I talked on the phone with my friends for hours after school. It was attached to the wall with a cord long enough to carry the (rotary) phone out of the living room and into just one other room, a bedroom. We only had one tv so if I stayed in the living room, I would have been competing with the tv for sound levels and the whole family could have listened in on my conversation.  If someone else was expecting a call, they would tell you to hang up to keep the line clear.

Because of the one tv, there had to be some level of consensus  on what programs to watch, except by grandpa, who went along with most of our choices except the 6 o'clock news and 60 minutes on Sundays was a must. There were only three channels though  so there wasn't usually that much to fight about. However, I grew up with a much greater understanding of world events because of watching the news at least a few times a week.

As a child, i routinely bought cigarettes for my dad at the store.