It was only a matter of time before space in the drawer of the hutch would be freed up.
That’s where I keep my phone book, and the catnip, so every time I have to look up a number the cats come running thinking they’ll get their fix.
That’s why they’ll be disappointed that Yellow Pages has announced they’re going to start phasing out the delivery of the old directory.
It starts this year in Vancouver, Calgary, Edmonton, Toronto, Ottawa-Gatineau, Montreal and Quebec City, and as more and more people move from the archaic page-turner to the new-fangled Web-based version, Yellow Pages will continue to nix home delivery.
That’s fine with me. I need only to look up a business on my GPS, or on Google Maps to find its phone number. And to find a person, the online 411 works quite well.
Not only is the phone book itself becoming obsolete, but the phone as we once knew it has gone the way of the um... what’s it called... VCR.
Most phones now are more than just phones. Even my dad has a “phone”, on which he does very little talking, but more so of checking his e-mail, sending text messages, and taking pictures, and video.  His phone is cooler than mine and he’s twice my age.
So as more people become comfortable with mobile technology, and get rid of those pricey landlines, there are going to be less and less listings to publish anyway.
The phone book, however, had more uses than just looking up your neighbours’ numbers. Those big urban books were good for step aerobics, and beating your brother without leaving a bruise.
They were also good for determining one’s strength by ripping it in half.
They were also thereputic in teenage break-ups. If you were like me, I ripped out the pages with every heartbreakers phone number. After a few rebukings from my parents though for missing pages, I started taking magic marker to the single listing.
The phone book may be a piece of history now, but it’s not one that will be sorely missed, I don’t think. It’s not like the Sears Wishbook where you look forward to its delivery. It’s more of a space hog that I’ll be glad to replace in the hutch drawer.
I’ll have to make sure something frequently used goes in there though, or I’ll have two strung out cats to deal with.