reporters: common sense optional

a reporter from a respected newspaper just phoned here looking for my dad, so i gave her his cell number ###-###-#### (it's really not a secret, but i find it tacky to mass distribute someone's personal number). she thanked me and hung up. 2 minutes later i received a phone call from the same lady telling me the number didn't work...i went through the possibilities with her until she said she got the "we're sorry, your call can not be completed as dialed. please hang up and try your call again," message.

i was dumbfounded. so i asked a question i thought i knew the answer to ~
"well, did you press 1 before dialing the number?" \ "no, do i need to do that?" \
"yes, ma'am, the first 3 numbers i gave you are a different area code, so you need a 1 in front of the number" \ "oh, ok. i'll try that."