There are many things from childhood that are no longer around today. So when our kids ask us about any of these things, trying to describe it is like speaking a foreign language. For example, trying to explain what pay phones were. Kids today don’t even have the need to know so what is the best way to respond?

Kid: Mom, what’s a phone booth?

Mom: Well, it’s where Clark Kent changes into Superman.

I figure I might as well make a joke of it since again, it’s like speaking a foreign language. But for throwback’s sake, let’s remember some of the entertaining days of the pay phone.

When it came to pay phones, my generation thought we were so clever trying to game the system. Whether it was jiggling the coin return in the hopes that a quarter would drop down. Or when calling collect, attempting to get in an entire message when the system asked us to record our name for the person on the other end of the call. But I would find it hard to believe that us kids were the only ones doing this.

This nostalgia account remembers the days of the pager (a throwback for another week) and not being able to get to a pay phone fast enough to call back. The struggle was real.

Or what about when you paged your friend from a pay phone and because the number you left was that of the very phone you were calling from, you had to stand and wait for that person to call you back. Even if it meant pretending you were on the phone to ward off others waiting to use it.

And then accompanying most pay phones was a giant phone book. A phone book attached to a thick-wire/cord, and usually left dangling. These phone books; however, included all the goods. Full names, phone numbers, home addresses. Don’t want your information listed? You have to pay for that. The lack of concern for privacy was also real.

It’s been kind of fun thinking back to times when we made big efforts to make a call outside of the home. I can still hear the clicking of the buttons, and the tinny dial tone. The female recording on the other end, “If you’d like to make a call…”

I can also remember when the cost of a phone call went from $0.25 to $0.35. Having to carry that extra coin was such an inconvenience!

Although rare, phone booths and pay phones can still be spotted around the world. Some still do have working phones. And some have been retrofitted as cell phone charging or Wi-Fi stations. But most likely they are around as nostalgia pieces.

So here’s to the pay phone. And thanks to cell phone technology, sadly, I don’t believe you are missed.