The Princess Gets a Phone

           "Dial P for Princess!”  In a long line of chatterboxes, I credit my chat-status to Nana, Mother, and Ma Bell who was a savvy gal.  She was a trend-setter, a forward looking Mama, determined to cater to future generations of Alexandra Graham Belles!  After all, who spends tremendous amounts of time on the phone:  females!

             The telephone in the back hallway at Nana’s house was the one I held when Santa called! I was trained in the art of conversation by the most excellent of “Talking on the Phone” women: my grandmother and her daughter.  How did they manage their social life without a cell phone I wonder?
             Prior to the car phone, cell phone, the smart phone, the phone that cooks supper and pays bills, the family’s phone was singular-one line for an “entire” family.  If a person called the last 4 digits (rotary dial), Voila! Connection to that home and everyone in it!  All the prefixes were the same. (83)Temple 6-5354  OR simply 5354 would reach my bestest friend’s family. “May I speak to Dale?”  “Sure, Jane, Just a minute!”  Calling down the hallway, “Dale…..it’s Jane.”
             So, when Ma Bell marketed the Princess Phone, it was directed to women, thus the name, slim line in colors other than “basic black.” The Princess was a forward thinker’s encouragement to the teenage daughter to have her own “designer” phone. It was the IPod/IPhone of our generation! My friend Cindy who grew up in Jackson, TN, was featured in the newspaper because she was the FIRST teen princess in Jackson to have a Princess Phone, blue of course.  She and I were immediately fast friends; though our teen years were miles apart, our connection was clear.

                     Other markets may have offered colors of “harvest gold” or “forest green,” but our color choices were limited to periwinkle blue and puke pink. Tiny wallpaper flowers and bedspread accents were light blue, so it was a natural that I chose the BLUE Princess Phone.  We did not have an additional line, but I got to say “hello” as a Princess, placing the oval, streamlined, baby blue phone next to my bed.  In my hand was the precious receiver with spiraled blue cord that would sometimes twist into a maze as I ran it between and around my fingers, like a hair curl. Fitting the regular-sized receiver under rollers inside the bonnet of a portable hair dryer was an Olympic event in duration of conversation over endurance of pain, stretching the elastic of the bonnet to further cut into the forehead, leaving marks similar to lobotomy scars.
                  The only other downside was that the lightweight base might dangle over the side of the bed, as it could easily be jerked off the bedside table if there was much excitement involving the phone call. As a bonus, though, the dial lighted when the receiver was picked up, serving as a night light for under covers during late-night calls with friends. The Princess Phone marked a celebration of life for a teenage girl and I celebrated every day!