Operatoooor ? Number Pleeyazz?
That's what she would say.
As I remember it from my years as a really short person, after you had cranked the handle and lifted up the receiver, you'd hear this female voice down at the telephone office say "Operatooor.
Number pleeyazz."
(I think that's how they were taught to say it.)
Then you'd give her the number you wanted to call ? usually something complicated like "Hi Shirley - 671, please"
(or even "Doc Wykoff's office, please"?) ? and she'd move a plug to the right hole on the switchboard and do whatever she had to do to make Doc's telephone ring.
That is unless she knew that Doc had gone out to the Strauss's for a house call, then she'd let you know that she could connect you there or that if you wanted, you could just wait about a half an hour until he got back to the office and try again then.
Talk about personalized service?Those were the days of the party line.
You'd have several ? maybe even up to twenty or so ? families sharing a single phone line.
You'd know when you got a call by the number and length of rings you heard coming from the telephone. Ours was two short rings if I remember correctly.
You'd always know who was getting a call on your party line by the number of rings.
And of course, if you wanted to be just a little snoopy, you could quietly pick up the receiver on your phone and "rubber".
Yep, that's what they called eavesdropping back then.
Sort of tacky but actually a lot of folks did it and nobody seemed to care all that much.
Except for old Mrs. Snyder, that is.
She could get downright snotty about it at times.Gosh, we've come a long way, haven't we?
Now we can call just about anybody we want anytime we want from anywhere we want.
Have an urge to talk with your neighbor's second cousin Doris who is vacationing on Isolation Beach, Florida while you're zipping down the freeway at a breakneck 7 mph?
Just do it.
Want to check the current status of your investment in Ear Hair Removal Cream stock while you're canoeing leisurely down the North Fork River?
Just do it.
Want to? well, you get the idea.
Yep, life is good.
We're on top of everything.
We're in constant touch with the rest of mankind 24/7.
There's nothing we don't know or can't find out.
Anyone can reach us at anytime ? anywhere.
We're always available to answer questions, pass on helpful information, make appointments, change schedules, rearrange priorities, relay juicy gossip, report problems, broadcast dissatisfaction, and assimilate an encyclopedia's worth of pseudo-critical input with the push of a button or two.
Twenty-four hours a day.
Seven days a week. Fifty-two weeks?? yeah?
we've sure come a loooong way, haven't we?
No, really.
This IS better, right?
I mean, if we weren't able to have this immediate contact with the rest of the world, everything would crumble, right?
Our lives would disintegrate. Our family relationships would be shattered.
Our friendships would vanish.
Our businesses would vaporize.
We would self-destruct.
Right?Seriously, now.
Can you even imagine what it would be like to have to step back into the dark ages of communication?
Those unnerving times ? when you could just think or do what you needed to do without constant interruption?
When you could cruise down the highway without the nagging thought that just talking on the cell phone substantially increases your chances of being in an accident?
When you could call a business (during normal working hours of course) and immediately talk to a real person?
When you actually looked forward to getting a call because you knew for certain that it would be someone who you wanted to talk with?
When you could go for hours and hours out of contact with anyone other than the people who were the foundation of your life?
Your family and friends?
When life was quieter, more relaxed and more satisfying?Now really, I know that there can be a bunch of advantages to our modern communications systems but sometimes I think that perhaps "progress" may not necessarily be as wonderful as we tend to believe it is.Number pleeyazz?.
20 Sure-Fire Ways To Get People to Link to Your Web Site
1. Offer other web sites free content to post on their web site. Include your link on all of your content. The content should related to your web site because it will be in front of your target audience. 2.
When you visit a web site you've enjoyed a lot, write a review for the site. Write about the benefits you gain from the web site. Tell them they can publish it on their web site if they link to your web site. 3. Allow other people to publish your e-zine on their web site.
Include your web site's ad and link in each issue you publish. This may also help you increase the number of people that subscribe to your e-zine. 4. Market your web site as a free web book. Design your web site with a title page, table of contents, chapters, etc.
Just allow other people to give away the web book by linking to your web site. 5. Give your visitors an instant article directory. Tell your visitors they can instantly add a free article directory to their web site by linking to yours....
20 Sure-Fire Ways To Get People to Link to Your Web Site
Gold ring > 20 Sure-Fire Ways To Get People to Link to Your Web Site
Clontarf Irish Whiskey Wins Gold, Family of Irish Whiskeys Sweeps Awards
New York, NY (ContentDesk) August 9, 2006 -- Castle Brands Inc. (AMEX: ROX), an emerging developer and global marketer of premium branded spirits headquartered in New York, announced today that its Clontarf Irish Whiskey has received three awards in the 2006 International Review of Spirits.Clontarf Single Malt Irish Whiskey was awarded a Gold Medal in the Irish whiskey category by this well-respected competition conducted by The Beverage Testing Institute.
