Nathaniel had a rather exciting time at the restaurant one night. He was doing mostly prep work for several hours. He didn’t think anything was wrong when the owner answered the telephone. The man asked if Nate’s phone number began with 123. When Nathaniel said yes, he indicated the call was for him. Nathaniel assumed Grandpa was calling for some reason. The owner said, “It’s the police.”
Nate hardly had time to wonder if someone had died or been in a car accident.
“Hello,” said Nathaniel.
“Is 123-123-1234 your telephone number?”
“Yes, it is.”
“Are you aware that you have dialed 911 over 30 times in a row?”
I probably don’t have the dialog exactly right, but it was a tense moment. Nathaniel explained it was an accident and apologized profusely. Well done, Nate!
I looked at my phone, wondering how on earth anyone could dial 9-1-1 repeatedly without knowing it. Nathaniel showed me his phone. At the bottom of his dial was “EMERGENCY CALL”. He took my phone, set a password of some sort, turned off my phone, turned it on again, and the same kind of dial appeared. This is a safety feature. Because it would take him precious seconds to unlock his phone, that screen appears so that he could call for help immediately. Somehow his phone had been turned on while in his pocket. Every time he bumped against something, an emergency call went straight to the police. They used GPS to pinpoint his position in the restaurant and called before storming the place. For some people, everyday life turns into excitement.
Mehrling Muse 
Oh my god!! Scary and embarrassing too!!! Poor kid; my heart would’ve fallen to the floor!!!
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After the initial shock, the incident didn’t seem to bother him unduly.
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When I was working in residential facilities (a drug treatment center, a homeless shelter, etc.), my talent was accidentally setting off their alarm systems my first day on the job. I did this at about three different places where I worked. Now I joke that this was my way of introducing myself to my new coworkers. You’ll have to share this with Nate so he won’t feel so embarrassed. LOL
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Nathaniel says, “Thank you. I do appreciate it.”
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what an experience! My youngest granddaughter got ahold of the phone and called 911, which brought the police to the house….a big surprise for her parents. By the way, nice blog update.
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What a shock! I think this happens more often than I thought.
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the 911 thing is something of a paradox. Little children are taught in school and at daycare to call 911 in any emergency. But then they do call 911 and it causes trouble. What is the answer?
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I certainly don’t have the answer!!
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we call that accidental connection “butt dialing.” accomplished by sitting on the phone, or not turning it off properly. I have heard some fascinating conversations of people who have accidentally called my number.
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That is amusing. Guess it wouldn’t be if you heard untruthful things about yourself.
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I’ve read that the 911 operators must make split second decisions on sending police or rescue people in answer to 911 calls. A mistaken call (or one believed to be a crank call but real) could cause someone’s life. One of the modern dilemmas.
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There is a lot to think about.
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she was two…
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Oh, my! Technology is so wonderful when it works, but when it bumps up against us ordinary people it sometimes —- doesn’t.
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And I thought it was some kind of accident too.
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Thank the Lord that everyone was fine!
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Good thing they called the store before storming in!
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Yes, having police rush in might have made it the talk of the town. Whew!!
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Nat and Anne,
Glad all’s well that ends well.
I would have been petrified if the police were on the line and asking me if a number was mine. Kudos to Nathaniel for taking things in his stride and moving on.
Susie
Tell him, I opened the window of my office and set off the university fire alarm last week. Fire fighters from all directions and building operations came running and calling and looking for where the fire was in my room.
Embarrassing. Even now when Office of Building operations sees me, they say- you are the one who set off the fire alarm last week. Talk of embarrassment.
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I called Nathaniel in and read him your message. He was feeling sorry for you with so much public attention to simply opening a window.
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I can relate to this…my sons are in construction and ‘pocket’ call me all the time when they bump into things. Their phones are in their pockets and I can hear their voice muffled through the pocket, but no matter how loud I yell their names they don’t hear me.
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My husband is the one who is likely to call me without knowing it.
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oh my! I have an old school flip-who would have guessed! haha! I am glad all went well. Poor darling!
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That would have been kind of heart stopping. We had something like that several years ago. I had tried calling on our land line and miss-dialed. I did not think a thing of it till a police car showed up on our yard….and we live 10 miles out of town! You can tell Nate that I also know how to apologize profusely!
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Nathaniel will feel sorry for you when he gets home from work and I read him your comment. You and he could have a bow and scrape contest! No, let’s let it rest. You’ve been through enough.
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