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July 21, 2002 |
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Life, Living Of:
FOUND by John Schnall
in New Jersey
I found a spiral-bound book of index cards sometime in 1983. This card was the first page in the book. It's clear the writer didn't follow his or her own advice, as the rest of the cards were blank, and the book was eventually discarded. I like to imagine a situation where the writer would be looking in the "L" section of his index card file, trying to find this card to remember what to do with his life.
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Self Portrait July 01, 2008 |
Constructing a ... July 06, 2008 |
First Job July 21, 2005 |
Stick It to The Man December 15, 2005 |
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We collect FOUND stuff: love letters, birthday cards, kids' homework,
to-do lists, ticket stubs, poetry on napkins, telephone bills, doodles -
anything that gives a glimpse into someone
else's life. Anything goes...
Omigosh. I laughed so hard when I read this! Your commentary only added to the effect it had on me. You'd think that it would be obvious what the purpose of the index cards was. Inking in such a lofty, important subject speaks volumes! It is worded very officiously. I don't think there could have been a more bloviated first entry! A more realistic, yet still pathetic first entry would have been: "Index Cards, Purpose Of". A potentially attainable first entry: "Organized, How To Become." The subconcious mind of this writer knew the project was doomed from the start and did the writer a favor by ditching the book.
It was Felix's book. He wrote the title and first 3 lines... then I stole it to write down the number for Party #2.... Felix's life has been chaos ever since!
Anyone else remember telephone party lines? If you were on a party line, you shared your telephone service with other people who lived on your block. When you picked up the phone to make a call, you first had to make sure no one else was already using the line. Telephone customers were encouraged to keep their calls short. If you had an urgent call to make while another household was using the phone, you'd have to politely ask them to relinquish the line. To know if an incoming call was for you, you listened for a sequence of long and short rings that was unique for each household. Eavesdropping was rampant, since anyone could pick up and listen to your calls at any time. Some people continued to use party line service after private lines became available because it was a little less expensive. Over time, party lines were almost completely phased out, although some apparently still exist in rural areas.
Although my memory of early childhood isn't all that great, my recollection is that my parents were on a party line until 1955, about the same time we got our first TV. Our telephone number was DIckens 2-2980. And instead of 911, the telephone company's emergency number (and slogan) was, "If you're in a fix, dial 116." Long after implementation of the universal 911 system, I tried calling 116 just out of curiosity, and to my surprise an emergency operator picked up. Now that's backwards compatibility!
Hey Midlife, I'm so much on your wavelength despite being on another continent several thousand miles away...
Yes, I remember party lines, although we were lucky and didn’t have one. Our first number in the 1950s was 'Hitchin 544' which became '4344' and then had a dialling code OHN2 which then became an all-digit code (0462) and I think the numbers are now up to six digits.
There was lovely UK TV documentary about Rolls-Royce cars ('Mr Rolls and Mr Royce') in which the Hon C S Rolls's mother is talking to the greasy-handed engineer Frederick Royce and says 'You may call us on the electric telephone. Our number is Knightsbridge 3'.
how odd!
that's my dad's cell phone number.
CW.. very odd, indeed. I've seen this Find before, but never really looked a the number. It's also my mother in law's number, with the last four digits rearranged.
This creeped me out... reminds me of the movie Seven where they find the serial killers house, and he has all these notes about his day to day life.
I love finding these old Finds with my good friends' comments made before we were friends.
Love you guys! xoxo
You too hun!
it's that Einsteinian thing (remarked on by another of our friends) -- several months apart but it's as if everything exists simultaneously and we are all here at the same time.
love you too
xxx
(PS -- I think today is approx. the first anniversary of my first ever Found comment!)
You're starting to sound like Clover. (Not that that's a bad thing!) 8-)
Very close, Dear. "Masked Lady" on Feb. 1, 2007. Happy belated anniversary!!
I'm an obsessively regular customer of Fuel coffee shop in New Haven, CT (home of lots of things besides Yale).
They give out those "buy ten and the next one's free" coffee cards, which I have two of in my wallet at all times (one for espresso drinks, one for plain ol' coffee).
Those are the cards that I use for organizing my life. Although they're small, they're great for writing down addresses, phone numbers, brilliant quotes by friends, and little "note to self" reminders. The only problem is that when it comes time to collect my free drink, I have to quickly find something to transcribe all my notes onto before redeeming my teeny little personal organizer.
Hooray Fuel coffee shop! Without your cards, my life would be a shambles!
Thanks, Nighty. Yeah, tracked that one down. Doesn't time fly!
And today's my birthday and I really wanted to share it with my lovely FOUND friends, but I certainly didn't want to share it with a hairy prosthetic boob! Yuck! Absolutely no comment! (looked too much like mine anyway.)
So I'll whisper it on here instead.
It's my birthday!! :-) I've caught up with Midlife!! )*j*(
Happy Birthday, Jonathan! February 24, 2008. Very wise of you to choose a cheerier Find to celebrate. Hoping all your dreams will come true!
Warm hugs and kisses. 8-)
Purple colored pencil on an index card. That HAS to have signinfcance. It HAS to MEAN something... but WHAT?