I can't help myself... 
My mother in the 1980s: "no one can ever call us because the phone line is always busy"
Me with an Osborne 1 and a 300 baud modem: "We need a second phone line!"
(https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Osborne_1)
My mother: "That's too expensive. Quit clogging up the phone line with that toy!"
Me: "Ok...Pshhhkkkkkkrrrr​kakingkakingkakingtsh​chchchchchchchcch​*ding*ding*ding*" (*)
I never would've guessed in those days that it would provide me an entire professional career.
scott
(*) I copied Pshhhkkkkkkrrrr​kakingkakingkakingtsh​chchchchchchchcch​*ding*ding*ding*
from a website as I could not spell that.
Then call waiting came out and would disconnect the session sometimes. That sucked ass.
Speaking of dial up...
I remember on a trip I got the hotel sometime after 2am (bad weather, bad flight). I was trying to dial out from hotel - 9 to get an outside line, then "pause" and then 1 for long distance and 202 for the area code.
I mistyped the phone number or something, and I was not getting connected but kept trying. There was a knock at the door and "Police, everything ok".
I answered and explained that I guess I had mistakenly dialed 911. They did check the room and then left.
I gave up, went to bed, muttering that my email would just have to wait.
Geoff