All Episodes
Previous Next
Dec. 21, 1999 - Art Bell
40:52
Coast to Coast AM with Art Bell - Open Lines - show ends early
| Copy link to current segment

Time Text
♪♪♪ From the high desert and the great American Southwest, I
bid you all good evening and or good morning, wherever you may be across this great land of ours.
From the Tahitian and Hawaiian Islands in the west, eastward to the Caribbean and the U.S.
Virgin Islands, south into South America, north all the way to the pole, and worldwide on the Internet, maybe?
This is Coast to Coast AM, and I'm Art Bell.
Well, hello there, everybody.
I have a rather unusual announcement to make.
There's probably not going to be a talk show from me tonight, because we have no long-distance service, as nearly as we can figure out, since about 5.30.
5.30.
Specific time today.
All long-distance service to Pahrump, Nevada, where I live, is down.
Down, down, down.
So, I'm talking to you in the blind, as it were.
The only calls that I think that I could take would be from other people here in Verrump, Nevada.
Nobody from the outside world is able to get through.
The entire Sprint service, we understand, is down, and that is a long-distance carrier that provides service to Las Vegas.
We have been experiencing high winds, really high winds, all day long.
And, uh, so it's just, it's, it's beyond weird.
That's all I can tell you.
Um, I'm gonna hang in for as long as I can.
And, uh, let's see if I can get this done.
And, uh, try and, try and see if it comes back up, but I really don't expect it to.
They're running a backup tape at my network, uh, which on my instruction they will run.
But as of right now, I'm talking to you totally in the blind.
Unable to take any phone calls at all, with the exception of those here in Pahrump, Nevada.
Now, if you're in Pahrump, Nevada, what the hell?
Give me a call.
You're the only ones I can talk to.
I'm talking to, when you think about it, the entire nation, America, beyond Canada, the islands to the west, the Caribbean, but you can't talk to me.
I'm wondering if perhaps we're having a little Y2K test or something.
I have no idea, but we're now going on certainly in excess of five hours without any long-distance service here.
It's really, really weird.
We were due to have Whitley Strieber here in the first hour because there are obvious developments regarding the book we wrote.
The coming global super storm.
In Venezuela now, as I'm sure you're aware, you've seen the photographs on CNN.
There may be 30,000 people dead in Venezuela.
Some of the worst flooding, maybe the worst in the history of Venezuela.
Tens of thousands of survivors evacuating the hardest hit areas.
About 150,000 people's homes are gone.
They've only found 1,500 bodies so far, but they're suspecting as many as 30,000 may have perished.
Wow.
And this is a definite continuing indicator of what we have written about in the coming global super storm, which again, I plug, you can get on my website.
Just go to my website and you can go to Amazon.com and order that book.
And you better do it because it has gone out so fast.
The book has sold so fast that there may be a crunch on getting it to you.
So you really need to get it ordered if you're going to.
It's taking off like a banshee.
And I want to thank all of you for that.
But beyond that, it's a very, very important book.
We are obviously undergoing a climate change, and a fairly rapid one at that, and that is what the coming global superstorm addresses.
It is exactly that, a rapid, sudden, violent climate change.
And so, I would urge you to grab that book and take a read.
It's a good read.
It will scare the hell out of you.
Uh, but maybe a little bit of that is appropriate.
And by the way, those of you who have not prepared for Y2K... Prepare.
Let me, uh, let me do the only thing that I can do right now, and that is open a line for people here in Pahrump, Nevada.
If you're able to hear me on one of our stations... Actually, if I wasn't on the air right now, I wouldn't even know it.
Because I have no talkback to my network.
No lines I can call them on.
So, if you're in Pahrump, Nevada, call me at 727-1222.
Let me give out that number again.
I'm just going to try it, just on the off chance that some of you here in Pahrump are able to hear me.
And that number in Pahrump is 727-1222.
Or, 727-1295.
727-1222 or 727-1295.
You'll notice I'm not giving any prefixes because nobody, there's no point.
So 727-1295.
So, 727-1295.
