Just A Phone Call Away

Today’s communication is amazing to me. When I was overseas in 1966, there were no cell phones, no internet, no email or text messaging. We had snail mail and generally it took about three weeks for a letter to get from my ship to my wife. I did get the chance to “call” her once using a shipboard ham radio that connected with a ham radio operator in the U.S. who agreed to make a collect call to my wife from his telephone and then connect the two of us.

I think I was allowed three minutes to say what I wanted to say and then I had to get off to make way for the next person. It was a different experience for a couple of reasons: the whole world could hear our conversation and when I finished a sentence I had to say, “over”. Then she could talk and when finished, “ over” which made it my turn. That’s alright. I had a chance to say, “I love you, over”. To which she replied, “I love you too, over”.

Right now my wife is in the country of Panama and literally has been from one end to another this week. I think we have talked to each other privately on our cell phones three times and have text messaged several times each day. As near as I can tell, it takes less than a minute for her text message to reach me.

When she gets back, we are changing cell phone vendors and getting new equipment. Our new phones will allow us to talk, email, and text each other. In addition, it will have internet capability, GPS capability, the ability to read and transmit Word documents, and goodness what else. It will be a huge step forward for us.

And just think, I remember when we didn’t have dial phones. We picked up the phones and waited for acknowledgement from a real live operator to whom we spoke the number we were calling (a four digit number) and she connected us or would tell us the line is busy or perhaps that they were at the store and would be back shortly. All of our phones were heavy, black and connected with thick wire.

I wonder what the next generation will experience as communication technology continues to advance.