Payphone in the forest

The visitor center in Muir Woods National Park features an operational payphone. Cell service in the forest is spotty, so a payphone is available if you need to call someone.

Charlie has seen payphones before. He knows what they are. He’s even touched them before.

But he’s never encountered one that works. In fact, this was the first time he had ever encountered a dial tone.

Crazy, Right?

If you’ve never used a payphone or landline before, which is quickly becoming an enormous segment of the population, you may recognize and understand what these devices are and how they operate, but until you actually place a functioning payphone or landline to your ear, you’d never hear a dial tone or even recognize their purpose.

A sound that dominated half of my life is now going unheard by most Americans.

Charlie assumed that the phone was broken because, in his world, phones don’t make a sound until they begin ringing.