You know you are getting old when:

[Zombie_61]

Pretty much every important authority figure of my childhood is gone now...

I lost the first of these people in my life when my older brother died in 1984, and the last when Mom died in 2004. I was always aware of and appreciative of the guidance they had all provided over the years, but it was shortly after Mom was gone that I truly realized she was the last of those responsible for shaping me during those "formative" years and that little voice in my head said, "Figure it out for yourself, ****head."

With regards to "mentoring", it's a long story but back in the mid-1990s my wife and I became surrogate co-parents to two young boys. My wife had become friends with a divorced co-worker who had a daughter and two sons, and I had apparently managed to somehow gain the boys' trust during the time we all spent together because one day the younger of the two (they were 9 and 12 years old at the time) asked me if he could call me "dad", and when his brother found out he requested the same thing. Fortunately their mother had alerted my wife and I that this might happen, so we had an opportunity to consider and discuss it before it actually happened. When it did, I sat down with the boys and explained to them how it was going to work--if they were going to call me dad, for all intents and purposes I was going to be their dad (and that my wife was going to be "Mom II"). I wanted them to know I took it seriously, and would not abandon them the way their real father had after the divorce. Initially they put this arrangement to the test and we--their mother, my wife, and I--would issue the necessary discipline by committee when they misbehaved. But I also proved I'd be there for them when they needed me by attending meetings with the school staff when they each had problems keeping their grades up, and showing up at the E.R. when the younger one dislocated his knee playing football at school. I, of course, had no legal rights to make decisions on their behalf because this was nothing more than an informal agreement within the family, but there was a physical resemblance between me and the boys so no one in a "position of authority" ever really questioned it and accepted me as their dad. They're both adults now, off living their lives and I haven't directly spoken to either of them for a long time. I don't know if I had any real, lasting effect on them, but I'd like to think I did at least in some small way and I believe they know they can still count on me if the need arises.

 

[2jakes]

I lost the first of these people in my life when my older brother died in 1984, and the last when Mom died in 2004. I was always aware of and appreciative of the guidance they had all provided over the years, but it was shortly after Mom was gone that I truly realized she was the last of those responsible for shaping me during those "formative" years and that little voice in my head said, "Figure it out for yourself, ****head."

With regards to "mentoring", it's a long story but back in the mid-1990s my wife and I became surrogate co-parents to two young boys. My wife had become friends with a divorced co-worker who had a daughter and two sons, and I had apparently managed to somehow gain the boys' trust during the time we all spent together because one day the younger of the two (they were 9 and 12 years old at the time) asked me if he could call me "dad", and when his brother found out he requested the same thing. Fortunately their mother had alerted my wife and I that this might happen, so we had an opportunity to consider and discuss it before it actually happened. When it did, I sat down with the boys and explained to them how it was going to work--if they were going to call me dad, for all intents and purposes I was going to be their dad (and that my wife was going to be "Mom II"). I wanted them to know I took it seriously, and would not abandon them the way their real father had after the divorce. Initially they put this arrangement to the test and we--their mother, my wife, and I--would issue the necessary discipline by committee when they misbehaved. But I also proved I'd be there for them when they needed me by attending meetings with the school staff when they each had problems keeping their grades up, and showing up at the E.R. when the younger one dislocated his knee playing football at school. I, of course, had no legal rights to make decisions on their behalf because this was nothing more than an informal agreement within the family, but there was a physical resemblance between me and the boys so no one in a "position of authority" ever really questioned it and accepted me as their dad. They're both adults now, off living their lives and I haven't directly spoken to either of them for a long time. I don't know if I had any real, lasting effect on them, but I'd like to think I did at least in some small way and I believe they know they can still count on me if the need arises.

I teach the basics of tennis to kids at the school courts.
They all appreciate it. But if I was to see them on the streets, some will greet me by name and will have a chat, others will not unless I make an effort first.
Not that they dislike me, that's just the way they are.
I was very shy as a kid and usually did not engage in chats or had many friends.
But I never felt lonely. I was always busy
building things with whatever was available. Cartoons or painting was my favorite thing to do.
I know if you had been my father I would make sure to let you know how much I cared. But that's the way I am.
As you know, everyone is different.

