We shared a party line in the 1950s, and when we got our first private line in 1960, we rejoiced. However, I don’t know which is worse—the party lines of the 50s or the voicemail of today.
My cheap ex-husband made sure we had a party line until 1991, in rural Ohio.
Communication is inescapable today. Some of us see limited value in that fact. I liked it better when we were either ‘at home’, ‘at work’, ‘out somewhere’, or ‘out of town’, and we all somehow managed to get by...