Eldergays how often did you use pay phones before cellphones were made common

In the late 80s/90s, I had a pager. If I was on the freeway in LA and it was important, which was denoted by adding “-911”, I’d get off the freeway to find a pay phone. (“-411” meant it was gossip.). Then I’d use my MCI calling card to make my call. If I go into a deep trance, I could probably still recall my MCI card number.

I'd say when necessary, but not frequently. Believe it or not, you waited to call someone until you got home or got back to the office.

The sense of urgency or "hair's on fire" didn't exist to a great degree.

Well I’m under 40 and I used pay phones as a kid. I guess I only used them if I wanted to be picked up from the mall.

Every chance I could desperately get, you ANIMAAAAAAAALS!!

Someone once said here that they lived in NYC and lived across the street from a pay phone and they’d call guys who were at the pay phones and ask them to fuck.

So Grindr was a thing way before it was an app lol.

People who used pay phones frequently were up to no good.

That was called Nynexing.

Well, OP, I measured and took great notes in the 90's.

I used a pay phone 3.89534739 per week.

Does that help you?

Very often.

Loved the enclosed phone booths of my childhood; they had a tiny seat, folding glass doors, plus the Yellow Pages and White Pages attached to the tiny table by chains.

I also remember the special pay phones in Penn Station that allowed you to make brief long-distance calls for a quarter. That was a bargain then.

A lot because I was a lonely child and would always call my mom, grandmother, or aunt to update them when I was on vacation or at school.

Like what? Like I need the reasons

I also have to add that as a gay kid, whenever there were usually just pay phones everywhere but whenever I encountered a phone booth I would pretend I was Bette Midler in The Rose. I probably didn’t have any money but I would basically pretend I was Rose calling the operator.

I used them too but imagine now putting your face/mouth up against something so filthy. 😵‍💫

Indoor phone booths in hotels and restaurants. were way cooler.

The best pay phones in the world were in Tomorrowland at AT&T’s America the Beautiful. Family sized glass booths! Speakers!

[quote]how often did you use pay phones before cellphones were made common?

A couple times a week. In NYC I'd use them if I was in someone's neighborhood running an errand or something, and wanted to drop by. You didn't just show up on their doorstep.

Or maybe you'd check in with your answering service if you'd been on an audition or go see, and you thought it went well. There was always the chance you had a call back (though usually not.)

[quote]r6 People who used pay phones frequently were up to no good.

SO TRUE!

I'm in L.A. and generally the only times I remember using a payphone were when I had car trouble and wasn't on the freeway (because there were call boxes to use there) or was somewhere and got stranded. Rare occurrences. In fact, the two times when I was in a car accident and needed to call someone, the one time the tow truck driver took me home, and the other time a neighbor came out and let me use the landline phone inside his house.

Every time a car broke down.

The actor in r16 was going to be a replacement in a play I was in around 1990. I really wanted to ask him what request it was he whispers to Jane Fonda in that scene… but I just gave him space when I saw him rehearsing with the director, figuring I’d catch up with him later at some point.

He ended up not taking the part - and now I’ll never know what he said! Really, it’s a big loss… because who else would know that secret part of the scene, now?

^^ oh no : ( He died in 2018.

His name was Fred Burrell.

When the need arose.

The legend of the Mojave Phone Booth.

What the “kids today” need to know is we only had 1 or 2 phone numbers memorized back then. We carried a date book or an address book with all our numbers in them, and it was a pain to recopy all that info over into a new one.

You couldn’t count on a complete phone book being at the pay phone - and calling information for a number (if the person was even listed) cost the same as a regular phone call.

I was always leaving my date book on top of a pay phone somewhere. I had my name, number and “REWARD” written in the front cover and would give someone $20 if they dropped it off.

Renting my first apartment after leaving home I always used the phone booth down the road for calls on the weekend. There was a couple of booths in the area actually.

Like, what do you want to know from that vomit puddle of words, OP?

Most people did their best NOT to use pay phones, even before they became somewhat disreputable relics. People made plans and appointments and, barring some genuine emergency, stuck with them for the most part.

You wouldn't call your dentist on the morning of an appointment to say, "Hey, could we make my 09.20 at 09.30? I'm running late." Instead, aware of the appointment, you would stick to the plan and arrive at the dentist's office promptly at 09.20. Whether business or personal, you generally didn't dick around and change a plan or call to gauge the temperature of the waters 100 times before it came to fruition.

If you were invited to a party you had to use your best judgment as to when to arrive. You wouldn't text the host a dozen times to take the pulse of the event and find out who's there and who isn't coming and who is planning to come late, continuously readjust your arrival time or the decision of whether to go at all. You just went to the party that started at 20.00 at 21.00 and hoped for the best, maybe you talked to people you didn't know.

If you scheduled a business meeting it was as if written in stone. You put it on your calendar and arrived at the appointed date and time, no endless back and forth in most cases.

I used pay phones only when traveling or with a road emergency -- the nature of which changed a lot. If your battery died driving through the sticks, you might have to walk to some stranger's nearby house, ask to use their phone (or if they could call for road service for you.

People used telephones much less frequently and with more purpose.

Printed telephone directories were important. How else would you know who to call when your oriental rugs needed cleaning, or you wanted your front door hardware silver-plated, or needed a good florist for a delivery in another part of town, or look up the parents of your child's friend who wants to visit and see if he comes from a nice neighborhood.

Seems like R25 may have gotten up on the wrong side of the bed this morning.

But he makes a valid point; once we made an appointment, we kept it and we showed up on time.

It drives me nuts now that that doctors and others ask me to confirm and reconfirm an appointment multiple times. I booked it? I’ll be there. I’m not five years old.

[quote]r26 But he makes a valid point; once we made an appointment, we kept it and we showed up on time.

PRE-LUBED!

You lost me with "...it's a Teacake thread."

In high school, there was a single payphone, and it was located in the cafeteria. During every lunch period, there would be about 10 people in line waiting to use the phone.

Being a germ freak, I avoided using payphones. The only time I would use them was if I was lost and had to ask for directions.