Outstanding! So apparently out there in the Seattle area, or Tacoma to be more precise, some moron flew his little sea plane into the president's airspace. This caused two F15 fighter jets to scramble to the area, causing two sonic booms heard near and far. With me so far? Good. Buckle your seatbelt, cause this is where things get hairy.
After the sonic booms, so many people called 911, that the 911 system went down. Score one for the residents of Pierce County! Now keep in mind, there has been no reported damage caused by the booms. So what were all those 911 calls about? That, my friends, is the million dollar question.
Knowing what I know about 911, the calls fell into 2 categories.
1. "I just heard two loud booms!" Well, thanks for that information! How incredibly informative! I think I'll put that in my loud boom file, we'll make sure we send police out right away to...to...hmmm. Now where should I send them? Booms didn't knock you down and steal your purse did they? And we'll send ambulances to, well, did the big bad boom-y woom-y happen to knock out your teeth? No? So you're just calling to tell me you heard the booms? Just letting me know? Along with all the other 700,819 residents of Pierce County? Well, thanks so much for that information, I really appreciate your call!
2. "What were those two loud booms?" These people slay me. Instead of turning on their news or radio, they call 911 to ask a question. To satisfy their curiosity. Because no one lost an arm in this debacle. No one was injured...these people were all left standing, bodies and property intact. So instead of figuring there must be an emergency somewhere and the 911 lines should be left open for the victims of said emergency, these people immediately jam the lines with their need to know! We've become such an instant information dependant society, that no one even has time to turn on the TV and wait for the news to come on. (Though, if it was a real emergency, that annoying tone would come on your TV and interrupt Judge Judy, and you'd be told what to do from there.) No, and god forbid waiting for the morning paper to see what happened. Lets all call 911! My right to know is being violated! Hey! Maybe THAT'S a crime! Maybe I DO have an emergency!!
The news reports say that for 27 minutes, some people who tried to call 911 just got busy signals. Can you imagine really having an emergency, say a heart attack, and you can't drive to the hospital...and just hearing that awful busy signal over and over when you dial 911 for help? That would be terrifying. Shame on the citizens of Pierce County. Pierce County doesn't need more 911 lines. They need a less ignorant, less selfish, and more educated citizenry.
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