Breaker 1-9

I am amazed at the technology that we have available and the speed at which it changes and grows. I had to go to a training class today at work for an hour and a half to learn how to operate our new phone system. Now, I am not that old but when I was a kid...we were still on a party line. John's family was still on a party line when we were dating in the 80's...so it is truly amazing to me that we have a phone system that requires training and that the most complex part of the training involved the instructions on how to make a party line...oh, they called it a conference call but we all know it is just a newfangled party line.

As I thought about other techy advances I thought about cell phones and how incredible they are. But back in the day....we had CB radios and after you bought your equipment....the air time was all free. We had a CB in the pickup and maybe the combine...not sure....but we had a base unit in the house and so did my Grandparents. My Dad did the chores at their house a lot so as we drove over we could reach them while we were still on the road and check in. We must have also had one in the car cuz Tim, my oldest brother, and I would get on there when Mom was in a store and go to channel 19 - the trucker channel -and listen to them talk and break in and ask for the time. Of course, if you are a CB person you know how that went....
Us: "Breaker 1-9 anybody got a copy?"
Whoever: "Go Ahead"
Us: "Just need a 10-36"
Whoever: "10:30, Now you kids GET OFF THE AIR"
Us: "10-4. We gone good buddy."

It was really kind of the equivalent of the thrill you get when you pump your arm in the air as a semi goes by and he blows the horn. We didn't mind getting yelled at on the air...it was anonymous anyway....what are they going to do....hunt us down?

We liked knowing the 10 codes. We had a mug with all sorts of 10 codes on it and we would try to use a 10 code instead of the real words as much as possible. One of the favorites was saying we had to "10-100" instead of "go to the bathroom".
So the other day I was thinking about the 10 codes and I googled them and I think maybe all that time...we were using a 10 code typo. Wikipedia listed 10-99 as the code to need to use the bathroom and 10-100 actually meant that you had a dead body.
Ummm....we never had a dead body, so sorry if we freaked anybody out.

Another tech advancement was the calculator. I remember when my Dad bought our first family calculator. It cost a pretty penny. That night he and Mom sat in the kitchen, called up friends on the CB until there were several listening in and then the contest began. Someone on the other end would give them a math problem, Dad would figure it on the high-falutin' calculator and Mom would do it in her head and they would see who could get the answer the quickest. Mom won almost every time. They did this for most of the night. Fun times.

CB's fell from grace in the late 70's. I don't really know why...they didn't transmit as well anymore I guess and something about solar flares...not sure, but it was fun while it lasted.
That's a big 10-4.....Channel clear.