Courtesy Phone

When I hear the words courtesy phone I must stop whatever I am doing and close my eyes while gripping the nearest bannister (I always make sure I am within ten feet of a bannister for this sole purpose; often I travel with my own bannister even, cumbersome though it is).

A hotel child is obsessed with the courtesy phone. You know the phones I mean: usually white or red, with odd dials or buttons (or none at all), mysterious. Can it only receive calls? Who is the person on the other end? Should we be friends? Should we be best friends? Probably.














Flickr image by .craig

It's a staple of public spaces where guests or visitors might need information this instant. I'd often pass the bank of phones to the right of the front desk at our hotel with a deep longing to pick up the receiver on one and call -- well, I don't know. Who does a six year old know? Dorothy. Or Toto, maybe.