Monday, February 17, 2014

We are in the book



When we first moved here, the previous owners left a phone book in a drawer. I thought this would come in handy to look up businesses in the area.

As I was perusing the book, I saw that it was not only for our area but also for a town 30 miles south of us. This book wasn't even that thick. Which made me wonder just how many people live in this town and the surrounding area? (The last census done in 2012 states 24,499)

We live in a college town and with my experience; there is a lot of transition. I think since we don’t live in the immediate town, but 10 miles outside, that our neighbors are more homesteaders.

It is neat to meet new people and discover how they arrived here. Did they come because of family, job, land, or they liked the area?

I mentioned our kind neighbor who helped jump start our car in my last post. We introduced ourselves and talked a bit about what we do for a living. After his help, he said if you need anything, “we are in the book.”

I about busted out laughing and asked, is this real? I am reminded of the movie "The Jerk" when Steve Martin's character is so happy to find his name in the phone book. In case you need a refresher you can go to this link:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-7aIf1YnbbU Sure enough, I checked to see if our neighbor was listed and I certainly found him.

The next person to mention they were in the book was our plow guy. Again, he introduced himself and said if I needed anything, that he was in the book. I immediately looked him up because he was an important number to have on hand and sure enough I found him.

I can only remember being in one phone book when we lived in Frankfort Square. I also still remember my phone number: 815-469-3368. It did not list our area code because area codes didn’t mean that much back then. This is a funny thing around here because the whole state of Idaho only has one area code: 208.

When I first got here and people gave me just a 7 digit number, I immediately asked,” What is the area code?”  I sure did a get a bunch of funny looks. The funniest looks I got are when people ask me for my number and I spout off a 10 digit number with a 617 area code. I get the "you aren't from these parts looks."

You are certainly right, I am not from these parts and I don’t think we will be listed in the phone book. You see we are terminating our 617 number because it no longer serves a purpose and are just using our cell phones.

I will never be able to say, "look me up, I'm in the book."


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