Say Good night Gracie

Back in the day when phones were actually tethered to a wall via a cord, back when it was a privilege to have a phone, I can fondly remember the day I first got my "princess" slim-line telephone in my room.  My sister Sara and I shared a phone line and it was understood that we were not to be excessive in our usage.  Unfortunately for me my boyfriend at the time went to prep school in Avon, CT.  Who knew that calling him was a long distance call, after all, it was in the same state!  I remember coming home from shopping with mom and my sister Sara was outside, when I approached the house she said, "Your in trouble" with a sick smile on her face.  "Why?...What did I do?" I asked.  "I am not telling, go inside and see for yourself" she devilishly replied.  I took a big GULP, and walked in the house, on the refrigerator was a telephone bill, high-lighted, with line-item, and clearly broken down into "user minutes"...beside my name was $100!  OMG!  I turned around and dad was standing behind me, I tried to plead, I tried to ration, I tried crying, whaling and gnashing of teeth.  My dad would have none of it.  I'll never forget his marching up-stairs, two steps at a time, going into my room, bending down and grasping my poor princess phone and with the look of sick and twisted glee he asked me if I had any thing else to say, I said "dad I'll pay you back", he said he couldn't afford for me to pay him back, I said I'd stop calling my boyfriend, he said it was too late, he then said to me, "say good-night Gracie"(homage to George Burns and Gracie Allen-it was their signature sign-off on their TV show)...I said "good night Gracie" and the phone was ripped out of the wall in one angry jerk...I was like the IV being ripped from a sick patient, and the lights went out...my world, my sweet teenage world, ruined!  Sara later told me that something similar had happened to dad when he was young and his father did the same to him,  he admitted to her he hoped he would have an opportunity to reenact the event with one of his kids one day, sick I tell you, sick!