In addition, both Clontarf Irish Whiskey and Clontarf Reserve received Silver Medals. The Irish whiskey category has been growing steadily for the last several years.
It is an exciting category to be involved in with new brands stimulating interest at the consumer level, said Roseann Sessa, Vice President, Marketing & Public Relations.
Clontarf, with its three expressions, has been well-received by spirits journalists and consumers alike.
In March, the New York Times, in its comprehensive article...
Clontarf Irish Whiskey Wins Gold, Family of Irish Whiskeys Sweeps Awards
Gold ring > Clontarf Irish Whiskey Wins Gold, Family of Irish Whiskeys Sweeps Awards
A One-Stop Shop on the Web for Just the Right Gift for Every Special Person
Hoosick Falls, NY (ContentDesk) July 17, 2006 -- In September of 2005, a new web site was born on the World Wide Web - thetrinitymarketplace.com - created and named by a semi-retired Episcopal priest of 20 years who wanted to provide a place on the internet where people could shop for religious and inspirational gifts, spiritually uplifting gifts and other gift items for those folks who were searching for inspirational gifts that were not necessarily religious in nature or content.
Rev. Susan Bowman is an almost-ready-for-early-retirement grandmother of two who loves to shop online and, for years, had been nursing a secret yearning to have her own shop where she could show people the things she had bought and help them find "just the right gift" for a friend or loved one for any occasion.She carefully selected religious jewelry and non-religious jewelry, angels, wall plaques, Christmas ornaments and decorations and special items like Holy Bears(R) and by October, she was up...
Gold ring > A One-Stop Shop on the Web for Just the Right Gift for Every Special Person
girlSport Announces Scholarship Fund To Support Olympic Girls
girlSport, the leader in sports apparel for 7-12 year old girls announced today the creation of the girlSport Olympic Fund, to support girls who aspire to participate at an Olympic level (www.girlsport.net).
The fund will be available to 7-12 year old girls living in the San Francisco Bay Area who play Soccer, Tennis, Basketball, Swimming, Gymnastics and Softball."The Bay Area has always been a tremendous breeding ground for Olympians," said David Dubbs, President of girlSport.
"We are continually inspired by girls who dedicate themselves to the pursuit of excellence and are proud to offer assistance to those who dream of going to the Beijing Olympics in 2008."The contingent of Bay Area Olympic hopefuls who are currently in Athens is quite strong, including swimmers Natalie Coughlin, Jenny Thompson, Kristen Caverly, Dana Kirk and Tara Kirk, soccer player Julie Foudy, beach volleyballer Kerri Walsh,...
Gold ring > girlSport Announces Scholarship Fund To Support Olympic Girls
Understanding Celtic Wedding Rings
Thousands of years ago, the Celts, a group of independent tribes spread throughout much of current day Europe, were sophisticated artisans, carving knot work patterns that have inspired modern day jewelers to create wedding rings.
These motifs have meaning.
Yet understanding the knot patterns and why they make such ideal wedding rings can be illusive.
The ancient motifs are rooted in mysterious cultures that stretch back well before written history.
Though the earliest written accounts of the Celts were from Roman descriptions, some knot work motifs found in Eastern Europe may be as old as 20,000 years.
We know the Celts, similar to Native people of North America, viewed that the earth itself as well as all aspects of life and death as divine. They had a large and varied pantheon, worshipping local gods.
The natural world was considered sacred, and every river, mountain and tree had its own spirit of place. Rituals were rooted in...
Gold ring > Understanding Celtic Wedding Rings
Does Your Copy Look "Fake" To the Search Engines?
From the early days of search engine optimization, keywords and content have always been vital to achieving your goals.
Starting back in the days when we used to shove every slightly relevant keyword into our Meta tags, it has been obvious that search engines love text.
The more advanced the engines have gotten over the years, the more complex and sophisticated many writers have gotten with their search engine copywriting.Supposed formulas, saturation levels, and other mysterious concoctions have been developed to help us outsmart the engines.
However, what we should have been doing all along was writing for the visitor first and the engines second.
Why?
Because creating a site that's loved by visitors is a prime factor in linking, ranking, and marketing as a whole.
As the engines make great strides with more personalized and efficient searches (such as semantic search) natural search engine optimization writing is even more important.Rather...
Does Your Copy Look "Fake" To the Search Engines?
Gold ring > Does Your Copy Look "Fake" To the Search Engines?