knowing it but carrying on anyway...and the old dame at the exchange who would do the ringing etc knew EVERYTHING that was happening to everyone. You would call the exchange by lifting the reciever and giving the handle alongside the phone a few swift cranks, and then ask for the number you wanted and the old biddy would make the connection and then patch you in...
If we knew the neighbours were away ( they were three longs and a single short) we would answer their calls on our phone, then take messages for them. As would they for us...
Of course, if you wanted to tell someone something really confidential, you wrote a letter!
Thanks for bringing up good memories of infinitely better times....
Posted by: Geoffrey | July 27, 2007 at 10:08
Haven't seen a rotary phone in a while. Great shot.
Posted by: Chris | July 27, 2007 at 11:18
maybe he could join the rotary club.
Posted by: madame l. | July 28, 2007 at 02:53
When we bought my now-14-year-old a Busy Box to hang inside her crib, hubby noted that it might be the only time in her life she would ever see a rotary dial. I'm surprised that phone companies still accomodate rotary dial. What fun!
Posted by: AlisonM | July 28, 2007 at 08:56
I have to show my kids that picture. It should be good for a laugh or two.
Posted by: Jack | July 29, 2007 at 01:05
That's funny! And a great pic. I was never sure that I was rotating the number far enough with my finger when I used my grandparents' rotary...
Posted by: Michael C | July 30, 2007 at 01:43
My thierteen-year-old daughter saw one of those old, goose-poop colored French rotary phones last year and cried out "what's that?!?!"
Posted by: Betty C. | August 01, 2007 at 15:04