I miss those days..... Things were more
human back then, and not so impersonal, as
they are today. I love the internet, but --
the technology we now have makes it possible
to automate too many jobs. We need and deserve
well-trained HUMAN telephone operators, and a
well-trained HUMANAN to answer every call that
is not to a residence -- by the third ring,
if possible.

I am old enough to easily remember party lines.
My family had one for the first 6 months or so
after we moved into our home on the Peninsula.
(I even remember our first phone number.)

I also remember the rwo SP PBX frequencies here
in Northern California:
160.890 on Loma Prieta Peak
160.950 from Oakland
And an SP VP would call in every weekday morning
and afternoon on 161.220 -- Vollmer Peak -- to get
reports on how the railroad was doing, system-wide.

Ahhhhh..... memories.....