And that would apply to Pahrump only.
And I see those lines are ringing, so let me do a quick commercial break here.
Boy, I'll tell you folks, I've been through some strange stuff in radio, but this one takes the cake.
We'll be right back.
If you want to lose weight, just eating low-fat is not the answer anymore.
You see, new research shows that carbohydrates found in foods like breads, potatoes...
Alright, once again to you in the blind, I'm Art Bell and this is Coast to Coast AM, and I think we are indeed Coast to Coast, but the only people who can call us are here in Pahrump, Nevada.
And I'm giving out two phone numbers for that right now.
727-1222 and 727-1295.
Now, let's talk to a couple of Republicans.
That's all I can do right now.
Hello there.
First-time callers, area code 775-727-1222.
Um, we don't want you to give your number on the air.
No, I'm not going to give my dog's number on the air.
Okay.
No, it's just a station out, so I'm... Oh, in other words, you're listening to 840.
That's right.
I usually listen to 770, that's Kate, Bob, or something.
KKOB in Albuquerque is what you mean.
Yeah, that's right.
I get you all the time.
So you're probably just down the road from me or something.
Yes, I am.
I'm about a block away from Bella Vista, but I won't say where I am.
Well, that's close enough.
Tell everybody about the wind we've been having.
Oh, my goodness sake.
The wind is terrible.
It blows my blinds down and my porch almost came down.
And the sand is flying all around and the doctor going crazy.
They want my big black bone go out at all because he's scared of the wind.
God, this is terrible.
You know, I used to live in Chicago and when I come into my bedroom and in the house from outside,
I hear this, whoo, this wind like it's 20 blows there and the wind is blowing like in Chicago.
Like in Chicago, huh?
Yeah, it sounds just like it, the way the wind comes around the corner.
It is really something.
And you've noticed you have no long-distance phone service?
No, and I thought for a minute I wouldn't be able to get you.
I tried to call you on one old number, but I guess it was the wrong number.
But anyway, I should love your program, and I've ordered your books, and I love your books.
Well, thank you.
You're really going to love Global Superstorm.
Oh, I got to get that, but right now my car is on the blink, and I'm five miles from Smith's.
If you know what I mean, I walk.
You walk to Smith's?
You know what?
I think my wife may have picked you up a couple of times and given you a ride.
Oh, really?
Well, I don't walk that every day, but I have to take a cab back when I got groceries, but you know I've been walking
it. I'm losing weight!
I did that walk. It's good.
You know what? You know what?
What?
I think my wife may have picked you up a couple of times and given you a ride.
Oh, really?
Yeah, I think she might have.
Oh, I don't ride. I think she gets tired.
Well, she would not have told you who she is.
No, I know, but now I recognize her.
Yeah, black hair, long black hair.
Long black hair, that's right.
Oh, my God!
That was Ramona.
Oh, Thomas, thank you very much, or I'll be walking again one day.
I'll be doggone done.
I thought, you know, one time I walked up here, and after all, I'm not even hitchhiking, you know.
Who knows what's going to pick me up?
So I said, here comes a car.
And it stopped, and I said, well, should I or not?
To myself, I'm talking.
I always talk to myself.
Anyway, here was a woman.
She said, can I give you a lift?
I said, sure.
Well, you would know it would be her because she's kind of Asian-looking.
She's part Filipino.
Yeah, I got her look.
I didn't at that time get her look.
I didn't get her look, and I don't hear it too much, but I hear you.
You do sound a little bit different, but I'm so glad.
Talk to you?
I've been wanting to talk to you for... Well, I just moved here a year ago.
Okay, well now you've done it.
Listen, I got a scoot, but... Yeah, I know it.
But thank you so much.
Oh, and thank your wife for me, too.
I will take care.
I'll be on the lookout for her.
You take care.
Okay, bye-bye.
Bye-bye.
I remember my wife telling me about this lady who was walking all the way to town, an older lady that she would pick up, and sure enough, there she is.
It's a small world, and when you're in Pahrump, Nevada, it's a really small world.
