The more things change, the fewer things stay the same
Believe it or not, the job "telephone operator" used to be man's work. Well, teenage boy's work actually. Don't ask me why, though. In my opinion most teenage boys should be out doing the jobs Americans won't do -kind of a quarantine until they realize that people who are paid to face the public should refrain from foul language and horse play. Sadly of course, this would condemn some to a lifetime of under-employment. On the brighter side, I would never have had to meet the counter worker @ Carl's Jr. who spent the entire time I was there sucking on a bent paper clip that was hanging out of his mouth... nice. A saliva bucket hanging from it would have been a nice finishing touch to that picture.
In 1877 the phone company in Boston hired the first Female operators, as a way to reduce foul language and horse play. Emma and Stella Nutt were the first. The phone company is deep in love with its long and storied past. Pictures abound of mule drawn wagons carrying phone poles across stretches of harsh back country and installers in the remotest of locations "going the extra mile" for the customer… no wonder everyone loves the phone company.
You know what else the phone company does that’s nice? Time service; call a toll free number any time and find out exactly what time it is. Hmmm… I wonder if anyone under 30 actually uses this anymore. Most people have cell phones that sync up to the correct time all by themselves so most of us probably don’t really need time service anymore.
It’s not like they’re required to provide the time. It’s kind of like the gas station attendant who washed your windshield and checked the tires and oil when you got a fill-up. Tires and cars (except Chrysler of course) are more reliable than they were 50 years ago so we’re pretty much fine without the weekly check on that stuff.
Oh yeah, that reminds me. After mid-August there won’t be time service in California anymore. Turns out the old equipment needs to be replaced which of course costs money… you know how that goes. Well, back to work. I’m missing some quality foul language and horse play
In 1877 the phone company in Boston hired the first Female operators, as a way to reduce foul language and horse play. Emma and Stella Nutt were the first. The phone company is deep in love with its long and storied past. Pictures abound of mule drawn wagons carrying phone poles across stretches of harsh back country and installers in the remotest of locations "going the extra mile" for the customer… no wonder everyone loves the phone company.
You know what else the phone company does that’s nice? Time service; call a toll free number any time and find out exactly what time it is. Hmmm… I wonder if anyone under 30 actually uses this anymore. Most people have cell phones that sync up to the correct time all by themselves so most of us probably don’t really need time service anymore.
It’s not like they’re required to provide the time. It’s kind of like the gas station attendant who washed your windshield and checked the tires and oil when you got a fill-up. Tires and cars (except Chrysler of course) are more reliable than they were 50 years ago so we’re pretty much fine without the weekly check on that stuff.
Oh yeah, that reminds me. After mid-August there won’t be time service in California anymore. Turns out the old equipment needs to be replaced which of course costs money… you know how that goes. Well, back to work. I’m missing some quality foul language and horse play
posted by Steve at
2:15 PM
|
1 Comments
