christmas past (bah humbug)

this title is two fold. in one perspective, today is christmas past since it is the day after christmas, but that is not what i want to talk about. vent about, actually. since when did people become so mean and unhappy? i miss the christmases of my school days. people were cheerful, singing songs here and there, and just having a general sense of good will towards their fellow man. what i encountered was anger, pain, suffering, and hated for everyone and everything. i still can’t believe chirstmas has come and gone. talk about loosing the spirit of the holiday. granted i sit in a police dispatch center and answer general and emergency lines and dispatch police and ems accordingly (fire still does their own dispatch) so every day i am dealing with people at the worst moments and in moments of crisis, but do they have to be so mean?

let’s get a few things straight here…

1. you called me for help, remember? so why are you yelling at me and fighting me? im trying to help you.
2. greenwich is a big town (city population and about 60 square miles). i can’t have a police car, fire truck, or ambulance there the second you call. we’re coming and as quickly as we can. trust me.
3. 911 is not 411
4. don’t hang up on me. i’ll just call you back. if you keep hanging up on me i’ll send an officer to come to your door to check on you. wasn’t talking to me on the phone easier?
5. im not a mind reader nor can i see you. you have to tell me what the problem is.
6. i am not a map. you have to tell me where you are.
7. i need to know your current problem, not your life story.
8. the police are not babysitters. most problems can be solved without our help. trust me, it’s not the end of the world.
9. just remember, emergency services run 24/7/365. i had to be away from my family during the holiday. i have to drive to work in bad weather. i rarely get a full 8 hours sleep or weekends off. and you think im inconveniencing you? ha ha…

here is what really pissed me off. we had a missing child on christmas eve day. we used a company called ‘a child is missing.’ they are a call service who will call out in a local area playing a recording for people telling them that someone is missing and to call the police department for more information. they gave out the girls name, my departments name and phone number. i didn’t mind the calls from people checking to see if it was legit or not. i completely understand that one, but what pissed me off where the people who called and bitched me out for calling them.

1. i didn’t call you. the service did.
2. a child is missing on christmas eve (of all days). you’d want us to to the same if it was your child.
3. i don’t care if you live on the other end of town or the moon. who knows, you might see the missing person
4. i’ll remember this call the next time it is you calling 911 for help. i’ll still help you, it’s my job and i’d feel guilty if i didn’t, but i wont sympathize with you. if i didn’t care about my job or going to jail i’d just hang up on you.

so it was a long week at work. one of the first where i can say i hated my job, and this is a job i normally love. the people were cranky, my coworkers were stressed, and we were all working long shifts. to those of you who were in good spirits and tried to spread the cheer, i thank you with all my heart. i should have tried harder to do the same. christmas at my parents house was quiet. just downtime with various family visiting. my day was broken up by naps, eating, and hanging out with family until i had to go back to work.

i hope the holidays treated you well and that you have a healthy and prosperous new year.

for now, im going to finish my coffee, read a few more emails, and then take a nap. it’s my day off!

ps… stupid call of the night. woman calls me frantic because she might set of the house burgler alarm. i wouldn’t be so worried about that as much as the other woman in the house who was having difficulty breathing (among other issuses unknown to me) and possibly dying. no, the woman who calls me is worried about the alarm. took several moments before she even mentioned the unconscious and barely breathing friend in the house. the burgler alarm should be the least of her worries. that ranks up there with nursing home aids who can barely speak english and have no clue why a patient needs to go to the hospital.