This Made Reddit Tear Up
A Reddit user asked just that on a post showing off images of an old black box they had found in the kitchen of the home they just bought. It had a faded beige button, a little green light and no place for labels.
The post read, “Found this in the kitchen of the house we bought. When I push the white bar it lights up. What is this?“
A very quick comment told the poster that it was an old garage door opener which appeared to be from the late 1970’s or early 1980’s. Those home remotes operated on a simple radio frequency, employed one button and basic circuitry to open the garage doors.
The poster was told: “Your question was honest and understandable. A garage door opener of today is nothing like that of about 40 years ago. It probably means you are either young or this is your first garage. In any case, congratulations on your new home.”
The OP then made the post a lovely thing with this answer, “This was so beautiful to read. Yes, My first home. First time I ever owned a car. And now, first remote controlled garage. 🥹 thank you kind person.”
How the post went from identifying an electronic device to sharing a moment of life together can be exactly described. Traditionally, the garage door opener was more than a simple device of operation. It represented new beginnings.
When the Garage Door Opens More Than a Garage Door
Another person replied, “I am so proud of OP on their first home, but I can just imagine what the neighbors were thinking looking confused why the garage door kept opening and closing with no reason after their new neighbors moved in.”
Old remotes like that operated on fixed frequencies. This is kind of neat, very generic in nature, and when the button is used, possible appropriate opening of other garage doors in the area if their frequencies meet. This is a common oddity of the older tech.
More Than an Old Piece of Technology
This box was not simply a useless piece of old technology. It represented convenience and technology of another date to someone decades ago. And for OP, it put a meaningful tie with other acquaintances, who had probably experienced a similar advancement in their environment.
Things like this old garage door opener, hold stories. This particular story as told shows the continuity there is from the old time to the new, that of the former owner of it to someone entering their first ownership chapter.
A Time To Remember
The remote is still useful, still lights up and still does its job. That in itself is enough to produce a long thread of supportive, nostalgic and humorous opinions.
It did good for something more than opening a garage door. It opened a small, generalization of celebration on progress, memory and community.
