I’m all for technological advancement, but sometimes the tech gets a bit ahead of itself, and we sentient beings are left holding our collective asses.  As recently as this afternoon, I was reminded of this, after realizing that my iPhone had erroneously merged two of my contacts, who happen to share the same name.

Here’s what happened…  I was in my car, and decided to call Jeff Klein – a publicist with PR Plus, here in Las Vegas – about Puppetry of the Penis, a show I was going to see, with my mother, this Wednesday.  So, my phone called the “work” number I have, for Jeff Klein.

A very nice young man, answered the phone “Good afternoon, Jeff Klein’s office; Tucker speaking,” to which I replied with something that amounted to “Hey Tucker.  Michael Shulman, for Jeff,” and, upon being told he wasn’t in, proceeded with “Would you please ask him if I can purchase another pair of tickets to Wednesday night’s showing of Puppetry of the Penis, next to the pair of promo seats I already have?  And while y’all are at it, if he can arrange for a meet-and-greet with Rich, after the show, that’d be wonderful!”

Tucker, a fabulous assistant, didn’t question me; and said simply, that he’d get with Jeff, and one of them would get back to me, shortly.  Great!

A few minutes go by, and my phone rings.  I noticed the Los Angeles area code, and answered, curious that my caller ID didn’t recognize the number.  “Hi, Mister Shulman.  It’s Tucker, from Jeff Klein’s office.  He’s a little confused about the purpose of your call, and—“

All of a sudden, as he was trying to figure-out a way to best tell me that his boss thought I was a crazy person, it dawned on me.  “Wait a second, Tucker.  Did I call Jeff Klein, the hotelier?”

“Yes, sir; you did.”

“HA!  Jeff must think I’ve lost my mind.  I meant to call Jeff Klein the Las Vegas-based publicist.  I’m so sorry.  Please forgive me, and please extend my apologia to Jeff: And kudos to you, for not hanging up on me like I was a lunatic!”

For those of you who aren’t familiar (and shame on you, if this is the case), the Jeff Klein I’d called is the proprietor of JK Hotel Group, that owns and operates such swanky lodgings as West Hollywood’s Sunset Tower Hotel (site of Vanity Fair’s annual Oscars Party, from 2010-2014), and New York’s City Club Hotel (on West 44th Street, between Fifth and Sixth Aves).

Of course, as this was going on, my mother was trying her very hardest not to giggle audibly, as it was all transpiring on speakerphone, via Bluetooth. 

Mind you – it’s not like I was inquiring about tickets to see Cats.  So, hat’s off to Tucker, who seemingly didn’t bat an eyelash when I started babbling about what must’ve sounded like some random crackpot asking for a meet-and-greet with a penis!  Granted, I’m sure that when I hung-up, he probably stared at the phone, and uttered a “WTF?!?!” or some such expletive; but like the fantastically unflappable professional that he is, waited until I was no longer on the line.

Puppetry of the Penis
The Jewel Box | Erotic Heritage Museum
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