A Lifeline
By T. Delaplain
The mile long cord snaked through the crack in the pantry door at full extension, securely wrapped around my twelve year old wrist, my only lifeline to the outside. The punishment for skipping class had been a week of solitary confinement without my bestie.
Loudly whispering and scheming, I was confident that my sister couldn’t hear our plans to escape from our mutual home prisons. Maybe I laughed too loudly but if my annoying little sister did hear, she wouldn’t dare rat me out to Mom, I knew stuff too.
Reaching for the kitchen phone, Mom shook her head with a smile.
*******
Photo credit: Sandra Crook
Ring, ring, ring, Friday Fictioneers is calling to invite you to write a 100 word story using the photo for inspiration. Visit our host Rochelle Wisoff for all the juicy details.
Tracey Delaplain, MD 
The perils of old tech
LikeLiked by 1 person
Indeed, it was difficult to have a clandestine conversation while attached to the only family phone. We were safer than kids today, for many reasons.
Tracey
LikeLiked by 1 person
I don’t miss those tethered phones, but it sounds like Mum’s got her head on straight about which battles to fight!
LikeLiked by 1 person
My mom sucked at putting me “on restriction”. I think it was easier to let me run wild, which I did. God bless her, she tried. Ha ha
Thanks for stopping by,
Tracey
LikeLike
Just fabulous!
LikeLiked by 2 people
Hey you! I’m so glad to “see” you here. We are happy and healthy in Baja and San Diego. I hope you are well, Tracey
LikeLike
a while ago, I used to teach students about making sure they use “current” research to support certain points they were making – because some of them would grab an old article and it did not always apply (maybe a few times it was timeless). And while reminding them of this, I would ask them to think abotu what teenagers want in a phone. After a pause I would say, “How about a really long cord for the phone so they can walk around the house and go in different rooms while on the phone.” They would all usually say “No……” and then say teens wanted better cameras on their smart phones or more apps = and then we would talk about how teens in the 80s or early 90’s had different needs. So! your story here reminded me of that and I enjoyed this. Mt favorite part was “I knew stuff too” because it really brought in another layer…
LikeLiked by 1 person
The bartering of secrets between siblings is timeless. My adult sons still surprise me with their long held secrets. Sometimes, I wish they had kept those secrets.
I loved your comments, thanks,
Tracey
LikeLiked by 1 person
🍃🙂🍃
yeah and I remember how we laughed when my brother admitted to taking my mother’s car during a season…. and she chuckled and said, I thought I parked closer to the curb.”
Hope you have a great day
LikeLiked by 1 person
The old hundred foot phone cord. You could jump-rope or hog tie your brother with those things.
LikeLike
Exactly, you understand. The struggle was real. 😂 Thanks for giving me a ring.
Tracey
LikeLiked by 1 person
You’re welcome, Tracey.
LikeLiked by 1 person
gotcha! 🙂
LikeLiked by 2 people
Today, Mom would have no idea she was using a phone. How things have changed.
LikeLiked by 1 person
So true. Every advancement has its disadvantages.
Thanks Keith.
LikeLike
Dear Tracey,
I gather from the comments this is something of a true story. I imagine you were a handful. Hard to remember the phone cords. Fun story.
Shalom,
Rochelle
LikeLiked by 1 person
I was indeed a handful.
Thanks for hosting and dropping by to say hello.
Tracey
LikeLike
those old phones had a charm of its own and plenty of memories
LikeLiked by 1 person
Those were the days. Thiugh our phone cable was nowhere near that length.
LikeLiked by 1 person
We didn’t have the super long cord, unfortunately. I feel I missed out on the experience!
We did, however, end up with a “children’s line” because my father was sick and tired of calling and getting a busy signal. Not that I ever really gave my sisters the time to use it…
LikeLiked by 1 person
I was actually the youngest so you know how rare it was for me to get to use the phone.
Thanks Dale.
LikeLiked by 1 person
I can only imagine, having been the phone hog as the eldest… 😉
My pleasure, Tracey (and Tracy is MY youngest sister…)
LikeLiked by 1 person
The ultimate modern deterrent – deny the access to the mobile telephone.
LikeLiked by 1 person
For a moment i thought the protagonist was forced to rely on the corded telephone as access to the bestie meaning cellphone was denied 😀 A fun read, Tracey
LikeLiked by 1 person
Hah! Darned corded phones, how I remember stretching those as far as they would go. Great story here. A great sense of family here. Well done
LikeLike
We couldn’t out smart our parents back then. Now I find it weird when I walk into my kids room to talk to them and 2 or so other people are responding from his discord chat, it’s a different world.
LikeLiked by 1 person
It was much more difficult to pull off a caper back in the olden days. Thanks for stopping and commenting, Tracey
LikeLiked by 1 person
Take me back…
Thanks Tracey.
LikeLike