Monday, April 21, 2008

Hello, Hello, Is Anyone There?

A lot of things have combined to create this post. The first is a feeling that I'm living in some weird, warped isolation from the business world. I've had three calls for key work in the past week. One set arrived. No payment and missing instructions. I called and left a message about the instructions three days ago. Nothing. Supposedly the check is on it's way. I'll just wait for that as I'll be able to figure the job based on the amount of payment. Did some keys over three weeks ago and the guy forgot to enclose the check. I called to remind him that return shipping would be free with prepayment. Yep, he says, check will be sent right away. I've sent the keys back, finished, with a bill. Nothing. I sent a second bill and added in the shipping costs. Nothing.

So, today's picture was chosen while I was looking through some old photographs over the weekend. I'm calling it the first cell phone. I've included (copied) the 'letter' that my dad wrote to his father that was written on the back of the photograph. My dad is the guy with the polka dot tie, third from the right. Pop - This photo is of the first Emergency Radio Equipment of it's type ever built. The units in this photo were used to establish telephone communication between President Eisenhower and the Nations telephone facilities. The part I'm happy about, Pop, is that after I engineered it - it functioned satisfactorily on the first trial. Al

All that so that Eisenhower could go on his usual fishing trips at a location with no phone lines! Talk about government's wasteful spending.

So put THAT phone in your pocket and go!

6 comments:

Linda Ball said...

Remember those cell phones that were bricks? Big heavy chunky things? When they came out my dad said FFP should get one, so tied to the phone was he. But now that we are in the era of the cell phone I can't get him to carry or care about one. Makes calss, sure. But call him and expect an answer in three weeks.

deb said...

My folks were a test family for the bricks. My mom carried one around for weeks and hated it. Now, being tight on cash, I'm insisting that she use her little cell that's on my plan, to make all her long distance calls. She'll use it for that, but has no idea how to answer it (or even what it's ringtone sounds like).

I use mine for long distance and checking why customers fail to answer the door, or change of plans in booking times. I have to remind myself to check my voice mail. I have managed to miss calls there.

As a side note: My dad spent his career in development engineering with AT&T but HATED to use the phone.

Anonymous said...

I carry a mobile phone for emergencies only - very strictly so!
When I do have to use it, I insist that everybody within about 100 yards 'Shhhhhhhhhh-es'. How embarrassing!

deb said...

Initially, mine was for emergencies only. Now with the HIGH cost of business long distance on my land phone, I have switched to making all long distance calls via cell (I have a bulk family plan and we never use up the minutes and they keep rolling over to the next month). Down side is even though I tell people to return calls on the business number, they just dial back the cell number. Now I've got to deal with messages on that phone!

Anonymous said...

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deb said...

D#$%! Fine. But I'll have to get to it later. Better watch out in that next life, luv.