So again, I'm opening, and I see I'm getting lots of Pahrump calls.
Hello there, you're on the air.
Hello.
Hi.
I'm at Game Bird in Pahrump Valley.
Have you noticed that we have no phone service?
Yes, I have.
I tried to call Las Vegas.
I'm longtime Lister, first time caller.
I'm back to the old Dr. D. Charlie.
Oh, that's a long time ago.
Yeah.
I'll tell you what else we have nothing of right now.
You can't use a credit card.
In other words, those machines depend on calling Yeah, I understand.
You know, we've had winds since Sunday.
Oh, I know.
It's been wicked.
Real bad.
And I tried to call you the 4th of July, 1998.
I tried to get in.
I couldn't get in.
I was standing in the backyard between 9.30 and 10, 4th of July evening, looking at the fireworks, looking north.
All of a sudden from the direction of Wheeler Pass Road, up toward Las Vegas in other words, yes, Wheeler Pass Road, looking east, I saw like a green particle beam that went over to the NOPAW.
Yeah, I've seen it.
Well, I don't know if I saw that specific one, but I've seen exactly what you're talking about.
Yeah, whoosh.
Whoosh is right.
Yes, real fast.
Well, people outside don't understand.
Because of, of course, where we are, Area 51 is just over the hill from us.
That was the direction.
Yeah, we see a lot of really weird stuff out here.
Perumpians see weird stuff.
So I called the Sheriff's Department.
And what'd they say?
No reports.
So the next morning I got a phone call about 10 o'clock.
A friend of mine that lives over on Thousand Air.
They're horrible.
He says, hey, you know, I was sitting out on the patio watching the fireworks downtown.
He says, all of a sudden, I said, yeah, Green Bean.
Yes.
Right.
Well, listen, hey, it's good to talk to you.
OK, my friend, take care of that wind out there.
You take care.
OK, bye bye.
There's another Perumpian.
And so the lines I have open for Perump right now, and I might just fool around with it a little bit this hour.
Our 727-1222 and 727-1295.
And on that line, you're on the air.
Hello.
Eric, this is Mark.
I'm not too far from you here in Pahrump.
Hi, Mark.
How are you?
Pretty good.
Anyway, I just did a quick scan and it looks like we can pick you up on the number of channels that you're on.
Right.
It's just that I can't talk to anybody outside of town.
Yeah.
Anyway, I've got you in 600.
Uh, that would be Cogo in San Diego.
Okay, and 770?
Click KOB in Albuquerque.
790?
You're testing me here.
KABC in Los Angeles.
I'm sorry.
No, keep going.
840.
KXNT in Las Vegas.
890.
That would be... My parents are in St.
George.
St.
George, Utah, yeah.
They've got you and also Como 1000.
Como 1000 in Seattle.
That's what I could pick up.
So you're hearing me in all those places.
I'm trying to.
Tell them.
Tell them about our wind.
Not particularly enjoyable.
I just had a moment a little bit ago.
This has been the wind from hell.
It's been going on and on and on relentlessly.
Of course.
But I'll let you go.
I just thought I'd let you know where I picked you up.
I appreciate that, sir.
All right.
Take care.
Have a good day.
Yeah, you too.
Right now, Perumpians have really got the ability to get through as they never have had before.
So on whatever station you're listening to me on, if you're in Pahrump, give us a call.
Because that's the only place that can get through to me right now.
On my first time caller line, you're on the air.
Hi.
Hi, how are you doing tonight?
Well, you can tell.
Right, right.
Well, I haven't been able to get ahold of you since you left, or hear your show, since you left the FM station.
Oh?
And I went and got, you know, I ordered one of those CC radios that didn't help.
It didn't help?
Nope.
You should be able to, gee, you ought to be able to get me on.
Did you hear the last guy I was on?
Well, yeah.
I have a little tiny clock radio that I've had for 20 years.
Now, I've just kept going up and down, and finally I picked you up.
But, I mean, I went over here to our little electronic store that we have here in Prompton, I got picked up a radio there tonight with one of those loop antennas and came over.
