The New Phone

My son and some of his college buddies moved into a house that my wife and I own last Spring.

Good bunch of guys (better son).

We were doing some work on the place after they had moved in. Finishing hanging doors and finishing a shower and stuff like that.

My son was setting up the Internet and cable for the place. Like most young people today, he and his buds only use cell phones. When he went to get the cable and Internet set up the cable company gave him four handsets for his new land line. It was part of the "deal".

So he set it up. Took a couple of calls to customer service.

He got it set up. I called his number from my cell. Worked great.

Then my wife and son ran to Home Depot to pick up a few things. This is the same Home Depot that sent my wife a handwritten thank you note for all the business we were doing while we rehabbed the house.

As they were pulling out of the alley the phone rang. Not my cell phone, the new land line. I figured my son was calling to see how it sounded on the call in side.

But no, it was a sale call. It wasn't more than twenty minutes after he got the line set up and working.

The other day, I asked him if they ever got any calls on the land line. He said no, it was all sales and political calls.

Not more than 18 years ago, we got a first cell phone, a bag phone for emergencies only. Now it is the primary means of communication for a generation. Land lines are going the way of the telegram.

At least the political calls are over for now...