comments

1. Phil Bebbington on January 17th, 2010 at 4:49 pm

   Sheila, is that what Lena uses to phone ahead for food?

2. Daryl Scroggins on January 17th, 2010 at 4:50 pm

   And a yoke for when the two bulls guarding the front yard aren’t.

3. Sheila Ryan on January 17th, 2010 at 4:53 pm

   You bet, Daryl! Plus: the yoke confuses and distracts intruders.

   The crank phone does double duty. It is good for crank calls.

4. Sheila Ryan on January 17th, 2010 at 4:55 pm

   Phil, Lena always looks furtive when I walk in and spot her near the phone. I’ve never actually heard her speak to anyone on it.

5. Rick Neece on January 17th, 2010 at 5:00 pm

   Sweet Lena! En Garde!

   Your crank phone! I’ve seen crank phones before of course. In mind, I hear words. “Sam Drucker! Patch me through to the 911 in Pixley. Stat!”

   Until this moment however, I never noticed how much the instrument looks like a face.

6. Sheila Ryan on January 17th, 2010 at 5:03 pm

   There is a certain Surrealist something to that phone, I’ll admit.

   What is funny is that on the inside is a 1970s rotary mechanism. Some DIY-er clearly got himself an old box phone (reckon this one is 1900-1910) and rigged it up as his working phone.

7. Sheila Ryan on January 17th, 2010 at 5:04 pm

   It is sort of a double antique.

8. Daryl Scroggins on January 18th, 2010 at 10:15 am

   When I see a crank phone I am reminded of the movie The Russians are Coming! The Russians are Coming! There’s a scene in which an ancient deaf man comes down the stairs and tries to talk on the phone–while his scrawny old wife, who has been gagged, tied up, and hung on a coat rack peg, tries in vain to get his attention.

9. Cindy Scroggins on January 18th, 2010 at 10:27 am

   My god, how I love that movie. I was reminded of it the other day when Sheila discussed Distinctive Norwegian Cats. The Russian submarine captain (played by Alan Arkin) is asked about his accent, and he replies “We are Norwiggans.”

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