I'm off of 372 just on the way to Shoshone.
Right.
And I don't know if there's a difference in the area of problem, but the CC radio wouldn't pick you up out of 840.
And I tried that loop antenna and everything else.
Even that wouldn't work, huh?
That wouldn't even work.
You must be in some kind of weird dead spot.
You know, just my luck.
But we got a computer for this Christmas for my daughter.
And we're going to get on the net here next week.
So I guess what I'll do is, just because I get tired of chasing you down on the AM, it keeps fading in and out and in and out.
I wonder if they're doing some little Y2K test that didn't go quite right.
I don't know.
I don't know.
But I figure when I get the computer and the internet, I'll just dial you in there.
Well, that's one way.
But as the last fellow said, you really ought to be able to get us over a wide swath of
stations if you've got a good radio.
But apparently you're in some sort of extremely weird dead area.
It's really strange because that's the one, Bob Crane's radio, that should have been it.
Oh absolutely.
It should have been the end of the story right there.
And I don't know.
Well I'll tell you what we've been going through that might explain it.
We have been going through sun flares.
Not only are we having Y2K, but we are having extreme sun flare activity right now.
Solar storms.
And that would sort of take everything out, sir.
Yeah, well... Listen, I appreciate your call.
You hanging in there in the wind?
Oh, yeah.
Oh, yeah.
I've got everything tied down.
I mean, we've been here for a while, so we know, you know... What I can do.
Yeah.
Yeah.
I lost two... When I first came out here, I lost two awnings, right?
Yep.
I figured that one out, though.
All right.
Listen, thank you very much.
You're welcome.
You take care.
And apparently, you're hearing me well enough to call in, to know to call in.
So, if you're here in Pahrump, Feel free to give me a call right now because you're my only hope, actually.
And there are two numbers that you can use here in Pahrump.
And that's 727-1222 and 727-1295.
Let me give those one more time.
727-1222 or 727-1295.
Pahrump, Nevada only.
and 727-1295.
Let me give those one more time.
727-1222 or 727-1295.
Pahrump, Nevada only.
But I guess I don't really need to say that because you are the only ones that can hear me right now.
Let's break at the bottom of the hour and come back and do I Don't Know What.
This is really weird.
I'm not sure what I'm doing.
Because he was telling everyone in town, all the wrong things he just found.
And the reason they, always strayed.
He talked and talked, and I heard him say.
say that she had the longest whiteest hair, prettiest green eyes anywhere, and the reason
ain't got a greatest flame. No, I smile with tears inside of her brain, but I wish no more
of it. I'm a woman who's never been in love, and I'm a woman who's never been in love.
Tell me what a heartache you've never been in, but I'm a woman who's never been in love.
I'm a woman who's never been in love, and I'm a woman who's never been in love.
Please find me a heart that I can give. Tell me what a heartache you've never been in,
but I'm a woman who's never been in love. I'm a woman who's never been in love.
Tell me what a heartache you've never been in, but I'm a woman who's never been in love.
This is Coast to Coast AM from the Kingdom of Niles.
And you'll notice once again, here's Art Bell.
Thank you, that's Ross Mitchell.
KOH's Ross Mitchell, my announcer.
And you'll notice that we gave out no numbers in that break.
Because you can't call me.
I'm talking to you in the blind.
All long-distance service from the valley I live in to the outside world has been down since about 5.30 this afternoon.
So nobody can call me, except people here in Pahrump, Nevada.
And we'll continue to talk to people here in Pahrump through the top of the hour, but if by then we don't have long-distance service restored, we're going to go ahead and go to tape, is what we're going to do.
It's really weird.
It's a one-way night, except for the people here in Pahrump.
I've been through a lot in my career, but this one's new to me.
A one-way talk show.
Maybe we're getting, I'm getting a little taste, Parampa's getting a little taste of Y2K.
Who knows?
We have no idea, actually, why the service is out right now.
We are having extremely high winds here in the desert.
And that may be the cause, or it may be something else.
