From: cozzlab@garnet.berkeley.edu ()
Newsgroups: rec.org.sca
Subject: Re: SCA character (was: OOP dancing)
Date: 2 Nov 1992 21:46:57 GMT
Organization: University of California, Berkeley
NNTP-Posting-Host: garnet.berkeley.edu

In article <Bx3rDq.Avp@usenet.ucs.indiana.edu> tbarnes@silver.ucs.indiana.edu (thomas wrentmore barnes) writes:
>
[Once the King of the East had to telephone Yang the Nauseating and
didn't know his mundane name.  The D.A. operator asked the other
operators, and one of them knew him.]
>
>       I would be most interested to hear if this story is true.

Well, it easily could be, considering that the following IS TRUE.

[I was waiting for Hal to post this, but maybe he's too busy...]

A while back Hal's mundane employer, Pacific Bell, had a strike.  Now
when this happens, Pac Bell calls on all its managers that used to be
field employees (and there are a lot of these, because PacBell is rather
good at promoting up from the ranks) to go back and do whatever it was
they used to do; and managers go and splice lines and vice-presidents
go and drive trucks and it's all very democratic.

People like Hal, who didn't have any previous field job with PacBell,
got assigned whatever (a) was left over and (b) they could learn in a
hurry, which usually meant DIRECTORY ASSISTANCE.

I'll leave it to Hal, if he chooses, to tell his large compendium of D.A.
horror stories.  (Keep in mind that a sizeable number of people who
call D.A. do so because they can't read.)

Anyway, here was Hal doing D.A. one lonely evening and someone called up
and asked for the phone number for Leslie Fish.

You all know of Leslie Fish, famed filksinger and guitar-manipulator,
whom a consortium of fans brings out to Pennsic every year.  For reasons
of her own Leslie _never_ has a listed number.  Now, Hal knows Leslie and
knew where she was living at the time, and with whom, and could have found
_their_ phone number... but instead he went through the motions and told
the caller there was no listing.

"Oh, gosh!" agonized the caller.  "I've just got to get hold of her!"

"Well..." Hal said, "uh, what makes it so urgent?"

"I'm her ride to a concert this weekend, and I've got to tell her where to
meet us!"

"Oh," Hal said.  "Well, in that case, why don't you call (number) and explain
to the person there why you need to get hold of her.  Maybe she can help."

The number in question was that of Hal's sister Andrea, co-owner of Firebird
Arts and Music, the company Leslie records with.  So the caller called
Andrea, Andrea screened her story and decided it was OK, gave her Leslie's
number, Leslie got to the concert in plenty of time, and they all lived
happily ever after.

It wouldn't work nowadays, because Andrea moved to An Tir a couple of years
ago....

Mind you, both what Hal did and what the D.A. operator in Ann Arbor did
were STRICTLY AGAINST PHONE COMPANY POLICY.  But I won't tell on them if
you won't.


Dorothea of Caer-Myrddin                               Dorothy J. Heydt
Mists/Mists/West                                              Albany CA
Argent, a cross forme'e sable

Disclaimer: This is the Cozzarelli Lab's account, not mine--but I don't
think anybody else ever reads it.