That Undesirable but Still Legendary Public Phone

I must admit, when it comes to the public phone kiosk most of us pass by it clueless about its use. Truth is we should be paying reverence to this majestic box and its imbedded invention. Contrary to the beliefs of those who insist that these kiosks are mainly used for advertising and are a sustainable cash cow for the City of New York, public phone booths have served their purpose and much more. For instance, if you were anywhere in Manhattan during 911, you would agree with what I am telling you now. Remember how most of the cell-phone networks were down? I was in Midtown, and I saw throngs of people lining up to use those public-phones. I mean long, long, long lines of people staring at their watches and nervously scrambling for loose change. The same thing happened during the NYC black-out of 2003 which I also happened to witness.
Bottom line is you should be aware of the ulterior uses of the public phones, even when you have observed unscrupulous individuals disrespectfully using them to drain their gall bladders or store mountains of debris. So what if companies pay the city millions to advertise on them. The city has to generate revenues from somewhere. Wouldn’t you agree? You should neither embarrass yourself by telling your friends that these phones belong in the Smithsonian Museum because they are antiquated nor should you believe that these booths ought to be taken down because they are breeding grounds for germs and diseases.

© Daniell Fedron April 27, 2008