>   If I see a pay phone, rarer and rarer now, I still check the coin return.
 >   I was asked once why and said their might a coin in there.
 >   Spotting one not far away I took a quarter from my pocket without being
 > noticed (I was walking along with my hands in my pocket) and hiding it in my
 > fingers, I opened the slot and pulled out the quarter I had "found".

The Telco here has a policy of leaving  the payphones, until they break
(usially from vandals), then cleaning it up, as required by bylaws, but not
replaxcing it. . .

The last few left are in public spaces like the airport & a few malls. . .

No more 24/7 access, excepting if you want to go several miles to the airport
(as if!)

 >   One time we had a recycling place here for aluminum cans.
 >   But one would take a large trash bag of cans and get only a few cents for
 > them.  Not worth the effort. 

They add up; my dad brought in 3 or 4 of those giant bags full a week, plus
another one of bottles.  They didn't count them, as my dad knew the number they
expect per container type, & ensured those numbers were accurate.

 > > True enough.  The jeans the young girls wear today! 

 >   I see girls on campus in ripped and torn jeans all the time.  Just
 > tatters and rags.  They look like street urchins in some Dickens story.
 >   And they probably cost more than if if all the material were still there.

Yup, exactly. I don't mind, for the ones I can tell are fully adult (19+); the
teenyboppers, though, I look away in sadness at the shame they're giving their
parents. . .

 > > I'm of the philosophy that everything is walking distance, if you begin
 > > early enough.
 >  
 >    LOL.  Good one.  Gotta remember that.

It's not just a pithy aphorism, it can also be a way of life! (I've lived it)

Natch, as a youngster, if I could get a ride to go 5 miles, i'd take it.  Even
if walking home(~3/4 mile) from school in the rain, & some stranger pulled over
in a van to ask if I wanted a ride, I'd be inside as I'm saying thank you. . .

Ahh, the '70s in the exurbs. . . *aah*

Then came population growth & the '80s. . . *sigh*

Your friend,

<+]:{)}
Cyberpope, Bishop of ROM
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