Bena Mae’s Kitchen: Bless Our 911 Operators

I’ve had to call 911 more than once in my lifetime. One was for a bad cut on my arm that went all the way to the a bone and then a couple of times for a heart attack.
Each time the 911 operator was quick and efficient. EMS were at my door within 3 minutes of the call and they hurriedly loaded me into an ambulance and raced to the emergency room. I have nothing but good things to say about them for their professional and dedicated attention.
All 911 calls that come in and are fielded by these public servants are taken seriously. But the operator never knows what to expect when a call comes in. Sometimes they get a call from out in left field that taxes their brain among the more serious calls for which the 911 number is there to help in drastic cases.
And sometimes a call can be handled by a person with a sense of humor and a genius for helping the caller. Case in point and a bouquet of roses for this imaginative advice given by an EMS operator.
I once fielded a call from an elderly gentleman who lived in a trailer park. He informed me that his trailer was ringing and buzzing as well as the palate in his mouth. He said he couldn’t take it anymore. Thinking along the lines of a possible electrical problem or maybe some nearby outside interference I started questioning him and he immediately told me that he knew where the source of this ringing was coming from. He stated the “spiders on Mars” were sending radio signals to him and this has been going on for quite sometime. He asked me if there was anything I could do for him. I told him to stay on the line and placed him on hold. I waited a few seconds and returned to him. I told him that I just sent a radio signal back to the spiders telling them to knock it off. He told me the ringing and buzzing had stopped and he thanked me for my help. I dispatched an Officer to his trailer to check on his well being.
Now this next one tickled my funny bone and I really believe it happened:
Sometimes the calls can be humorous. Such as the sweet little old lady who called 911 to report her male neighbor was exposing himself thru his bathroom window, which faced her bathroom window. When the officers arrived she took them to her bathroom window and showed the officer. Sure enough her male neighbor was shaving, bare-chested, but was only visible from the chest up thru the window. The officer told the lady that sure the neighbor should use a little more discretion, but he was hardly exposing himself deliberately. She says, “Oh, really officer?” Just stand up on this toilet seat and see what I see.
I have nothing but disdain for the following caller and I hear calls like this are very common.
The call that Reginald Peterson in Jacksonville, Florida made to 911 after not getting the correct sauce on his sandwiches at Subway was pretty crazy. He then called 911 again to complain that the police weren’t getting there fast enough to fix his order. The police eventually got there and arrested him for making false 911 call.
 I say give him his sauce. And make it very hot.

* * * * *

Loaded Mashed Potato Bake
(Sunday Supper)

Ingredients
Nonstick cooking spray
1/4 cup coarsely crushed cheese crackers
1 tablespoon unsalted butter
2 cups mashed potatoes (leftover or fresh)
1/3 cup sour cream
1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper
4 ounces shredded sharp cheddar cheese
4 slices cooked bacon, crumbled
1 green onion, thinly sliced
1/4 cup finely chopped red onion
1 tablespoon chopped fresh parsley

Directions
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Spray small casserole dish with nonstick spray. In small bowl, combine crackers and butter.
If using leftover potatoes, heat them in microwave 1 minute to soften. Add sour cream, garlic powder and pepper; stir until well combined. Reserve 2 tablespoons each cheese and bacon. Add onions, parsley and remaining cheese and bacon to potatoes; stir until well combined.
Transfer mixture to prepared casserole dish and sprinkle with cracker mixture and reserved bacon and cheese. Bake 25 minutes

Yields: 4 servings