Over the years, a certain mythic status has been earned by White House telephone operators, who are rumored to be able to find anybody, anywhere, at any time. President John F. Kennedy once challenged a friend to name someone that the operators wouldn't be able to track down. The friend mentioned writer Truman Capote, who kept an unlisted number. Within thirty minutes, the operator had Capote on the line. The amazing thing about this feat is that Capote was not at his own home in New York at the time. He was visiting a friend in California who also had an unlisted number. (1)

A woman was standing in a hotel elevator when she heard a phone ringing. She opened a little compartment and picked up the elevator telephone. On the line, she heard these words, "This is a recorded message from So-a…