Seven digit dialing.
In Bakersfield, or all of Kern County for that matter, you can dial a phone call with only seven digits and the call actually goes through! It's like magic.
I can't remember how long it's been since you could do that in LA. Sometime in the 80's I think.
It's a throwback to a simpler time. I always bely my big city roots when someone asks for our number and I start with the area code...
"It's six, six, one..."
They screw up their noses and look at you like you're stupid. Of course it's 661. Everything is 661. What else would it be? It's 661 as far as the eye can see and much further beyond. In fact, the 661 area code is so vast it even bleeds into northern LA County. I wonder if the Nouveau Riche of the Santa Clarita Valley are aware they share an area code with Bako. That can't sit well.
It's quite the change from our former lives. We lived in the 310, but they were quickly running out of numbers so they gave it a 424 overlay, meaning your next door neighbor could have a different area code, and even if they didn't you'd still have to dial 310 to reach them. Both of our cell phones were 323, as was my office. The boyfriend worked over the hill and was 818. My parents in Orange County were 714, but my sister, a few miles further south, was 949. The boyfriend's family near the coast was 562. Add in friends in the 951, clients in the 213, and vendors in the 626 and it was all just too much.
But no such worries here. We don't need no stinking area codes.
The only thing that would be even better is if they reverted to the old named exchanges, like "Butterfield 8" or "Murray Hill".
How great would it be if your number was "WeedPatch5-1234"?
