Remember when we actually had to speak to each other to communicate instead of typing "LOL" and hitting "Send"?

Let's take it back to a simpler time. A family vacation with no iPad, cell phones, or laptops. My brothers and I had to play a crappy magnetic B-I-N-G-O game all the way to our destination - with no seat belts! It's not that we wouldn't wear them, I don't think the family sedan had them.

However, there was one electronic device on board. The CB radio. Whenever my dad felt like going a "little over the speed limit" (which was like 80 already) he would pick up the microphone on the CB, depress the button on the side, and give a nice loud "Breaker One- Nine... can I get a 'smokey report' for I-90 westbound?"

Then we would sit and wait with great anticipation for a reply. When we heard a voice crackle through the tiny speaker we would raise a chorus of "sssshhhh!" that would make a librarian proud. There was always a nice trucker letting us know where the radar patrol cars were. Only then would dad put the "hammer down" on that old Ford LTD.

My older brother installed a CB under the dashboard in his '71 Chevelle. It was how you let your friends know where you wanted to meet. It was always the same small town gas station parking lot so I think they could've figured it out.

Even my elementary school friend had a CB in his bed room. His handle was the "Midnight Operator." I always wondered what a 7th grader was operating on - at midnight - and on a school night!

Fast forward a few decades and CB radios are seeing an uptick in sales. Here's a few possible reasons why:

First, data charges on cell phones suck. Once you buy a "Citizen's Band" radio - it's free to use and the signal carries for miles. It's a staple on the farm on long-distance eighteen wheelers on the road.

Secondly, in the event that satellites are disabled due to solar flare, EMP, or Heaven forbid, a nuclear strike, the CB radio could become the new norm for communication. Most preppers already have one in the bunker.

If you decide to get a CB, remember that the most common channel is 19. Hence the "breaker, breaker one-nine". Channel 9 is supposed to be used for emergency-only communications. Other than that, have fun.

One more thing. If a lot lizard wants your 20, you might find yourself in the bears's den surrounded by smokeys.


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