We established a code and a routine to be used in case of emergencies. If my mom needed to get in touch, she would send me a pager message identifying one of the big Vegas hotels. Our code for the Mirage, for example, was "7917111"—the Mirage phone number less the area code. Of course, the area code is the same for all the Vegas hotels, and leaving it off might make the location a tiny bit more difficult to guess for anyone who might be intercepting our pager communications. Another part of the code indicated urgency: "1" meant "At your convenience, please call me"; "2" was "Call me as soon as possible"; and "3" signaled "Call me immediately, it’s an emergency." When I was the one trying to reach her , I’d just page her with a random number and priority code, and then she’d send back the number for the hotel she was at.