My grandfather and that new contraption… the telephone (standard:Inspirational stories, 910 words)
Author: Godspenman	Added: Oct 08 2011	Views/Reads: 3369/1898	Story vote: 0.00 (0 votes)
I was sitting in a restaurant on a Friday afternoon enjoying a leisurely repast with some friends. Somewhere in the middle of our conversation, my cell phone went off. Without even thinking about it, I reached into my shirt pocket, pulled it out and answe

I was sitting in a restaurant on a Friday afternoon enjoying a leisurely
repast with some friends. Somewhere in the middle of our conversation, 
my cell phone went off. Without even thinking about it, I reached into 
my shirt pocket, pulled it out and answered it. 

It was then I was struck with an awful thought. I am now a child of this
contemporary technological world. I never thought I would succumb to 
this sort of thing. But here I am; I'm not the man I used to be, and 
I'm not even sure I'm the man I want to be. 

On my way home, I thought about how far I have come in this modern
world. Then, for some reason I thought of my old grandfather. He died 
in 1974 and every once in a while I think about him. This was one of 
those times. 

What came to my mind this particular time was when my grandmother got a
new contraption for their home. Grandfather was not enthused about some 
of these modern advances. 

My grandfather allowed grandmother to get electricity in the house, but
when it came to indoor plumbing he was dead set against it. He had used 
the old outhouse in the back as far as he could remember. His father 
had used it before him. As far as grandfather was concerned, he was 
going to use that outhouse until he died. He did not need any of this 
newfangled indoor plumbing. And that was that. 

My grandmother said to him at the time, "Pap, is that your last word on
the subject?" 

"It sure is," my grandfather responded. 

Grandmother looked at him and said, "Great, the plumber is coming
tomorrow and I won't have to put up with any more of your guff." 

The next morning, right on grandmother's schedule, the plumber came and
fitted the house with indoor plumbing. Just to be spiteful, my 
grandfather never used the indoor plumbing. He showed grandmother that 
he was boss in some certain regard, and used the outhouse for the rest 
of his life. 

Then the time came when the telephone line went down the valley where
grandmother and grandfather lived. Knowing the hard time grandfather 
gave her with the indoor plumbing, she decided not to tell him about 
the installation of the telephone. She knew he would disapprove, so why 
ask. 

Grandfather came home that night, as usual, and sat down to a very nice
supper. So far, he had not noticed the addition in the living room. 
Grandmother, the diplomat that she was, did not bother to point it out 
to him. 

Grandfather, as was his custom, settled down to read the evening
newspaper in the living room completely unaware of the change that had 
come to this sanctuary of his. 

Grandmother was in the kitchen busy cleaning off the table, washing the
dishes and getting her kitchen back into shape before retiring to the 
living room for an evening of relaxation. 

Suddenly, a ringing noise exploded in the living room. Grandfather, not
knowing what had happened, jumped out of his chair and exited the 
living room faster than he had ever done so before. 

In the kitchen, grandmother had been so busy with her work she forgot
about this new contraption. She too was scared. 

The ringing continued without stopping. Grandfather was beside himself
and considered getting his shotgun not knowing who or what had invaded 
his living room. 

Then it dawned on grandmother. "Oh," she said with a sigh of relief.
"That's the telephone ringing." 

"The what?" 



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