But, you know, whether it's the weather, or it's Y2K, having a little storable food around is a really good idea.
Now, if I wanted to call J. Michael Stevens right now, I couldn't do it.
But you can.
And I would advise it.
They're saying, let's see, what is today's date?
The 22nd.
They're saying, well actually the 21st going into the 22nd here.
And they're saying that if you order before December 28th, a few days from now, they will get food to you before January 1st, if you have decided it's a good idea to prepare you and your family for whatever may be coming.
So you call J. Michael Stevens because I can't.
The number is 1-800-377-0700.
We give that to you again.
1-800-377-0700.
1-800-377-0700.
We give that to you again.
1-800-377-0700.
This season, why not send someone a truly unique...
Alright!
How weird can it get, huh?
The winds are howling out there.
The telephone service is completely dead from our town.
And whether it is a Y2K test or not, I think we're getting a little taste of what could happen.
Now, I'm able to talk to people via ham radio.
I have a radio.
And I am able to communicate from here, but otherwise we are cut off here in the valley, and have been since about 5.30 in the afternoon.
So, let me continue to take calls from Pahrump here for about another 20 minutes, and if we have not restored phone service to the outside world by then, I guess we'll go to tape.
The Pahrump numbers... I've never done this, so it's kind of fun.
The prompt number is 727-1222.
7-2-7-1-2-9-5.
And so here we go.
On the first time caller line, you're on the air.
Hi.
Hi.
How are you doing?
Good.
How are you?
You're here in Pahrump, I take it?
Yeah.
This is Dave.
I'm about five miles north of you right now.
Okay.
Hey, Dave.
How are you doing in the wind?
Oh, pretty good.
You know, Out here, I've seen the wind blow for three days straight.
I've seen it hold a piece of carpet up on its handling fence for three days straight.
You talking about these last three days?
No, this is, I think, two years ago.
Two years ago.
This time of year, though.
Oh, man.
It's a north wind and it is wicked.
And I have faith it's coming from the north.
Yeah, that's right.
I've got a feeling that it may have blown over some sort of microwave connection or, you know, I'm just guessing.
Hmm.
But have you tried to call anybody out long distance, even in Las Vegas?
Yeah, I get my cell phone.
My cell phone works.
Yeah, cell phones are working for some reason.
That's all right now.
People have been calling me and I've been passing through messages to Vegas.
Have you?
Yeah.
You know, I sure miss you guys.
You supplied Joe's Pizza with that oil.
You remember that olive oil?
That was good.
This is a story that the rest of the country has not heard of.
My wife and I went to France, and when we were in Paris, we went to this little tiny Italian restaurant, and they brought out a cheese pizza, and I thought, man, how bland, a cheese pizza.
And then the guy brings out this bottle full of all
zillions of different things and he puts it on the table and I tried some of it
I put it on the pizza and I went wow this is really good and so while we were sitting there in the restaurant in
Paris We my wife sort of started writing down she could recognize
each ingredients floating in the bottle It made this incredible topping for a pizza.
And when we got home, she managed to duplicate the recipe.
And that's what we took down to Joe's Pizza, which of course is now closed.
Yeah.
Just to let people try it and see what they thought.
Oh, that was excellent.
And we called it Pizza Punch.
There's about six different flavors.
That's right.
Yeah.
Yeah, yeah.
And so you tried it, huh?
Yeah, it was real good.
I enjoyed it.
I know.
In fact, I hoarded some.
You hoarded it?
Yeah, before they closed, I kept a little bit of it, but I've run out since then.
You know, it was a project that we had in mind to try and actually market that because it would go crazy across the country.
It would.
And it did.
And nobody else except that one little tiny restaurant in Paris and my wife know how to make it.
That's it.
It's full of about, I don't know, 10 or 12 ingredients.
My wife would have to tell you, but there's... I've never tasted... I don't eat pizza without it.
I've got an endless supply here.
Uh-oh.
Well, that's because I'm married to it.
Yeah.
Well, listen, thanks for the call, sir.
Okay, thank you.
You take care.
