Today my daughter had a new experience. She was calling a friend when she called me into the room. “Dad,” she said, “Whenever I call I keep getting this weird beeping sound.”
I figured she dialed the wrong number and had gotten a fax machine by mistake, so I asked her to try it again. “Nope, same strange sound,” was her confused reply.
Putting the phone to my ear I heard an all too familiar “BEEP-BEEP-BEEP.”
“Well, sweetie, it’s just a busy signal.” And my comment was met with the same confused gaze I received when I tried to explain the Pythagorean Theorem to a group of fourth graders. “You know, it just means that they are using their phone and you’ll have to wait and call back later.”
She looked at me like I was making the whole thing up, shrugged, put the phone down and got back to work on the computer. All the while thinking her old man had lost his marbles.
What does it say about a society's thirst for instant gratification if a child can live to be eleven years old without ever hearing a busy signal?
Hmmm?
3 comments:
That's funny and sad all at the same time. Try explaining to your 12 yr old about only having 3 TV stations and how they went off the air at midnight. "What? You mean like that's when the infomercials came on, right?" No, just snow or test pattern. "What's a test pattern?"
I came across a year-old post on your blog while looking for a gift for my sister. I enjoyed reading about packing for camp. I have fond memories of hunting for just the right whites and trying to find enough green stuff.
If you want to freak your daughter out even more. Tell her that when I was a Waldemar camper (1977-1984) we stayed for 5 weeks, we had no giant fans, and oh horror, the only air conditioning was in the infirmary.
I hope you daughter has a great summer.
--elisabeth, an Aztec in Fort Worth
Aztec in Fort Worth,
You may know my wife. She was a Comanche the same years you where there. Melissa Davis is her maiden name.
Small world...
Thanks for the comment.
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