Sometimes you just need somewhere to say what’s on your mind.
That is the idea behind the Philly Phone Project, a public social experiment created by Philadelphia videographer Dan Horan, known online as @realfallrisk.
In one recent video, a young caller used the phone to speak to someone he never got the chance to meet: his grandmother.
Standing beside the phone, he begins simply with, “Hey Nana,” before talking to her as though she were there listening.
He shares that he has heard stories about her from his family and says people speak highly of her. What follows is a quiet, emotional conversation filled with the kind of words he might have wanted to share if they had ever gotten the chance to meet.
By the end, he leaves her with three simple words: “I love you.”
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The moment quickly connected with viewers, many of whom shared stories about grandparents and loved ones they lost before getting the chance to really know them.
PhillyVoice reports that Horan began setting up the analog phone in Philadelphia neighborhoods as a way to encourage strangers to speak openly. The phone is connected to recording equipment, but there is no one on the other end. People simply pick it up and say whatever is on their mind.
Horan told the outlet that the idea is basically “a voicemail for Philly,” giving people a place to talk while others listen later through the videos he shares online. PhillyVoice reports that the project first took off in LOVE Park and quickly drew millions of views.
For one young man, that public phone became a place to have a conversation years in the making.
He may never have gotten to meet his Nana, but for a few minutes, he finally got to tell her what was on his heart.
