When Answering Machines Used Tapes

My answering machine is empty, but it isn’t even a machine anymore, is it? Time was when it used to be an actual audiotape. Granted, it was tiny, but I could see it spinning around in its casing, recording strangers, friends, or even dead air. And I would come home from a long day out, the first thing on my mind the analysis of said tape equipment. If the little light was blinking, that meant somebody loved me. Yeah, it didn’t take much to make my day back then. But things changed.

Which makes me think about other things that changed and I wish they hadn’t.

1. The loss of legitimate used CD stores. I loved trolling CD shops with friends and finding an obscure CD someone gave up for whatever reason. Some of my favorite music was found that way.

2. The availability of payphones. There used to be payphones on every other corner, in diners, outside of bars, but no longer. The rise of cellphones has scaled back the use and number of payphones. Even when I went to England it was difficult to find one of those iconic red phone booths.

3. The smaller selections of just about anything. Cars, candy, cereals, clothes, and the list goes on. I miss the days when it was between A and B. Now we’re up to U and rapidly approaching Z. Sometimes too much choice is a bad thing.

4. The library as a social institution and the book in the physical form. Remember when libraries showed movies. Well, they still do, but people don’t go anymore. And recall when if you wanted a book you needed to read it from the library or buy it from a physical bookstore?

5. The making and trading of mixed tapes was the thing to do. You met someone new and you made them a tape that showcased you through music. Or you traded with your friends in order to exchange some new music. Walkmans were the bomb back then.

6. The Saturday night movie or TV shows on network TV. It was the event of the week in a coveted slot. But now Saturday nights are for re-runs and rehash. Original programming, movies, and shows are abandoned on the night where they used to be so persistent and consistently good.

7. Our private lives were truly private. There was no social media for the regular individual, and when stars weren’t subjected to the same kind of scrutiny they are today. We didn’t know about anyone but our colleagues and neighbors, and even that was limited. Now we know what Lucy from Australia had for lunch. Too much information.

8. Marriage was sacred, or at least appreciated. Now, I’m not saying all relationships were perfect, but commitment meant something more. I think people tried harder to keep that connection. It doesn’t help that the social media and the immediacy of pleasure fulfilment via the internet and other sources is so easy either.

9. MTV showed actual music videos. There was something to be said for watching the earlier years of the music channel that changed a generation. It was the glory of the radio, but on screen. You never knew what to expect, and that was incredible. Remember where you were when your favorite video premiered on MTV? I do, and I miss it.

10. Family game night. Bust out the Yahtzee, Monopoly, Pictionary, and Battleship. And everyone wanted to play too. There was a chart with winners on it, and you wanted to get to the top of that chart. “Game” didn’t mean that everyone tended to their own Farmville crops on their own individual iPads.

Yet, while so much has changed, so much has also remained the same, like the strained relationships between teenagers and their parents. Or that families dream of going on a vacation to Disney. Or that we stay in touch with our friends. Or even that we still listen to music that suits our moods. These things may seem small but they are important. They remind us of where we’ve been, of who we are, and of the things that really matter.

And that’s good enough for me.

Sam