A mom leans out the car window as she drops off her son and his friend at the Southtown Mall in Fort Wayne.
“Do you have a quarter so you can call me when you’re ready to come home?”
“Yes, Mom,” he says.
“And don’t spend it in the arcade like you did last week,” she says with a smile.
For a lot of rural kids, the “big city” mall was how you saw the world, in simpler times. Back when a payphone waited at nearly every entrance. The Riverside Center had one. Scott’s had one. K‑mart had one… though those last two names belong to another era too.
But back to the payphone.
I remember when a call was a dime. Then inflation nudged it to twenty cents, then a quarter. Some places held out at thirty‑five or even fifty cents. Someone even wrote a song about it — “Here’s a quarter, call someone who cares” — strange words to today’s youth.
Now the payphones are mostly gone. You might spot one in an antique mall, or tucked away in a rural town where it hasn’t been pulled out yet. Most don’t work, so save your quarter. But just seeing one brings back memories of a simpler time.
Enjoy your Sunday. And YES it’s Mother’s Day, take a moment to reach out to Mom — or remember her if she’s in heaven. You still have time to grab a card, flowers, pick up the phone, or stop by and wish her a Happy Mother’s Day.