As I was surfing my cell phone provider's site debating on which of the newest phone features were a "must have", I was reminded of just how far something like the telephone has come.  I know if I mentioned things like "party line" and "rotary dial" to my kids, I would be met with blank stares and mumbled comments regarding my age.  People in their thirties assume telephones have always been push button and the idea of sharing a phone line with other families on your block is as foreign a concept as not having portable phones. 
When I was young, and no, it wasn't all that long ago, we had this harvest gold telephone that hung on the wall in the kitchen.  It had a rotary dial which for those  that have never seen one, is a big circle in the middle of the rectangular body of the phone with holes to place your fingers in.  Each hole represented several numbers and letters and you would place your finger in the appropriate hole for each number you needed to dial and turn the dial as far to the right as possible.  Then you withdrew the finger and let the dial go back to it's original position and start the process over for the next number until you had completed dialing the number you wanted.  If you were really good at dialing, you could just let your finger glide back with the dial as it returned to it's starting position.  This rotary thing might seem slow and cumbersome to the younger generation but you'd be amazed at how quickly you could dial numbers with a little practice.
The phone in our kitchen was the one and only phone in the house and was only used when absolutely necessary.  Unlike my kids, the idea of walking in the door and immediately picking up the phone to call the friends you had just left was unheard of.  And then there was the "party line".  Although this may sound like a bunch of people chatting and having a good time on the phone, it was actually sharing a phone line with at least several other houses in the block.  So when you lifted the receiver, you first had to listen to see if anyone else was using the line which could actually be quite entertaining.  You could listen in on other people's conversations and, unless you were breathing too loudly, they would never know you were there!  I recall placing my hand over the mouthpiece to muffle our background noise and listening in for a while if the conversation was interesting.  Disconnecting without being heard was another delicate manuver.  You had to gently place your finger on the hook the receiver hung on and ever so slowly pull it down and place the receiver back on the hook as quickly as possible.  Of course, if you had an actual emergency or the other party was just taking too darn long on the phone, you could butt into their conversation and let them know you really needed to use the line please. 
And the calling plans were much different then too.  After we finally got a private line at our house, we were instructed to keep use to a minimum as our calling plan only allowed thirty calls per month.  It took quite a bit of begging and crying to be able to make a call and minutes were monitored by a timer.  Even after unlimited local calling became the latest thing, my mother would still watch the clock when any of us was on the phone like she was paying by the minute.  She seemed to think that whatever you had to say should be concluded in five minutes or less so I found it easier to rehearse whatever conversation I needed to have on the phone in order to get everything in quickly without it sounding like jibberish to the other person. 
Now we have the luxury of portable phones and extension phones in almost every room.  Who would have ever conceived of having a phone in the bathroom when I was a kid?  When my parents' phone rang in the kitchen, someone would have to run from the other end of the house or from upstairs in order to answer it.  Letting a phone ring ten or fifteen times was the norm back then as it allowed the person you were calling ample time to reach the phone.  These days if you call someone and they don't pick up by the fifth ring, you expect to hear the answering machine kick in.  Would you believe there are still people in this day and age that don't have an answering machine?!!  Much as my husband complains about having to talk to machines, when he's trying to call someone and they don't have a machine his immediate reaction is "What's wrong with these people!!  How are they supposed to know I called if they don't have a machine!!"
I must say that today's telephones have it all over the old ones I grew up with but they do present their own special problems.   We recently had a party and, as is my usual habit, I took the portable outside in case anyone called.  To me it seems easier to answer the call which is most often one of my children or a friend, than to remember to check the machine when I go back inside.  So I took the portable and put it on the table near the pool where we were entertaining.  Later on, we decided to fire up the grill and throw on some steaks and I moved the phone closer to the deck.  Now normally I know exactly where I left the portable but on this particular night, I had moved it several times, and with no incoming calls to alert me as to it's location, I was faced with the worst drawback of portable phones.  As we took in the last of the dishes and glasses late that night, I looked at the telephone holder and was shocked to see it missing it's most important component.  Where the heck did I leave the phone?  I quickly went back outside, in the dark, with a flashlight, frantically searching for my phone as my husband watched chuckling at the door.  Finally admitting defeat, I walked slowly back into the house and quietly confessed to not knowing where the phone was.  My husband burst out laughing, saying "Well that's a first!" and , saying a silent prayer that it wouldn't rain during the night I trudged off to bed still racking my tired brain as to the mysterious disappearance of the phone.  The next morning, armed with a cup of coffee I resumed the search.  I retraced my steps of the night before, checking the pool area and the yard with no success.  As I headed back to the deck where we ended the evening, I glanced to the left, checking to make sure the gate was closed so my dogs wouldn't wander out, and lo and behold, there sat my portable phone on the deck rail!!  I quickly put it back  on it's charger and satisfied that this essential part of life was safely back home, I sat down with my coffee and newspaper to resume my normal Sunday routine.