Meet the Louisiana grandmother Quebecers keep drunk dialing, hoping for a ride

Everyone receives a phone call from a wrong number from time to time.

But come holiday season, a grandmotherin southwestern Louisiana gets more than her fair share usually frominebriated Quebecershoping for a ride home from thebar.

"They always call from 11 p.m. to1 or 2 a.m.," said79-year-oldRuby Palermo.

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Palermo's phone number, it turns out,is very similar to the one used by Opration NezRouge, the volunteer service that offers holiday drivers a free ride home in their vehicleif they've hadtoo much to drink.

The province-wide number for reachingNezRouge is 1-866-337-5273. When well-lubricated Quebecers omit the 866 prefix, the call is often redirected toPalermo'shome in Sulphur, La.

People who rely on (our services) are not in the best capacity so they might just dial the wrong number.-DavidLatouche, NezRougespokesperson

"People who rely on (our services) are not in the best capacity so they might just dial the wrong number.It's unfortunate but it can happen," said DavidLatouche, a spokesperson forNezRouge.

Palermo has lost count of how many late-night calls she's received, butNezRouge fields around 60,000 calls every year in Quebec. She'shas taken to unplugging her landline at night during the holiday season.

"I toldmy children and my friends, 'If you need me during the night, call my cell phone,'"Palermo said.

'Cajun French andy'all'sFrench'

The problem, which has been going onfor about five years, is made worse by the factshe doesn't understand much French.

"The Cajun French andy'all'sFrench is altogether different, but I can tell the numbers likedix, ten,sept, seven. I know those words arenumbers," said Palermo, who has never been to Canada.

"I can tell that they're from Quebec. I know what it is immediately. I tell them right away:'You are talking to someone in the United States.' I thinkeveryone knows 'United States'whether they can talk English or not."

NezRougehopes the shift to mobile phoneappswill alleviate the consequences of imprecise, late-nightdialing, or some of them anyway.

"All we could do is apologize to her [Palermo] on behalf of those people who aredialingthe wrong number,"Latouche, the Nez Rouge official,said.

"It's probably better that she just unplug the phone at night. People aren't calling this number at noon, they call it at night."

While Palermo would likeNezRouge to change its number, she has reconciled herself to thisstrange annual nuisance.

"I'm not mad about it happening," she said. "I know what it's like. I've partied before in my younger days."