Texting circa 1967

[straycat19]

Kids today think texting is neat, the thing to do, and prefer it over talking on the phone.  But it is far from a new concept.  My friends and I were texting in 1967, though we referred to it as talking.  It was done on teletype terminals that were portable and self contained and used portable microwave dishes.  I talked nearly daily with a friend who was in Italy, while I was situated in a jungle 30 miles from the nearest habitation in southeast asia.  You may think that was easy since it is a relative short distance looking west, but our links were to the east.  From my location to Saigon, Hawaii, Seattle, New York, Frankfort, and then Italy.  At each location I had to request a patch to the next location.  Our talks went something like this.

 

Talk with relay

cipcipcip

 

rgrgrg

 

mate patch me to (next relay)

 

wait one

 

kkkkk

 

gagagaga

 

tks

 

Once all the patches were done I would contact my friend  who I knew would working at that time.

 

 

(me) CIPCIPCIPCIPCIPCIP

 

(him) RGRGRGRG

 

(m) INT QRK

 

(h) Fivers mate

 

(m) kkkkkkk

how r things going

 

(h) good ...u

 

(m) ok

 

(h) keeping your head down

 

(m) rg cut the buttons off my shirt to get closer to the ground

 

(h)  funny

 

(m) QRTQRTQRTQRT INCOMING  

 

(h) rgrgrgrgrg

..........................(silence)

cipcipcipcip

.........................(silence)

cipcipcipcip

 

(m) QRS back just a couple mortar rounds

 

.........................................(general conversation)

 

(m) take care talk tomorrow about same time

 

(h) kkkk

 

(m) cul8r

 

(h) byebyebyebye

 

(m) nnnn

 

 

cip - come in please    rg - roger   ga - go ahead     k-acknowledge     int qrk - how are your receiving me     qrt - stop sending     qrs - start sending    nnnn - end of message

 

[Ballistic Gelatin]

Good story.

Those same kids are also surprised when they learn in school that Amazon is actually a river that predates Jeff Bezos.