Gary Lloyd
You know those phone calls you make, the ones where you’re bounced from line to line, as if you’re a human pinball?
Well, have I got a story for you.
There’s this payphone in Trussville, and I’ll leave its exact coordinates out of this space in case WiMacTel gets ahold of this column. More on that in a minute. Anyway, if you have a child who enjoys playground slides and swings, you’ve seen it. Maybe you used it to dial home when you were a kid.
In a world of smartphones, pocket-sized social media addictions with more lenses than a Nikon D3500, I decided to trace back this relic, a black phone attached to a cord inside a metal box bolted to concrete. Here’s what I found out.
City of Trussville officials did not know this payphone’s origin, or if there were other outdoor public payphones remaining in the city. They, along with myself, ventured to guess there were not. I researched online — CNBC articles, Wikipedia, random Google searches — and spent the most time on this website for The Payphone Project, which tracks the de-evolution of payphones and phone booths across America. I took several close-up photos of the payphone with my iPhone so that I had all its information — its phone number, CenturyTel’s number, the service number, instructions and more.
I called the CenturyTel number, which apparently had been changed. Instead of CenturyTel, I was directed to a free medical alert device promotion. I told the woman on the other end of the line that I had the wrong number. She tried to sell me on some “free” medical alert devices anyway.
Next, I called the actual local payphone’s number, 205-661-9347. It’s unsurprisingly disconnected. I then called the Service and Refund number printed on the phone. It was no longer in service, but a recorded message advised me to contact Lumen Technologies — via email. The call then disconnected automatically.
I emailed Lumen Technologies’ public relations email address with my phone-related questions: How long has this payphone been here? Are there others in Trussville? How long has that one quarter been fossilized in the coin slot? I was contacted by the global issues director, who told me my inquiry was a “great story idea.” He advised that their payphone business was sold to WiMacTel, previously FSH, in 2004. I was a high school sophomore, and at the time was likely using a navy Motorola Razr, all the craze back then, even at a dime per text message.
I contacted WiMacTel — via email. Two days passed without a reply. I sent another email message, and I’m still awaiting a reply, a year later. Maybe it’s for the best that I never received a response, so that this bulky artifact remains in place. So, all that to tell you that I tried. I had planned on a long feature story, a deep look at a past communication method that somehow is still bolted to a sidewalk in this undisclosed Trussville location.
But, like trying to get through to someone, anyone, I was passed off to one person then the next until, finally, I was disconnected.
Click.
Gary Lloyd is the author of six books and a contributing writer to the Cahaba Sun.
