AT&T Walkie Talkies - JCPenney Christmas Catalog - 1990

 

    Aw, yeah! It's "The Brick", baby! To me, there a few defining symbols of the pop culture of any given time, and this is one for the early 90's. You had to be pretty rich or important to have a cell phone during that time (or in daily danger of ending up stranded far from home, like my dad), but they were starting to peek their heads into the mainstream. We were still far off from the days of every teenager having a cell phone and getting stuck in line behind people who can't stop talking long enough to place a food order...wait, just let me linger there for a moment...ahhhhhh....sweet times....anyway, since kids had no hope of getting their own cell phones back then, we had to settle for these ultra-cool walkie talkies. Look at those antennas - these things were serious. Plus, the simple design and color scheme of the phones made them easily reproducible in toy form, meaning that the replicas looked exactly like the real thing (only they weighed about 50 lbs. less.) Think of the simple fun of these walkie talkies next time you're watching TV and Motorola tries to convince you that it's a good idea to get your grade schooler a pre-paid wireless Go Phone. Now, if you'll excuse me, I need to go rub a little Ben Gay on the old joints and finish my warm buttermilk and prunes.