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Show Gone Are The D ays Of Ringing Phones And Buzzing Timers Iiy VICKIE MA I HESON Have you noticed that sounds around are changing? chang-ing? Yesterday when I went to the grocery store I noticed that I rarely heard the sound of the checker anymore. Now I here a monotone voice coming from a little speaker that says, "Pickles, 1.69, Captain Crunch 1 .89..." Oh, the checker did ask to see my driver's license, but that funny little voice took care of everything else. EVKN THE cash register sounds different. You no longer hear the click as the checker's finger peck at the little buttons on the register. Now all you hear is a little beep as she shuffles the goods across an electric eye that automatically rings up the sale price. Our televisions also sound different. The sounds coming from there are no longer limited to laugh tracks and actor's voices. Depending on what you are using your set for, you can get a large array of blipping and ringing sounds as you play games and program computers. : IT USED TO be that when you went to the gas ; station you heard the pump make a click every time you rang up 10 cents and the number would drop down. But the new digital read-outs are silent, and I or X : 4 - s ; 4 Is' - . j yL'imjmwjii .J1".1. Mgl sort of miss the rhythmatic sound of the old pumps. When you are in a busy downtown section of the city and you are waiting for the cross walk signal to change you can now hear little chirping sounds that will tell you in which direction it is safe to walk. And if you have purchased a car in the last year you could have bought one that talks to you. They have changed cars so you don't just hear a buzz reminding you to fasten your seatbelt, now you hear, "Fasten your seatbelt. ..Fasten your seatbelt."' YOU CAN'T even count on the telephone to ring anymore. The latest phone models can sing, chirp, sigh or even hum. And it seems that no one has a timer on their oven anymore that has a dull buzz. All the new microwaves ding loudly when dinner is ready. Do you remember when you used to go to church and hear bells chiming? Well, I still hear a lot of chiming, but it is not from the church bells. I hear the chimes going off every few minutes from about 45 different wrist watches throughout the church. I REALLY don't mind all the new sounds. But we are going to have to update a lot of things to keep up with the changes. I think we should start with children's chil-dren's books. They all still say that a phone rings and a timer buzzes. |
