On Father's Day, the Gift of a Long-Lost 'Hello'

"I've been clean and sober for almost 12 days," Harris said. "Maybe he wants to come see me."

After some struggles with the phone and his friend's voice mail, Harris left a message.

"Hello, Donnell, this is Anthony," he said. "I'm at Central Union Mission's gospel program."

Wayne Coleman, wearing a dapper white shirt and gemstone earring, said he finds work setting up and taking down equipment for functions at hotels. He called his sister in New York.

"I'm in D.C., in a church," he told her, with the loud singing in the background. "No work's coming in right now."

Marvin Robinson Jr., 55, called his son, Kevin, in New Jersey. Robinson, who just found work distributing The Washington Post's Express newspaper at the Farragut North Metro station, said he hadn't seen his son, and two grandchildren, in about two years.

"I just thought I'd call you," he told his son. "Tell the grandkids I love 'em."

"This is fantastic," Robinson said afterward.

And then there was Curtis, who said he was in graduate school several years ago when money problems hit.

The operator found his father's number, and soon the phone was ringing.

He got voice mail.

"Hey, Dad, happy Father's Day," Curtis said. "This is amazing. I got your number through 411. I miss you. . . .

"Last time I saw you, you were at the McDonald's. You gave me a couple of dollars to eat, and I appreciated that," Curtis continued.

He left the shelter's phone number. "Ask for James in the kitchen," he said.

After he got off the phone, Curtis said he wondered whether he could stay with his father at some point. He was holding a torn-off sheet of notebook paper with a 703 area code on it.

He said he was planning to call back.