Between The Squiggles

Day 4 of writing something-random-just-to-see-if-can-do-it-without-getting-conscious

Well…. What should we talk about today?

Remember the days of landline phones? That split-second of silence right before and after you said hello.

“Who could it be?” You’d think as you made you way to the phone.

“Probably Steph? Probably Parisa?” Ring ring.

“Or maybe it’s Jordyn?” It could be the guy or girl you had a crush on.

“It’s probably just a friend of mum’s?” Ring ring.

“Nah, probably a friend of dad’s?” Ring ring ring ring.

“Or maybe it is actually Jordyn?” Ring ri…, you stub your toe on a table on the way.

Regardless of who was on the other side, of course, excluding telemarketers and nosy relatives, I remember always enjoying picking up the landline. In the ’90s, that was the closest you could get to feeling like a secret agent or a Wall Street broker, depending on your mood. Just the clunky phone in your hand, the weight of the receiver pressed against your face – it made you feel important, like lives (or at least reputations) depended on what came next. It was also about getting the latest, juiciest gossip from school friends, or your crush calling at a time they knew your parents would be around – risky, thrilling, cinematic. And if nothing else, it was simply about saying hello to people you didn’t particularly care about, like your parents’ colleagues, before dutifully handing the phone over, feeling like you’d done your day’s job.

It was the same kind of dopamine rush kids get these days before posting a photo on Instagram – “Who’s going to like it?”

Except back then, for those of us hooked on the landline, it was “who’s going to say hello?“