Monthly Archives: March 2026

First there was Callin’ Oates. Then there was Phil Call-Ins.  Just in case you’re wondering– anyone who dials these numbers can hear a telephone quality version of their favorite Hall and Oates and/or Phil Collins song.  Recently, I discovered that calling a THIRD number will do the same thing as dropping a quarter in the jukebox to hear a Tommy Tutone classic WITH THE SAME NUMBER!!! Voices on the phone already sound like they are coming from a transistor radio, so these songs are just as good now as they were when I first heard them! Just pick up your phone and call:
Callin’ Oates: 719-266-2837 (719-26-OATES)
Phil Call-Ins: 424-888-7445 (424-888-PHIL)
567-867-5309

The sky clears, the voices stop, and ET’s finger glows when healthy word pasta sticks to the brain wall.  A patient asked me where his clinic was earlier today.  I looked him up in the system & pointed toward a green extension we could both see outside (his eyes followed in that direction), then I told him the name of the building (he nodded knowingly, not in a blank way) I watched as he walked away from me and went right to it.  The number of times this DOESN’T happen would astound you, but when I throw that pasta at someone’s brain wall, and it sticks, it is truly gratifying.

There’s something about certain overcast days that take me back to a laundromat in Seneca where Mom is loading a washer, and a jukebox is playing Chuck E’s in Love or any song by Steely Dan. If I let my eyes roll back, I can see the wood grain, smell the detergent, and hear the music coming from a tinny jukebox. Hello March.