The pay phone was my way of calling for a ride in high school and calling home when I was in college.<p>I tested out a homemade red box on one of the phones at the high school once and got a suspicious operator on the line.<p>The pay phone and the booth have big roles in movies I loved: Superman, War Games, Bill & Ted's Excellent Adventure...
I can still think of a lot of scenarios where a pay phone would come in handy, or even be a lifesaver. Sometimes a cell phone just isn't available, or has run out of charge, etc.