just rojie

shut up, sit down, and read

signal

LINK: signal

Write a post using this nightly photo prompt from Ianmdudley

Prompt created by yours truly. 
Feel free to use any prompts for May 2026 that I post and/or tag me.
I’d love to read your responses.

Special thanks to Ian for the photo inspo.

Rooftop antenna on an old brick wall
ghost of a signal ghost of it all.

Before the inbox, before the endless scroll
did people have more patience with their soul?
Conversations linger over dinner plates,
did letters mean more, arriving a few days late?

Even though I didn’t live in the rooftop antennas era, I wonder a lot about what life would have been like at that time.

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36 responses to “signal”

  1. Ajinkya Rane Avatar
    Ajinkya Rane

    When I lived in Nigeria we used to have an antenna in our balcony. I was assigned antenna adjustment duties while my parents would tell me if they caught a signal. This was in the early 2000s. They got broadband in Nigeria in the late 2000s.

    Reply
    1. justrojie Avatar
      justrojie

      where haven’t you lived??

      Reply
      1. Ajinkya Rane Avatar
        Ajinkya Rane

        At home lol

        Reply
        1. justrojie Avatar
          justrojie

          😆

          Reply
  2. iakovoskriegor Avatar
    iakovoskriegor

    And now I am socially isolated in the community!

    Reply
    1. justrojie Avatar
      justrojie

      is there like a clubhouse or something that pple go to?

      Reply
      1. iakovoskriegor Avatar
        iakovoskriegor

        Yes, but I required an NDIS package to go there. Have you heard of the NDIS?

        Reply
        1. justrojie Avatar
          justrojie

          What’s that?

          Reply
  3. Jesse Pallante Avatar
    Jesse Pallante

    Life is a lot better without the antenna. They were too bulky and looked like eye sores on rooftops, just saying.

    Reply
    1. justrojie Avatar
      justrojie

      😆 they do look bulky

      Reply
  4. utahan15 Avatar
    utahan15

    they may have they whomever they are no longer do
    people suck

    Reply
    1. justrojie Avatar
      justrojie

      But do they swallow?

      Reply
      1. utahan15 Avatar
        utahan15

        sometimes i do not. and breathing well. when lindsay put the paste on my red legs. ooooh it burned but the pedi was heaven. omg. i kid you not.

        Reply
  5. Violet Lentz Avatar
    Violet Lentz

    Life was slower- and at least in my world less frustrating. Loved this!

    Reply
    1. justrojie Avatar
      justrojie

      I’d like things to be slower

      Reply
  6. M. Avatar
    M.

    One thing I don’t miss is having to go to the bank and wait and wait and wait for the opportunity to cash my paycheck

    Reply
    1. justrojie Avatar
      justrojie

      Oh damn I can imagine the lines being long

      Reply
  7. Jake Avatar
    Jake

    I remember antennas. I grew up out in the country. Could barely get signals sometimes. VHF signals were relatively strong but UHF were weak, very weak at times. Here’s a link to a documentary about UHF: https://youtu.be/tHe6ar-X2cQ?si=io-dQ15vRfyTCTgv

    Reply
    1. justrojie Avatar
      justrojie

      Thanks I’ll have to check it out as I’m not familiar with uhf and vhf

      Reply
      1. Jake Avatar
        Jake

        Actually it’s a movie by weird al yankovic. It’s stupid but entertaining.

        Reply
        1. justrojie Avatar
          justrojie

          Ooh ok!!

          Reply
      2. Jake Avatar
        Jake

        They are broadcast signals transmitted the antenna picked up those signals and unscrambled them to make the picture. VHF was stronger than a UHF signal.

        Reply
        1. justrojie Avatar
          justrojie

          Good to know

          Reply
  8. Nicholas K F Matte Avatar
    Nicholas K F Matte

    Ya, nice! Here we went underground with electric wires much but for Little Italy for instance, they kept the wires above. Expensive process all this.

    Reply
    1. justrojie Avatar
      justrojie

      that’s cool

      Reply
  9. ibarynt Avatar
    ibarynt

    This is wonderful.

    The antenna era was an adventure in roof climbing. The adults half shouting directions 🤣

    Reply
    1. justrojie Avatar
      justrojie

      lol i wish i coulda seen it

      Reply
      1. ibarynt Avatar
        ibarynt

        Oh it was fun.. a little to the right, left, stop, yes, not that way… and sometimes banging the TV and it works 🤣

        Reply
        1. justrojie Avatar
          justrojie

          hahaha i think tv’s these days would break

          Reply
          1. ibarynt Avatar
            ibarynt

            Today’s things are use and throw, not repairs, which is sad.

          2. justrojie Avatar
            justrojie

            it really is!!! and things don’t last long either

  10. Rob McShane Avatar
    Rob McShane

    Although less intense and seemingly slower, life still had its ads and disads…. you just had more space to breathe…

    Reply
    1. justrojie Avatar
      justrojie

      breathing is good

      Reply
      1. Rob McShane Avatar
        Rob McShane

        More sympathetic nervous system action 😊

        Reply
  11. ianmdudley Avatar
    ianmdudley

    Apparently I missed this when it first posted… I like it, and not just for the picture!

    Reply
    1. justrojie Avatar
      justrojie

      hah!!

      Reply

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