 

[Zombie_61]

I teach the basics of tennis to kids at the school courts. They all appreciate it. But if I was to see them on the streets, some will greet me by name and will have a chat, others will not unless I make an effort first. Not that they dislike me, that's just the way they are. I was very shy as a kid and usually did not engage in chats or had many friends...

I can't recall anyone ever accusing me of being shy. I don't think I was obnoxious about it, but I've never really had trouble talking with people. And I always got along quite well with my friends' parents, probably because I showed them the proper amount of respect and could hold a conversation with them.

...But I never felt lonely. I was always busy building things with whatever was available. Cartoons or painting was my favorite thing to do. I know if you had been my father I would make sure to let you know how much I cared. But that's the way I am. As you know, everyone is different.

I was very much the same way, always occupied with drawing (pen and pencil were my preferred medium), reading, and building plastic model kits. I still enjoy reading and building models, but my drawing skills have deteriorated in recent years due to lack of use. On that note, the younger son I mentioned above liked to draw too. One day he approached me and handed me a pen and a piece of paper that he'd drawn a few simple shapes on, and asked me to continue where he'd left off. So I drew a little more and handed them back to him, he drew a little more, I drew a little more, and so on until we decided we were done with that particular piece. We played this little game so frequently that we began to mimic each other's "styles", and before long it reached the point where his mother and my wife would look at the finished product and couldn't tell which of us drew what.

And yes, people can be very different when it comes to sharing their feelings. I was never particularly shy about it, but I wasn't outgoing about it either. As I've grown older I've gotten better at it and I'm now more open about letting the "important" people in my life know how much I care about them when the opportunity arises. I'm far from being that drunken "I love you, man" guy, but the right people know how I feel about them. On the plus side, the "wrong" people know how I feel about them too.

 

[GHT]

You should see the looks I get from some of my kids when I wear a watch with roman numerals (140 year old Elgin) on a chain.

My neighbour's nine year old can run rings around most adults when he gets in front of a computer. But he still can't tie his shoelaces.

 

[Trenchfriend]

My neighbour's nine year old can run rings around most adults when he gets in front of a computer. But he still can't tie his shoelaces.

Let me guess the diagnose, there are just two possibilities...

 

[GHT]

You don't have to be my age to qualify that you are getting old. My surgeon told me that as and when my leg ached after the hip replacement, do be sure to use your support which originally was crutches but is now just a walking stick.
It's been such a lovely warm day today that we decided to enjoy a salad meal with cold chicken and hot new baby potatoes. At the salad bar in our supermarket, I propped my walking stick beside the counter as I made my selection. Next to me making her choice was a young lady of about twelve, Her Dad, who was about mid to late thirties, was looking over her shoulder making suggestions of his choice. Having chosen all that I wanted, I said to the young lady: "Can you pass Michael to me please," indicating my walking stick. "Sorry," she said, perplexed. "Did you know that Americans call a walking stick a cane?" I asked. Dad started laughing. "What's the joke, I don't get it," said the young lady. Dad explained that Michael Caine is an actor. "I've never heard of him," she wailed. I put my hand on Dad's shoulder and whispered in his ear: "Welcome to the world of curmudgeonly old farts." Dad laughed louder still.

 

[Edward]

My paternal grandmother, God rest her soul, had a stick she hated. Used to call it Seamus. One time she was in the car with my Aunt, pulling up to a security check point. The security guy looks in the backseat, where the stick is lying. "Oh," says my grandmother from the front passenger seat, "that's only Seamus in the back." Naturally, the guy doesn't know this is the stick's name, and gives my aunt a very sympathetic look. Nana Marlowe loved to play with people's heads by pretending to be the doddery old dear. She knew rightly what the guy would think when she spoke, and it amused her no end.

 

[GHT]

My neighbour's son asked me why we "hang up" at the end of a phone conversation. For some reason I felt very old, especially as we have kept our first ever landline phone, it's fifty years old, still gives good service and we still hang up at the end of a phone conversation.
By the way, I found that showing the lad our phone the best way to explain hanging up.

 

[scottyrocks]

I think 'hanging up' originally had more to do with the ear piece of this:

 

[scottyrocks]

Speaking of which, upon searching for a decent image for the above post, I also came across a push button version and thought that it would be cool for my office.

But alas, the one phone of this type, made by Crosley, receives many of the same multiple complaints on multiple sites, so I am not buying one.

