Jenny, they've all got your number

As I was looking back on some of my old journalism class assignments, I came across this story. I had written it during the summer of 2007, so any references and facts may not be true anymore. The assignment was to write a story about the Tommy Tutone one-hit wonder "867-5309/Jenny" using a variety of Internet sources, referencing at least two Web sites. We were also given an article from the Detroit Free Press to use as background. This is what I came up with:

Jenny must have changed her number because the seven digits made famous by a 1980s one hit wonder “867-5309/Jenny” now belong to several businesses in different area codes.
The lyrics of the catchy chorus go something like this: “Jenny, don’t change your number, 8-6-7-5-3-0-9.” Anyone who has seen the 2004 Cingular commercial that featured this pop tune knows the nine sounds more like “nigh-ee-i-een.”
The once popular song from the band Tommy Tutone, which reached the number four spot on the Billboard Hot 100 chart in 1982, has been the cause of many prank calls over the past 26 years. Some callers ask for Jenny, others play the memorable chorus, and others simply hang up when they hear a man’s voice instead of Jenny’s.
When a reporter from the Detroit Free Press dialed the infamous 867-5309 in the 313 area code, he didn’t find Jenny either. Instead a local business owner of Rock City DJs answered the call.
Kerry Rucks, the business owner from Walled Lake, Mich., had actually requested the phone number from AT&T. Although he does not advertise the phone number, it has helped his disc jockey business, he said.
When asked how callers behave Rucks said, “They’ll call me some expletives, ‘Don’t you know that’s from an ‘80s song?’”
Rucks said he has a good time dealing with the crank calls, but for other businesses this phone number has been the cause of some legal action.
Crank callers in the 401 area code asking for Jenny may be surprised to have reached an operating phone number. The phone number is not assigned in most area codes, and dialers of this number will likely hear a standard message stating, “We’re sorry, the phone number you are trying to reach has been disconnected.”
But in Lincoln, Rhode Island, crank callers find Gem Plumbing & Heating, which trademarked the phone number two years ago. Gem uses the number in the 401 area code in Rhode Island and the 617 area code in southern Massachusetts.
Another company, Florida-based Clockwork Home Services, uses the number in New England as a toll free number. Clockwork Home Services is a national plumbing franchise and a competitor of Gem Plumbing & Heating.
The two companies have gone to court to claim right to the famous number. A federal judge in Boston barred Clockwork Home Services from using the phone number in Rhode Island and Massachusetts.
The Providence Journal, available online at www.projo.com, also reported Clockwork Home Services owns a license to use the one hit wonder, and the firm claims it did not steal anything from Gem. However, Gem plumbing attributes much of its recent success to the use of the phone number and sought retribution for financial damages from its competitor.
Chief legal officer for Clockwork Robert Beckman told the Providence Journal, “We licensed them from Warner Chapel Music and some other owners, including Tommy Tutone.”
Tommy Heath from the band Tommy Tutone would prefer if neither company used the number.
“It’s ridiculous,” Heath said. “If I wanted to get into it, I could probably take the number away from both of them.”
According to www.snopes.com, a Web site dedicated to clearing up urban legends and rumors, the 867 extension was used at Brown University and the students who had the 867-5309 telephone number had received numerous prank calls and messages left on their answering machine with the “Jenny I got your number” playing in the background.
Jenny’s number may have caused problems for most phone customers with that phone number, but for Rucks and the Gemma brothers, owners of Gem Plumbing & Heating, the prank calls have also come with a boost in business.

Qype Review: Chick's Bar (Detroit, MI)

The review below was written for Qype.co.uk. The website is a networking website where people from around the world post reviews of businesses and services. I recently went to Chick's Bar on Warren Ave. in Detroit for the Friday Fish Fry. This is my review of Chick's:

It may seem odd to give 5 stars to an old neighborhood bar on a Detroit street corner, but after one Friday night fish fry, I was sold. Chick’s Bar has apparently been an establishment since the 1940s, and it’s definitely got that atmosphere of a true neighborhood bar, where regular customers are treated like family.
I don’t venture to the city of Detroit very often, but I may have to for an order of the fried shrimp. Not liking seafood, I made the rookie mistake of ordering a cheeseburger on fish fry night. You are supposed to order some sort of fatty, buttery, scrumptiously fried seafood. When my “medium” cooked burger came to me dead last and looking much more “well done” than I had ordered, I learned my lesson. My dear friend took pity on me, and offered me three of her fried shrimp, explaining she had plenty to go around. They were so tasty. To be honest, my burger was not bad by any means. It just wasn’t cooked the way I ordered it, but after a bite of the shrimp, all was forgiven in my book. Perhaps drinking beer also helped…
My friends’ grandmother who is quite the gambler (go Granny!) was with us that night. See, it really is a neighborhood type bar! Where else can you drink with your 23-year-old friends, their parents and their grandmother? So, she got the whole table playing pull tab lotto games. Someone had a $20 winner, but mostly, we just lost and had piles of pull tab tickets scattered across the table. The bar also has Keno for you fellow gamblers.
The only downsides to this bar are the location because being in Detroit at night is scary (which is why I fully recommend traveling with a buddy, if not an army, in this city) and that you will reek of fish when you leave.
(Tip: You may want to Febreeze your clothing, if you plan to go anywhere else in public afterwards.)
I leave you with four words… Friday night fish fry!

For more information about Chick's Bar, check out the bar's website at www.chicksbar.net.