…baby. This phone was a little before my time. You had to crank it for it to work. Not quite sure how the crank worked on a phone, I know if you cranked your car the engine would start but I don’t think the early phones had engines. I wonder if, depending how long you were talking, did you have to crank it again.

The phones I was first used to was a version of the above phone. The older phones were rotary dial phones, then they went to push button phones, wall phones, with super long cords. When my sons were teenagers we had one phone in the house and it was in the kitchen. Many a time I would hear them making plans that I didn’t approve of and I was able to jump in and say, “oh no you are not going to be doing that”. I don’t know how parents do it now with cell phones. Their plans are all thought out in a text, and unless a parent can get into their phone you would have no idea. Which brings me to the cell phone.

Actually the beeper became a way of communication prior to the cell phone. Business people mostly used the beeper, but the more successful people graduated to a cell phone, which originally was quite expensive. And big and bulky.

As a Realtor the cell phones were a real blessing. Prior to their existence you would have to wait in the office for a client, or lawyer or mortgage representative to call back. As a professional you never gave out your home number, so many a day I would rush in by 9:00am to make sure I didn’t miss a call.

Now our phones are not only phones, but can do everything a computer can do, plus you can even play games on them. In case you are wondering why I am talking about phones it is because I learned something that really surprised me. How much do you spend every year charging your phone? A.) under $1.00 B.) Approx. $25 or C.) Approx. $75. The answer is in the comments.