Death after 68 years: rest in peace, 164!

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“You see the sun slowly set and yet you are shocked when it is suddenly dark.”
French Kafka

With regret in my heart I say goodbye to the beloved number 164. You have been loyal to me and many others for decades. In good times and bad. When you were young and fit, over 10 million callers came to you every year for help and listened intently as you presented the latest sports results to us. Unfortunately, you have lost a lot in recent years and only 200,000 people want to hear how you are every year. Now that you’re gone Forever.

You didn’t do very well in the 90s. You were on your deathbed then because the PTT didn’t want you anymore and just dumped you. But then you picked yourself up again. In recent years, however, you have become increasingly lonely and you are increasingly affected by poverty in old age.

“The smartest number there is”

The next shock came at the beginning of the year. Because new abbreviated numbers are only reserved for emergency services, you, the beloved 164, became the cumbersome 0900 164 164. A fate from which you could no longer escape. You simply didn’t have the strength to defend yourself against the internet and the ravages of time in recent months.

But I’m sure you don’t want us to mourn you too much. Let’s remember the beautiful moments. I still remember when I was on a skiing holiday in Bellwald as a child and I was allowed to call you late at night to ask how the ice hockey games were going. Or how I called you in 1996 from a phone booth in Shopville in Zurich and found out that Borussia Dortmund had already become champions one match day before the end of the season. Swiss film legend Maximilian Schell spoke of the “smartest number there is” for a reason. Is there a nicer compliment for you, dear “One Hundred and Four Saxons”?

I find solace in teletext

For nostalgics, your death is the second fate in a few months. At the end of last year, the printed telephone directory died out in Switzerland.

I find comfort in these difficult times with teletext. May he live as long as possible.

In loving memory: Daniel Leu and all others who will always carry the 164 in their hearts.

Bereavement address: daniel.leu@ringier.ch

Source : Blick