Not too long ago, we were connected by wires. The wires went to places. We had to be at those places if we wanted to spend time with other people in other places.
Grandma and Grandpa’s local phone number was four digits long. At family gatherings, we used to schedule calls from distant family members. On Christmas day, grandchildren would call the house and we would have a phone visit, each cousin, aunt, and uncle passing the phone to the next in a daisy chain conversation beginning and ending with Grandma.
The phone used to be a home device, but we are no longer tied to home. Our circle is contained in digital address books accessible with the touch of a virtual button. We are ever on the go but someone always knows where we are.
operator
five, three, two, six, please . . .
the hum
of starlings flying free
across the airwaves
Ribbons 15 | 2 Spring/Summer 2019
I enjoyed this. Makes me feel old though. We never even had a phone when I was a child. I used to walk to the telephone kiosk in all weathers to speak to my boyfriend, now husband at arranged times or rely on the post.