The Savvy Boomer

"I remember" my first portable phone

You can read the background of the "I remember" posts here.

I was excited about getting a portable phone in the mid 80's because my first cell phone for which I paid about $3,000 and another couple of hundred a month in fees was hardwired to my car (remember the little antenna on the back window?-it was kind of a status symbol back then.)  Actually, I have a friend who still has one on his older model car-he just never bothered to remove it.

I somehow managed to convince myself to shell out another $3,500 for the Motorola "brick" as it has come to be known.  When I compare it to my phone today, I can't believe I actually used to carry this thing around in my briefcase.  The AC adapter was bigger than the phone I have now.

It did work pretty well but by today's standards, its capital cost and monthly fees were prohibitive.  The one good thing I remember is that the contract was month to month, so if you wanted to switch carriers, you could.  Except, there was only one carrier-the telephone company.

Considering that there was no such thing as a cell phone for the first few thousand years of man's existence on earth, it's remarkable what we have today.  And compared to the rate plans of 25 years ago, today's rates are a bargain, not to mention the cost of the phone.

"I remember" when you could use airlines for free shipping

You can read the background of the "I remember" posts here.

About 25-30 years ago, a co-worker told me how he used the airlines to ship things free.  His latest venture involved sending fresh salmon packed in dry ice from Vancouver to a friend in Toronto.  Since salmon were perishable, they normally had to be shipped on a priority basis.

He traveled a lot then and was very familiar with airline procedures.  Instead of heading to the cargo area, with the salmon, he went to the main ticket counter. He bought a first class ticket for Toronto and then handed over the salmon as his checked luggage, showing a small suitcase as his carry-on.  He then headed home and called his friend (no cell phones then) and told him the flight number, its arrival time, the description of the salmon box and to go to the luggage carousel to pick it up.

Sure enough, the confirmation call was received, the fresh salmon having been picked up without a hitch from the luggage claim area in Toronto.

The next day he would give the  ticket to a travel agent and simply told him he had to cancel the trip at the last minute. He got the fare refunded to his credit card, no questions asked.

Of course with all the regulations in place today, this would be totally impossible to do and is actually a good lesson as to why they ensure that checked luggage flies on the same plane as the passenger and if the passenger doesn't board, their luggage comes off.  Also, it is difficult now for anyone but passengers to get in the arrivals luggage area and pick up luggage.

But-airline travel was much simpler then and while my co-worker used their negligence to save a few bucks, unfortunately others discovered the same loophole for much more sinister reasons.