Why Am I Not Surprised?

There is an article in today's Republic about a fellow who likes to talk on the phone:

It's a good thing Luke Johnson picked up the unlimited-minutes option for his cellphone.

The Gilbert man says he was out "to do something that has never been done before" when he dreamed up an idea to post his phone number on the Internet.

So began what he calls The Luke Johnson Phone Experiment.

Johnson, 27, recorded a plea for strangers to call his cell about three months ago and posted it on YouTube.com along with his cellphone number - (602) 435-3694.

His goal is to find out just how many people would call a number featured on the Web.

"I don't care what you say or why you called . . . but I'll try to answer as many calls as I can," the 27-year-old pledges in the clip, which has since made its way through cyberspace, landing in countless e-mail boxes and MySpace accounts.

As of last Wednesday, he had gotten 11,914 calls, many from callers in other countries. When it's daytime on one end of the line, it's nighttime here.

"It's been a love-hate relationship," Johnson, a 1998 Highland High graduate, said of the insistent calling. "I get calls day and night. I hear it in my sleep."

Johnson estimates his phone rings as many as three times every two minutes, although he usually gets more calls after a story about it hits a TV or radio station somewhere. He has been keeping track of the number of calls and has chatted with callers from Japan, South Africa, Thailand and the United Kingdom.

Two of my daughters went to Highland High School at the same time that Luke was there; I have never heard about a more social guy, before or since; nor have I seen anyone sustain such a high level of energy for so long. At football games, he would run up and down the track in front of the crowd with a Highland flag, again and again and again. There are too many stories about him to even remember; but I'll bet if you say the name "Luke Johnson" to a Highland grad, they'll smile and shake their head, and say, "Oh yeah, Luke Johnson..."

Maybe my girls could give him a call and catch up.