YOU CAN KEEP THE DIME

The other day I heard the song, ‘Operator’, by Jim Croce and one of the lyrics jumped out at me and caused me to think. I wondered if today’s generation were to hear the lyrics, would they understand their meaning.

The song itself is about a guy calling the operator for help in finding a phone number. He tells her his story about a past love that had left him…for his best friend. After some time for healing had passed, he planned to call the two of them to say that he was doing fine…that he was over the hurt they had caused him…and things were okay between them.

The operator gives the guy the number he needs and he writes it down, but he asks her to repeat it because he can’t read what he wrote down…through his tears.

He realized, he wasn’t over her…nor the pain, and instead of making the call, he thanks the operator for being so kind, and tells her…‘you can keep the dime’.

For some reason, those words…‘you can keep the dime’…caught my attention. With the ever disappearing payphones and the increase in cell phones, I wondered if my kids had ever used a payphone and asked for operator assistance. Then I continued thinking that, by the time my grandchildren are a little older, there may not be such a thing as a pay phone, as we remember them.

Before the advent of cell phones, the next best thing to quick access to a phone while away from home was a payphone. If you were making a local call, you inserted a dime (I remember when it was a nickel) and dialed the number. If the person answered, you could talk to them just like you had called them from home.

If you needed to make a long distance call, you had to use the help of an operator. You would tell her the number you wanted her to call and she would tell you the cost of a 3-minute call to that number. After you inserted the proper amount of money, she would place the call for you.

As in the case of the caller from the song, if you didn’t know the number, you put in your dime, dialed ‘0’ and an operator came on the phone to help you. When she answered, your dime dropped back down into the change slot for you to put back in your pocket or for later use. After she found the number you requested, she’d tell you the cost for a 3-minute call and then place the call after your money was inserted.

The songwriters’ reference line in the song was that since ‘the operator’ had been so helpful and listened to his sad story, she could just keep the dime.

I have no idea how much a payphone call costs today…if you can find a payphone! (When was the last time YOU used one? Do you even know where the closest payphone is to your house?)

Operators and payphones. Another lost part of our younger years…


Dan