Operator Poem by Joe Rosochacki

Operator, oh let's forget about this call
There's no one there i really wanted to talk you
Thank you for your time
Oh you've been so much more than kind
And you can keep the dime

Not $85,000.
It seems as though Jim Croce would have a hard time rhyming
Eighty five thousand dollars,
Bared Naked Ladies did with a million,
The Digital Information Age has gone stellar,
With the use of high tech computers and communication satellites,
The use of operators, well should I say,
--is almost extinct.
Jim wasn’t aware of where we would eventually ditch the pay phone and the like,
No more Supermans to change clothes, the Clark Kents have to hide.
The DIA handed us the time that phones we are carrying,
Cameras, clocks, music, video, and internet all within a palm of hand,
Dick Tracy, even Captain Kirk, should have changed with this plan.
Dick Tracy was conceived too early, Captain Kirk was conceived too late,
Piotr Staniaszek was conceived at the right time.
Bell Mobility of Canada thought.
Bell (also AT&T in the USA) had acquired Cingular,
Which in conjunction with Apple Computers,
Had a plan for the next generation of cell phones.
The iPhone was conceived, that was the phone Piotr bought.
But Piotr did not read the fine print,
It was lost in translation or Bell of Canada did publish text in Polish,
It was Piotr’s fault for having the terms not translated to him by someone,
Who spoke Polish as well as English
If he was French that would be a different story,
Piotr was using his iPhone as modem, an add on he didn’t pay for,
Until he had received his cell bill for the month,
He was stricken with fright to the core.
Can you imagine how E.T. would feel phoning home?
AT&T is planning phase out all their telephone booths,
And eventually putting your communication entirely on your computer and mobile cell,
And not far in the distant future will you happen by chance to hear,
“I was once an operator for Ma’ Bell.”

(12-15-2007)