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.