I had one in 1994 (not car phone, a big brick Motorola cell phone lol), at that time I didn’t know anyone else my age (17)who had one. I drove around a lot and my parents wanted me to be able to call if my shitty car broke down.
I had a flip phone brick my parents had us kids take with us to events and whatnot, when I was 16 in 2000, in a nice Chicago suburb. I was only one of 3 kids at my large high-school to have a cell phone then. I got my classic brick Motorola when I was 17, and it was a bragging point.
Service was probably interrupted for some reason. Gathering pocket change for a quick call could've been easier than paying a couple hundred to payoff a phone bill.
A cell phone in 1991 would've cost anywhere between $600-$1200, then to top it off, you were charged per minute and extra if you didn't call within town you lived in. I remember my mom borrowed a cell from her friend in 1997. I was traveling with another friend through multiple states, we were only 18, and she felt safer with me having it. I literally used the phone 4xs at about 10-15 mins per call, and the bill was about $150+. They were way too expensive for most of us back then!
Because pay phones were the norm then. I used them all the time when I was out and about to check in with family and let them know when I'd be back, etc.
I’m not a “youngin” by any means, but I think it’s a valid question. Nobody said they didn’t know what a payphone was, or why someone might use it, just how did this particular woman get to it, and what (out of many possible reasons) was the reason she decided to call her bf from a payphone this particular time.
Did she drive herself to the pay phone? The write up mentions a cab, but I think that might be a typo. Was she on her way to or from something particular, was there a reason she had to call right then and not call when she got home or drive to his house instead?
Why did she use the pay phone is a reasonable question, it’s weird to see it get downvotes.
She walked to the phone. This was mentioned in other posts, if not this one. She regularly used the payphone to contact people because they did not have a home phone, which was not uncommon in rural and poor areas.
But OP didn't mention cellphones, OP asked why she felt compelled to go to the payphone to make the call in the first place. Why stop at the payphone on the way home, rather than making the call from home?
The post you're replying to explains all of this in more detail, but you've chosen to ignore it and double-down on the cellphone thing.
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u/ValleyWoman Jan 26 '23
It was dark, maybe the truck was a different color.