When I was quite young, my father had one of the first
telephones in our neighborhood. I remember the
polished, old case fastened to the wall. The shiny
receiver hung on the side of the box. I was too little
to reach the telephone, but used to listen with
fascination when my mother talked to it.
Then I discovered that somewhere inside the wonderful
device lived an amazing person. Her name was
“Information Please” and there was nothing she did not
know. Information Please could supply anyone’s number
and the correct time.
My personal experience with the genie-in-a-bottle came
one day while my mother was visiting a neighbor.
Amusing myself at the tool bench in the basement, I
whacked my finger with a hammer, the pain was
terrible, but there seemed no point in crying because
there was no one home to give sympathy.
I walked around the house sucking my throbbing finger,
finally arriving at the stairway. The telephone!
Quickly, I ran for the footstool in the parlor and
dragged it to the landing Climbing up, I unhooked the
receiver in the parlor and held it to my ear.
“Information, please” I said into the mouthpiece just
above my head.
A click or two and a small clear voice spoke into my
ear.
“Information.”
“I hurt my finger…” I wailed into the phone, the
tears came readily enough now that I had an audience.
“Isn’t your mother home?” came the question.
“Nobody’s home but me,” I blubbered.
“Are you bleeding?” the voice asked.
“No,” I replied. “I hit my finger with the hammer and
it hurts.”
“Can you open the icebox?” she asked.
I said I could.
“Then chip off a little bit of ice and hold it to
your finger,” said the voice.
After that, I called “Information Please” for
everything. I asked her for help with my geography,
and she told me where Philadelphia was. She helped me
with my math. She told me my pet chipmunk that I had
caught in the park just the day before, would eat
fruit and nuts.
Then, there was the time Petey, our pet canary, died.
I called, Information Please," and told her the sad
story. She listened, and then said things grown-ups
say to soothe a child. But I was not consoled. I asked
her, “Why is it that birds should sing so beautifully
and bring joy to all families, only to end up as a
heap of feathers on the bottom of a cage?”
She must have sensed my deep concern, for she said
quietly, “Wayne always remember that there are other
worlds to sing in.”
Somehow I felt better.
Another day I was on the telephone, “Information
Please.”
“Information,” said in the now familiar voice. “How do
I spell fix?” I asked.
All this took place in a small town in the Pacific
Northwest. When I was nine years old, we moved across
the country to Boston. I missed my friend very much.
“Information Please” belonged in that old wooden box
back home and I somehow never thought of trying the
shiny new phone that sat on the table in the hall. As
I grew into my teens, the memories of those childhood
conversations never really left me.
Often, in moments of doubt and perplexity I would
recall the serene sense of security I had then. I
appreciated now how patient, understanding, and kind
she was to have spent her time on a little boy.
A few years later, on my way west to college, my plane
put down in Seattle I had about a half-hour or so
between planes. I spent 15 minutes or so on the phone
with my sister, who lived there now. Then without
thinking what I was doing, I dialed my hometown
Operator and said, “Information Please.”
Miraculously, I heard the small, clear voice I knew
so well.
“Information.”
I hadn’t planned this, but I heard myself saying,
“Could you please tell me how to spell fix?”
There was a long pause. Then came the soft spoken
answer, “I guess your finger must have healed by now.”
I laughed, “So it’s really you,” I said. “I
wonder if you have any idea how much you meant to me
during that time?”
I wonder," she said, “if you know how much your
call meant to me. I never had any children and I used
to look forward to your calls.”
I told her how often I had thought of her over the
years and I asked if I could call her again when I
came back to visit my sister.
“Please do”, she said. “Just ask for Sally.”
Three months later I was back in Seattle A
different voice answered “Information.” I asked for
Sally.
“Are you a friend?” she said.
“Yes, a very old friend,” I answered.
“I’m sorry to have to tell you this,” she said.
“Sally had been working part-time the last few years
because she was sick. She died five weeks ago.”
Before I could hang up she said, “Wait a minute, did
you say your name was Wayne ?” “Yes.” I answered.
"Well, Sally left a message for you. She wrote
it down in case you called.
Let me read it to you."
The note said, "Tell him there are other worlds
to sing in He’ll know what I mean"
I thanked her and hung up. I knew what Sally
meant.
Never underestimate the impression you may make
on others.
Whose life have you touched today?
Why not pass this on? I just did....
Lifting you on eagle's wings. May you find the
joy and peace you long for.
Life is a journey … NOT a guided tour. So don’t
miss the ride and have a great time going around you
don’t get a second shot at it.
EDIT I had to remove the quote and font tags, they didn’t work for me. This was sent to me from a dear friend…