The Phone is NOT a Toy!

I know that from a very young age, I was taught that the phone was not a toy. I was never allowed to play with it --- to pick it up and dial random numbers. I learned very early about 9-1-1 and how and when to dial it, why it was reserved for emergencies, and the consequences if 9-1-1 was dialed for non-emergencies. I have been lucky and have only had to dial 9-1-1 twice. The first time, everyone should ask my poor uncle about (long story for another day); and the second was riding in the car with my mom and being behind a drunk driver who decided the median was the best place to drive and didn't mind taking down a few signs as well.

Apparently, not everyone was taught these very important lessons about the usage of 9-1-1. Below are some actual stories about people calling for help for some very idiotic reasons.

*** A 42 (yes that is 42...) year old Florida man was arrested for calling 911 twice. The first time for the fact that a "Subway" sand which shop had left the sauce off his sub. The second call 5 minutes later was because officers had not responded yet.

*** a 27 year old old Florida (man what is with FL???) woman was arrested by police after calling 911 THREE SEPARATE TIMES within 15 minutes to report that her local McDonald's fast food restaurant had run out of Chicken McNuggets.

*** Of course we all remember when John McCain's brother Joe McCain called 911 complaining about a traffic jam he was stuck in.

*** A 45 year old woman from OR got arrested for calling 911 in search of a phone number. You see an office had come to her door earlier to tell this woman to turn down her music, which the woman did. The problem came when this woman wanted to see (according to the 911 tapes) "the cutest cop I've seen in God knows how long." She apparently did not know how to find this officer again less get his phone number without the aid of 911. Unfortunately for her, the office who came to arrest her, was not her price. So sad. At her trial, the judge is quoted saying to her "People who are, oh, older than 7 know not to use 911 except where is an emergency." Personally I think he was being too nice by saying 7!

*** And of course another FL man, 38 years old, was intoxicated outside a bar and had several police officers surrounding him after being called about a disturbance. The intoxicated man than used his cell phone, in front of all the officers and dialed 9-1-1 ti state that he was surrounding by police and needed help. The Sgt Office there said that "truth is stranger than fiction" watching the man call 911 to ask for police to help him because he was surrounded by police.