A few days ago I got a brand........new.........phone book! I'm really not excited. In fact, it got me wondering why they even still exist. Does anyone use those at all anymore? The only way I could see needing a phone book is if you don't have the internet, or a cell phone, or a GPS. So basically if you are cut off from every form of technology. That's not easy to do these days.
Phone books are the equivalent of pay phones or video retail stores. No one uses them anymore! But for some reason, rain or shine, every year, I get this gigantic book delivered to my doorstep and it sits in my kitchen, untouched, until the next one arrives. Isn't this a waste of money? Is there a way to opt out of this ancient service?
But here is the truly tragic part of all this - I can't bring myself to throw the phone book away right when it arrives. Why? Because somehow a little part of me still believes I might need it for something. What if I can't get on the internet to look up a business? What if I need something heavy? What if there is something in the phone book that is not on the internet? Totally irrational, I know. Also, (this is going to sound weird) phone books are slightly sentimental to me. They remind me of my childhood when we actually used the phone book quite a lot. Back then, the phone book was the all-knowing source of information that the internet is today. The family phone book was always well-used with torn-out pages, highlighted numbers, and bent corners. These days, my phone book sits perfect and untouched like a memorial to an old friend. Phone books my not be what they once were, but at least I still have the memories.
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