Yeah, that was pizza punch, and I've never really told you about that.
That's what we decided to call it.
If we ever put the stuff on the market, we would have to somehow travel back to Paris.
And find this little tiny Italian restaurant, I think it was about like 20 miles outside of Paris, at the center of Paris, and thank the guy or compensate him in some way if we ever decided to market what we call Pizza Ponte.
It's the damnedest thing on pizza you have ever tasted.
It is superb, absolutely superb, and the world doesn't know about it yet.
Well, they do now, sort of.
So he hoarded a little something.
Wild Card Line, you're on the air.
Hi.
How you doing, Art?
Well, it's kind of weird tonight, sir.
Yeah.
I'm from just north of the dairy.
Just north of the dairy farm here?
Yes, sir.
I see.
I'll tell you what's interesting in the audience that's going to love this.
We have a cat list, kind of a mailing list out here of Y2K readiness.
Oh, yes.
And, you know, everybody went offline and went crazy and everybody was going nuts because all the corrupt folks couldn't get online.
Yeah, I guess most of the dial-up services are down.
Yeah, well, for some reason we're getting mail-in now.
But this isn't a little taste of Y2K, this is a big gulp of it.
The cell phones are working.
A friend of mine went up to the winery and had dinner and tried to pay for it with a credit card and that's when we found out Well, I found out also when you mentioned that lady you were calling from Smiths, I was just coming out of there and going, oh, that's why that credit card wasn't working.
Oh, it's not working up there, huh?
It's not working.
The credit cards aren't working up there either, so it's not working anywhere.
But one of the things was having a problem.
We couldn't get online.
The password wasn't working.
I tried to call tech support.
Couldn't get out.
And I'm going, oh boy, this is not good.
And what was going on was the list that we were working on was trying to tell people to get BBSs working again for Y2K in case something goes wrong.
And I had to put out a message saying, guys, forget those BBSs, because if you can't get out long distance, you're stuck.
I hear a phone ringing.
No, that was more mail coming in.
Oh, that's mail coming in, I see.
Um, for some odd reason I've got an internet connection.
I have no idea how, because everything else between here and Las Vegas hardwire is down, so I have no idea how I'm achieving an internet connection.
Well, somehow this local provider, we won't mention its name, is getting through, but it's the one that's parked over at the power company.
Huh, I wonder if they've got a separate microwave link.
It's really weird.
You're right, sir.
We're not getting a little taste.
We're getting a giant gulp.
Oh, boy.
How's the wind treating you?
The wind is not a problem.
The dust, I'm used to eating that.
So, that's okay.
You're talking to some hardcore Perumbians here.
It was so nice because I always wanted to call one day and say, call me from west of Mount Charleston.
Well, excellent.
Thank you very much.
I'm glad you called.
Take care.
I'm calling from west of Mount Charleston.
That's right out here.
I shouldn't pound.
I just heard some crackling in my audio, so I guess I better not pound on my own desk.
So that's all we've got right now for entertainment folks or the people right here in town.
people right here in town. Again, 727-1222 if you're in Verump or 727-1295. Verump's
opportunity to actually talk to the entire world.
And on my first time on our line, you're on the air high.
Hi Art, this is Roger and Prompt.
Hi Roger, how are you doing?
Pretty good.
Hanging in?
Certainly.
When did you notice we didn't have any phone service to the outside world?
Well actually I've been noticing off and on for the last couple of days where we've been running into problems with it.
I contacted the telephone company because I happen to work in the industry that provides the switching equipment.
Oh really?
Oh, then maybe you're in a good position to tell me what you think might have gone wrong.
Well, it appears to me now, I don't know if there was, you know, some type of catastrophic failure in the outside plant.
Most everything is either on fiber now or going through the microwave system.
Now, if it was microwave, I could imagine these incredible winds we're having, you know, turned a dish or blew one over somewhere.
Yeah, on the fiber, you know, you have a possibility of it being cut, but we have self-healing rings most of the time anymore that we install, so that... Self-healing rings?
