Pay Phones

I was asked to sit with my two grandsons while my youngest and her husband visited with a doctor. I started reading one of the children books left in the back pack in the hopes that I could be successful in amusing the boys. The second book was about a dog accused of kidnapping two cats. Well one page had a picture of a pay phone with the receiver hanging by the cord. "what's that?" Well it's a pay phone. I could tell by his young face that I would have to do better than that. Well, long ago before cell phones, pay phones were strategically located through out the country. "What's strategic?" Hmm this could be going better... wonder how soon mom will be done. Well strategic means places where lots of people will pass by and need to use a phone to call someone. I could see several people smiling and watching me explain this to a five year old who needs to know everything. You see, Vaughan, people did not have cell phones, so they would pick up the pay phone and press it to their ear, put coins in the slot and then they could dial a number and talk to someone. Now that almost every body have cell phones, the phone company removed them because they weren't being used. Vaughan said, " I remember seeing one". Well they are still located in airports, bus and train stations, but not on street corners anymore. He nodded his head. Whew, that's done. Mom and dad appeared a few minutes later. The boys had been patient for 50 minutes and they were starting to get antsy. I looked at Vaughan and said your bored. Yes, I am. A few minutes later, when mom appeared she asked if they were good, before I could answer, Vaughan said we're bored. I told her that they were good. Its not easy to sit in a waiting room for an hour without running off youthful energy.

I hope I'm asked to sit again.