Quarterly Calls

Day 20:

When I was at the store today I saw something that caused a double take. Right outside the store was something I hadn’t seen in quite some time - it was a pay phone. But what really caught me by surprise was that there was a man that appeared to be repairing it. This could not be, I thought. No, he must be taking it out.

But there was a part of me that was not sure. There was an even bigger part that needed to find out.

So I walked up to the man that was on the other side of middle-aged and our interaction went something like:
Me: Hey there.
Him: (silence)
Me: Hey, how’s it going?
Him: (silence)
Me: Excuse me sir, are you repairing that phone or are you taking it down?
Him: Nope, I’m fixing it.
Me: Oh, cool. (feeling like I needed to demonstrate my appreciation for his efforts in restoring life into a dying artifact, I responded with…) It’s kinda nice to see that they still get serviced.
Him: (silence)
Me: Well, thanks for fixing it. Have a nice rest of your day.
Him: Thanks, you too.

He never looked my way.

As I walked to the car I chuckled to myself and reflected on this learning moment.

Today I learned that some people really take to heart the “don’t talk to strangers” bit.
But what I really learned is that as convenient as modern technology can be, it’s kinda sad watching former fixtures of society being so readily replaced and or forgotten.

Here’s a link to help you find a payphone if ever your cell puts you in a pinch. Which makes me wonder, are collect calls still made? Does today’s youth even know what a collect call is?