"position & hold" going away

Something I heard on the radio a few months ago while overflying KCMA:

PLANE: Camarillo Tower, Cessna 123 at runway... uh... twenty six.
TOWER: Cessna 123, say your intentions.
PLANE: I'd like to take off.
TOWER: Cessna 123, position and hold, runway two six.
PLANE: Um, I'm at runway two six.
TOWER: Roger, position and hold on runway two six.
PLANE: Well, my position is runway two six, and I don't understand what
you mean.
TOWER: Confirm, Cessna 123, you're at runway two six and you're NOT on
the runway?
PLANE: Yeah, and I'm holding my position here.
TOWER: Drive onto the runway and hold your position, Cessna 123.
PLANE: (pilot keys transmit button, but there's a long silence as he
tries to wrap his head around the instruction
until.....................huh?
TOWER: (pause, teeth gnashing sounds inserted by my imagination.)
Cessna 123, cleared for takeoff, runway two six.
PLANE: Cleared for takeoff, Cessna 123......(five second pause, then he
keys up again).....oh, and I'm departing to the right.

Sometimes, I think that radio conversations like this are staged for
the benefit of making nearby student pilots feel better about their
radio work.