Sounds of The Past

 


Here is a picture I took in an antic store in Seattle's Industrial District. For young people who don't know what the classic items in the photo are, they are an analog telephone and a typewriter. How these gadgets work is another topic and we will not go there.

Every time I see the picture I go back in time and hear the distinctive sounds that each gadget makes. Those sounds are engraved in me and most of my generation's memories and some of us still cling to those sounds. I don't know anyone who looks back nostalgically to the sound of the typewriter unless maybe their parents were writers but many like me are still trying to hold on to the sound of the analog telephone by choosing "Old Phone" ringtone in our mobile phones. 

It is strange how memories are stored in our brains. I still hear the typewriters clicking loudly whenever I remember my trips to the principal's office at school where the secretaries are usually typing the next test or exam. Those trips were always not pleasant because you don't go to the "office" unless you are in some kind of trouble.  Unlike the sound of the typewriter, the ringing sound of the telephone was always a pleasure. As the youngest member of the family, I had the duty of answering the phone which every child enjoyed at the time. As soon as we hear the phone we stop whatever we are doing and dash to the telephone and answer it before the caller hangs up. ( For those who are wondering why I had to go to the phone to answer it, all phones are attached to a wall.)This is a very important job since you will not be able to tell whose call you have missed if the caller gives up waiting too soon. The only choice that you have is to wait for them to call back but often they will not call back because of the bad telephone lines or they have to move. 

The duty doesn't end just by answering the phone you have to fetch the person the caller wants to talk to because often the call is not for you. Depending on where you live the trip might be an expedition to the neighborhood since not everyone is fortunate enough to have a telephone in their house. If you can't find the person you have to go back and inform the caller that whoever they are looking to talk to is not home. If you are lucky they will leave a message, if not they might ask to talk to another person and you have to do everything all over again. 

This all sounds crazy for a person who is born in the digital age but I am sure they can relate to us in some way because people remember with all their senses. It might not be the same sounds but every generation has its nostalgic sound which brings back the good old days. 

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