The passing of KVL

Dear KVL

It was a pleasure and a privilege to have known you, and it is with a heavy heart that I read today of your passing. Although we sadly never managed to meet in real life, you were a very dear friend of mine.

The telephone

It had been years since you rang on it last. Every month the bill for connection would arrive, and every month I would pull my chequebook out and mail a cheque to pay for it. Not out of necessity, you were the only one that called on the telephone, but out of wonder if you would call once again, one last time.

With every month that passed, I would start to forget the way your voice sounded when we spoke. I started to forget how you would greet me on the phone. Did you say “hello”, was it “hey” or even “it’s me”, as if I wouldn’t know that it was you that was calling?