Yeah, if you get a cut on one end, instead of launching the laser the short direction, say like straight from here to Vegas... Right.
We turn around and send it up through Reno and bring it back down into Vegas.
Oh, no kidding!
So, in other words, it could have been rerouted?
Mm-hmm.
Well, then that means... Let's see, what does that mean?
Well, I'm not sure what they have working in the area right now.
I know what they have in store for the future that's coming through the area, which would be... I know they're putting in fiber.
...getting it out of here.
Or we can also go up to what they call a 32 lambda wavelength, signals where we are launching lasers both directions simultaneously on the same fiber.
Well then, if they had alternate switching possibilities, what kind of catastrophic failure can you imagine that would do this?
Well, one of the things that I would suspect is that, you know, there could be, I've noticed a problem, it appeared to be a switching problem earlier in the week, where I was starting to run into a lot of trunking blockages, which is what you would normally be routed through on a long-distance call.
Either from here to Vegas or anywhere in the world.
So trunk down.
Yeah, but if the trunk was down between here and Las Vegas, I'm fine.
I understand.
Well, it's not just one trunk.
The trunk groups are controlled by a master controller in the switch.
I don't want to get too technical because it'd be baffling probably to some people.
The only baffling part to me right now is why you said they could switch and head things toward Reno.
Right, but if they had a catastrophic failure on the switch here in Pahrump, you know, it would automatically block the traffic period because we still process local calls, but as far as the trucking abilities on the toll calls, the long distance calls, we can block that real easy.
Wow.
It's a fair sized machine that's in here that's a computer but you know it has a lot of functions going on simultaneously as your desktop does.
Sure.
And if you get one glitch in there, you know, they can isolate it to one area.
It could affect just the trunking portion of the switch.
It could affect local dial tone.
Have you ever seen it?
I too noticed that in the last couple of days, for very, very short periods, it would go out.
But not more than about 30 minutes at the longest.
It's been out since about 5 30 tonight now.
So yeah, I'm It sounds like there's been some kind of major interruption for in and outbound traffic.
We haven't received any out of town calls this evening.
You're not going to.
Sometimes you can get it one way.
You'll have transmission one direction and not the other.
Uh-oh.
So you could be receiving calls from out of town, but then isolated, dialing your calls long distance.
Well, I sure appreciate the information, and I guess we can all take this as a little taste of Y2K.
That's the other thing, of course, I'm wondering about.
You don't expose, do you?
Well, no.
We've had a program going on since 1986, where we've been upgrading all the systems throughout the nation.
I don't know of anyone other than maybe some very small independent telephone operators now.
So in other words, we're probably Y2K compliant, but we've had a massive failure?
Well, there's lots of things that can cause a failure besides, you know, a timing problem with the clock.
And we certainly haven't switched the clock yet to the year 2000.
We've done the tests like that on the upgrades where we go ahead and switch the system during
off peak hours and test to make sure that it follows through on the switch after we
upgrade the pods.
But they would not have done a test like at 5.30 in the afternoon?
No.
No, any test like that would be done in the middle of the night.
Full period.
Like when I'm on the air.
Well, actually after you're off the air.
Oh, they wait until I'm off?
Yeah, we don't want to cut you off too early.
Well, listen, I really appreciate the update.
Well, thanks, and hang in there.
Keep the hatches fattened down.
And look for that cardboard box I lost from the front of my house.
I think it's up against your fence.
Hide it over off a game bird.
See you later, sir.
All right, bye-bye.
Bye.
All right, well, so there is somebody involved with the phone company, and so there's been apparently some sort of massive coronary of the system somehow or another.
All right.
Well, the only thing I've got open lines for is Pahrump.
And as I said, what I'm going to do, because obviously, you know, we can't go on like this forever.
What I'm going to do is go to tape here at the top of the hour if we've not had our service return.
And I'm not too hopeful considering how long it's been from 5.30 now coming up on 11 o'clock here in the Pacific time zone.
Too weird.
On my first time caller line, your Ana here.
Hi.
Hi, Pat.
Yes.
How are you?