Does anyone have any experience with a good quality push button candlestick phone?

 

[GHT]

There's a company that I know that sells original bakelite phones, refurbished, not cheap but have considerable wow factor.
http://www.antiquetelephones.co.uk/contents/en-uk/d37.html

 

[scottyrocks]

There's a company that I know that sells original bakelite phones, refurbished, not cheap but have considerable wow factor.
http://www.antiquetelephones.co.uk/contents/en-uk/d37.html

Those are beautiful but I need a push button phone for my office.

Me thinks that anything contemporary/repop, such as a push button candlestick phone, is going to be of questionable quality, due to its intended novelty nature.

 

[LizzieMaine]

It's actually possible to wire a touchpad to an actual rotary-dial phone as an outboard attachment: https://atcaonline.com/ttpad.html

 

[scottyrocks]

It's actually possible to wire a touchpad to an actual rotary-dial phone as an outboard attachment: https://atcaonline.com/ttpad.html

Thanks, Lizzie. That looks very doable.

 

[vitanola]

My neighbour's son asked me why we "hang up" at the end of a phone conversation. For some reason I felt very old, especially as we have kept our first ever landline phone, it's fifty years old, still gives good service and we still hang up at the end of a phone conversation.
By the way, I found that showing the lad our phone the best way to explain hanging up.

"Hang Up"?

How about "Ring Off!"?


We still use the expression at our house, as in "Ring Off! You've been yakking for a half-hour.

The expression is a Midwesternism, and was common in rural areas served by local battery (magneto) telephones. At the end of a conversation one would "Ring off" by hanging up the receiver and giving the crank a quick twist. The current generated by this quick spjn of the magneto would cause a flag to drop at the central office, indicating to the operator that she could now take down the connection. It would also sound all of the the ringers on the party line, letting the other subscribers know that the line was free.

 

[vitanola]

It's actually possible to wire a touchpad to an actual rotary-dial phone as an outboard attachment: https://atcaonline.com/ttpad.html

Then there is the pulse-to-tone converter, a simple and foolproof device:

http://www.oldphoneworks.com/pulse-to-tone-converter.html

One of the most useful pulse-to-tone converters is a bit larger. A 1980s -1990s hybrid telephone system, which allows one to connect up to eight instruments to up to three lines.

The unit behaves like a PBX. Dial a two digit extension code to reach another instrument on the system or dial "9" for an outside line. It is a fun way to display old phones

 

[scottyrocks]

Then there is the pulse-to-tone converter, a simple and foolproof device:

http://www.oldphoneworks.com/pulse-to-tone-converter.html

View attachment 121436

That's even easier! Danka.

 

[St. Louis]

With the proliferation of telemarketing calls (something that will drive me to the brink of madness one of these days) I desperately need caller ID. I keep a cordless phone hidden inside a cabinet and a so-called "zapper" on a bookshelf, also out of sight. Between those two gadgets I've regained a small degree of sanity. It's not perfect, but I do most of my hardest work at home & can't constantly be interrupted by twits who try to frighten me into believing that the IRS wants to kill me or that single ladies wish to date me. A quick glance at the caller ID lets me know whether I should answer my old rotary or whether I should zap the call instead.

I can dial all local calls on my old rotaries, but if I have to get on a phone tree (e.g., with a health insurance company) I use the cordless phone.

None of this is ideal, because I'd much rather have the thrill of answering a telephone without knowing who's on the other line, but those days are gone. Evidently, whenever Dorothy Parker heard a telephone ring, she would ask, "what fresh hell is this?"

 

[ChrisB]

Speaking of which, upon searching for a decent image for the above post, I also came across a push button version and thought that it would be cool for my office.

But alas, the one phone of this type, made by Crosley, receives many of the same multiple complaints on multiple sites, so I am not buying one.

View attachment 121265

Does anyone have any experience with a good quality push button candlestick phone?

How about this one?

https://www.opis-tech.com/en/shop/landline-phones/1921-cable/opis-1921-cable-c

 

[scottyrocks]

How about this one?

https://www.opis-tech.com/en/shop/landline-phones/1921-cable/opis-1921-cable-c

That's beautiful. I am now shopping for a rotary candlestick and one of those converters. I'll probably buy more local, though.