A PARTY LINE-REMEMBER WHEN....

I remember when we had a party line with 5 or 6 neighbors on the same line.  We would each have a different ring.  At our house we had 2 short rings so we couldn't answer the phone until we hear our distinctive ring.  When we wanted to make a call we had to pick up the phone and listen to see if someone else was on the line.  If they were, we had to hang up and wait until they were finished with their conversation.  We sometimes wanted to listen in on the conversations but were scolded and told to get off the line.  When no one was talking we could then pick up the phone and the operator would ask us what number we were wanting.  She/He would connect the lines so we could talk.  We also had time limits that we could be on the phone.  My how times have changed!