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| Phone Booth (the movie) |
God, I miss the humble phone booth. We never had a phone when I was growing up, so the only way I could call somebody (even during an emergency) was to hotfoot it to the phone booth right across the street from our apartment.
Apart from the affordable cost (10 cents), it was really cool to hang out in the heated booth for an hour or two during the winter. I'd often bring along a cup of coffee, dial up a few friends and just make myself at home. It was a safe place where I could feel more connected to people and the world.
Just about everybody I know has a cell phone now, and I cannot remember the last time I saw a phone booth. I sometimes check out movies from the library that feature an awesome phone booth moment or two: The Birds, A Patch of Blue, Superman, Rosemary's Baby, The Rose, and Phone Booth - which I'm pretty sure is the only movie in which a phone booth is the biggest star. (Oddly enough, I was never shot at, verbally abused by hookers, or bothered by people when I visited my phone booth during the early 1970s. It really is a different world now...)
By the way, I haven't seen any of the new Superman movies. How does Clark Kent manage to become Superman now that phone booths have become obsolete? Does he dash into the nearest Men's room or something? Perhaps at a public library? That's the only place I can think of that will allow its patrons to use the Men's room for free. At most establishments he'd have to buy/order something first, and stand in line for a good ten minutes or so. It's all a sad mystery to me. Let us praise the humble phone booth.
Essay © 2015 by Dylan Mitchell
from "The Phantom Phone Booth" article In Japan and France phone booths have been transformed into aquariums; in New York they have been made into lending libraries and art galleries. In Leverick Bay some phone booths are now showers, and in Finland a few have been remodeled into bathrooms. Many have been transformed into free WiFi hotspots. In Santa Cruz a former phone booth is now a fountain, and in Vancouver some have been converted into homeless shelters of one — first come, first served. (https://lareviewofbooks.org/essay/the-phantom-phone-booth)
ReplyDeleteJust read the article. I especially like the idea of converting the booths into homeless shelters. That's something that is really needed, plus a homeless person can have a safe (and private) place to stay for the night. Thanks for the awesome link :-)
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