Have you ever heard of a party line?
No, it’s not some conga-style line dance. It’s an ACTUAL telephone line that several households share.
You read that correctly—SHARED the same line!
Each household had its own distinctive ring—two short rings, one long ring, four short rings...that type of thing.
If you’ve read my past blogs, you know I’m a farmer’s daughter—and, well, a bit long in the tooth! I grew up with a party line, and let me tell you, it could be both entertaining AND frustrating.
The entertainment? Picking up the phone and discovering you could listen in on someone else’s conversation. (TALK ABOUT ENTERTAINMENT!!) The frustration? When those conversations went on and on and ON...and you were waiting to make a call of your own!
Speaking of tying up the telephone line, I have a little confession to make.
As a teenager, I was once home babysitting my younger siblings while my parents were out. And, as teenage girls were known to do, I spent a considerable amount of time chatting on the phone with a girlfriend. Apparently, my parents had been trying to call home but couldn't get through because the line was busy.
When they asked me about it later, I confidently explained that it MUST have been someone else on our party line. That's when my dad casually informed me that we'd switched to a PRIVATE telephone line several months earlier.
BUSTED!
Let's just say my explanation suddenly had a few holes in it.
Now, fast-forward a few decades. Nearly EVERYONE has their own personal phone. It's practically become an accessory to our wardrobe!
And have you ever left home for the day WITHOUT your phone? EGADS!!! The panic! How in the WORLD are we supposed to function without it? Not to mention figuring out how to get from point A to point B without our phones barking out directions every step of the way!
YET what do we do when it rings?
WE DON'T ANSWER IT!
Oh, the irony!
Initially I was not a fan of texting – why ‘type’ when you can ‘talk’? However, I have come to appreciate the convenience of this technology. Texting is wonderful for a quick message, and email makes sharing information so easy. But isn't it interesting that with ALL these ways to communicate, sometimes we seem to do less actual TALKING?
Texting is convenient, but tone can easily be misunderstood. And between autocorrect changing our words and hitting SEND before proofreading—OH MY! Sometimes a five-minute conversation can save twenty back-and-forth texts trying to straighten things out!
Which brings me, ever so briefly, to real estate.
Buying or selling a home involves contracts, deadlines, negotiations, and sometimes a few unexpected twists and turns. While technology certainly makes the process easier, I've found that some things are simply better handled through an actual conversation. Picking up the phone can often clear up a misunderstanding or answer a question that might otherwise turn into a whole string of emails.
After all, real estate may involve houses, but at its heart, it's still a people business. And this ‘long in the tooth’ agent usually prefers TALKING to someone!
Of course, if an unfamiliar number pops up on my screen, I may still let it go to voicemail. I mean, REALLY! Who hasn't gotten their share of SPAM calls?!
But if you call and I recognize your number, there's a pretty good chance you'll hear me say...
"HELLO!"
Sandi Downing Real Estate/Keller Williams Greater Omaha
Everything that can go wrong WON’T go wrong.
We bring you ‘peace of mind’
and THAT is PRICELESS!