Um, well.
I'm from the...
I finally got through to you.
You're going to be somewhere close to me, I imagine.
Yeah, I'm very close to you.
Well, well, well.
So what's happening?
Absolutely nothing.
In other words, as you just heard, that phone official explain, they've had some kind of massive failure.
So we're not going to be getting any phone calls in or out of Pahrump, even to Las Vegas, apparently.
Yeah, we had some friends who were trying to call through to the hospitals, starting at like 4.30.
and couldn't get through.
Oh, that's at 430?
At 430, yeah.
She has a brother in ICU and trying to get through, and the guest couldn't even get through.
So she has no information and no way to get in there.
Okay, then apparently the failure began earlier than I thought.
Oh, alright.
I thought it was about 530, but if you're saying it wasn't working at 430, then it's really been a long one.
Yeah, it's been a long while.
And it just kept saying all the circuits were busy, so she just kept trying.
Yeah, that's all it says.
How are you doing with the wind?
Well, I'll tell you, we belong to the RV park down here.
Yes.
And we spend the evenings down there, and we came out, and the wind has died down.
And I always turn you on as I leave the park, you know?
As I'm coming south.
Yeah, but you know what?
About 4.30 or 5.30, it was screaming out there.
Was it?
Yeah.
Yeah.
Hmm.
Well, see, we're in your end of the valley, but we're kind of protected a little bit from that north wind.
Yeah.
But as we went down towards the park, we could see that flag was right out straight out of the north.
Oh, yeah.
Yeah.
Screaming out of the north.
Yeah.
All right.
Well, listen, thank you for the call and the support here.
Anyway, my own little town is keeping me on the air.
Oh, yeah.
We love to talk to you.
Thank you.
Thank you.
Take care.
So there you are.
Yeah, this has been this has been pretty strange.
This is kind of like a sort of Y2K, here's what could happen kind of deal.
Maybe it couldn't happen with Y2K.
Maybe it was a test.
Maybe it's just a massive failure, but in all the years that I've lived out here, I've never seen one this, quite this massive.
First time, whoops, you would have been on the air.
First time, call our line.
All I've got now is a prompt.
At 727-1222 and 727-1295.
There were a number of things I wanted to talk to you about, but we may not get that chance.
On the first time caller line, you're on the air.
Hi.
Hi, Art.
This is Joe.
Hi, Joe.
How you doing?
I'm just fine.
Heard you talking about the oil on the radio, so I thought I'd give you a call.
Oh, you mean Pizza Punch?
Yes.
Is this Joe of Joe's Pizza?
Yes, it is.
You've got to be kidding.
No, we listen to you all the time.
Now that I'm retired, I have even more time to listen to you.
Well, I'm so sorry it closed.
Did you hear that man who actually squirreled away some of it?
Yes, I did.
You're one of the lucky ones, huh?
Yeah.
Well, if I get tired of being retired, we'll have to get your business going there, huh?
Yeah, well, you know, Jo, I tell you, it would go like crazy.
We just never had an opportunity, you know, enough time to get it done.
I know.
Trying to get hold of somebody, you know, to do the formula and make the mixture and begin to market it.
And our lives have been so full and busy, we haven't had a chance to do that.
They sure have.
But it is interesting to hear that people remember it.
I know.
I get a kick out of that.
Yes, I do.
I was wondering, with the phone lines out, have you had any problems with your computer?
Ours is not working.
Yours is not working?
No.
Well, I guess batten down the hatches, hon, and we'll see what happens.
That's all we can do.
Yours is working?
Um, mine was working.
I don't know if it is now.
Hmm.
All right?
Okay.
Joe, thanks.
Good talking to you.
Take care.
All right, listen, folks.
Here's where I'm going to call a halt to it.
I cannot talk to you, Pahrump, about all night.
I want to thank you all.
We're going to go to tape here at the top of the hour.
And it looks like we're not going to get our phone service through.
So, for those of you who kept me going for an hour here in Pahrump, thank you.
For everybody else, see you tomorrow night.
▲
Export Selection