I hoped Ramis didn't answer

These stories of people trying to call God based on the phone number shown in Bruce Almighty sound ridiculous to my adult mind, but then I remember Ghost Busters.

I was 11 years old when I saw it and noticed at some point in the film you could clearly make out the number to call Ghost Busters. My first instinct was that I wanted to call the phone number when I got home. I really thought that Bill Murray would answer, we'd talk about things, maybe hang out someday as pals. Bill and me. All because I noticed the number.

I couldn't remember the number by the time I got home, so the following week I rode my bike back to the cineplex and saw the film again. It was a 555 number, but I didn't know that meant the call would be met with either a disconnected signal or the offical time. I thought was so clever, as if I was the only one that caught it on a billboard or ad within the film. I rode home quickly, happy that my brilliant plan was working.

It wasn't a total wash, I learned that 555 numbers were bogus and I never tried to call Jenny at 867-5309 when the Tommy Tutone hit came out. Now that I think about it, I always wanted to send letters to authors after I finished books I liked, asking them when a follow-up was coming out or why plot points didn't go in different ways. I never did that because most books back then gave you a general address to the publisher.

I wonder what it's like to be a modern day author with your email address in the book jacket? They must get a lot of loony email from kids and psycho fans.