Rotary Dial and Heavy Metal Keys

I asked my dad if he could find me an old telephone and typewriter like the ones our family had when I was a child.  He travels all over, and can locate just about anything you can imagine.  A few weeks ago, he paid a visit and brought me this old telephone (I think he found it in Uruguay) and a Royal typewriter.  It came from his good friend, Dr. Blair, who passed away a few years ago.  He told me Dr. Blair purchased this typewriter after his service in the war.  He used it throughout his schooling and even wrote a book with it.  

I remember our family had a telephone like this one.  The earpiece was very heavy, and there was all this waiting in between dials.  We are much too impatient in this age to make a call like we used to do.  The dial had to make it's complete rotation before you could dial the next number.  Imagine the frustration when trying to be caller number one for a radio station contest.  

My parents had a typewriter similar to this one that my mom used to type up her college papers.  We had her typewriter in the family room of my childhood home for a number of years, until one day my parents sold it.  All those great times of playing office were now just memories.  My sister and I struck the keys to fill out pretend office forms and then pushed the carriage return to make that zip sound with the little bell; it was true entertainment for two little girls.  Some things are just so easy now that technology has changed, and yet I feel this nostalgia.  I think I miss the slower processes.

I have this phone displayed in my family room and have set the old telephone ringtone to my iPhone.  I'm sort of caught half way between craving the past and yet still wanting the convenience of the present.  I ask how I got along without my mac or iPhone?  It's inconceivable.  But 10 years ago I was much more present in a conversation during an outing with Matt and friends or with my kids.  Maybe the present isn't all that enhanced with these modern conveniences.  Maybe we just have created more pressure for ourselves.  I appreciate the ease of finding information and communicating, and then at times, I feel these modern day conveniences have become a burden in my life.

Aren't they just cute?

But in any case, these old reminders of our history are curiously beautiful.  And well, June, she couldn't be more entertained by these old additions to our home.