Funniest Story as a Dispatcher

People always ask me what the funniest thing has been that I've dealt with being a 911 dispatcher. The problem is, there have been so many funny moments that it's hard to choose. Like the time some cable television installer got drunk while in his truck and went to a local golf course and started running around Hole 13 naked as a jaybird. Or the time when a drunk man called and I SWORE he said "I've been hit by a cop in the head". Apparently what he really said was, "I've been bit by a copperhead." Yes, that makes a big difference in our response to him, obviously. (And no, he had not been bit by a copperhead, but some poor garden hose had been chopped to pieces by the man who thought it had been a snake). There have been many moments like this, but I'd have to say the funniest was when I was in training. We used to have these ghetto apartments where all the drug dealers and crack addicts lived, and one day this black lady called freaking out, screaming and yelling. I had a hard time understanding her because of the screaming, (and because I still couldn't understand anything these Southern folk were saying, ya'll). Finally, I heard her say "there's a naked man outside his apartment" and then she would yell at all the little girls that were standing around to quit looking, and threw in the occasional "that's just nasty!" or "my God look at that". But the best part was when the man got close enough to her that I could hear him talking. He was trying to explain why he was outside naked. I heard him say, "But I lost my wallet!" I don't know what pocket he thought it was in, but I hope he found it anyway.

The Reason I Smile...

For those of you who have never seen my girls, or haven't seen them in a while, this is from June '07, Rachel is on the left, 2 1/2 years old in this pic, and Chloe was turning 6 and this was her birthday party at the water park. I purposefully left out any pictures of me, because I did not want to be the reason for anyone vomiting uncontrollably.

A little bit of everything

Well, one month after starting writing I am now in the middle of chapter 11 and something like 110 pages, almost 1/3 of the way there...going good!

I almost had to submit a post with some HUGE news about us having another baby, but it was a false alarm...(we think)

Oh, and if Daddy Norwood is reading this, that was Jason Elam with an OT field goal...Broncos 23, Raiders 20...sorry, buddy

Denver

Just in case you missed it, that was Jason Elam with a no-time-left-hurry-up-game-winning field goal. Denver 15, Buffalo 14

My daughter's first concert

About a month ago, Heather and I took our oldest daughter, Chloe (our new first grader), to her very first concert. It was at a large church in Huntsville (home of Space Camp!) We went to see Tree63, a band from South Africa that sort of resembles Delirious, but rocks out a little more than they do. (I have a link to their YouTube website which has their new song Sunday, and their most popular song of late, Blessed Be Your Name, which actually was written by someone else)...anyway...we took Chloe because she knows most of their songs and she was really excited about seeing them. Up until this point, the only "concerts" she'd been to were Sesame Street and the Wiggles (yes, I sang the songs, wake up Jeff!)

I don't think Chloe knew what to think when they came out, because she'd never really seen a picture of them, just heard their music. But when they started playing, she knew the song and she sang her heart out. It was a little too long for her, but she hung in there, and afterwards, a lady who had been behind us commented on how well she knew the songs. It made me proud. Not just because she knew the songs, but because they were songs that were about God. A few years ago, Chloe would only go to bed if I put in a Rich Mullin's CD that I had burned for her, and she knew all those songs, too. And it's not like she didn't have choices. I mean, Sesame street and Veggietales were available as well. But she chose Rich Mullins. And still would rather listen to the Christian Radio station then Disney music.

I guess I'm happy about it because I missed out on "Christian" music when I was little, because my parents didn't think that kind of music was pleasing to God. I also couldn't listen to secular music so I was a little sheltered when it came to the music world. I finally snuck a listen to some Michael W. Smith and Amy Grant and it changed my life, as far as my Christian faith is concerned. Without Christian music, my faith would never have been very real to me, but music did something that Sunday School and even Bible stories could do. So, I vowed when I had kids I would encourage them to listen to Christian music, instead of some of the other garbage that is out there....good music maybe, but a message I don't want my girls to struggle with. I know someday, they'll make that choice for themselves, but I know it's my responsibility to guide them right. So far, they make the "guiding" pretty easy.

Oh, and almost-three-years-old Rachel prefers rocking out to Tobymac or P.O.D., with the volume as high as her little ears will allow

My very first blog

Well, this is my first ever blog! I'm really excited...I mean, it's not like when my first child was born or anything, or seeing the Giants in the World Series a few years ago. It's kinda in between eating a really good bowl of ice cream and getting to sleep in for a change.

I don't have anything profound to say yet, although I'm working on it. One thing I'd like to say is that after 10 years of laziness, lack of motivation, and giving up on my desire to be a writer, I've finally got my motor started. For the past two weeks, I've been writing the novel that I've been "working on" for the past decade, and I've got 4 chapters in two weeks. I've planned 30 chapters, so at that pace that's, what, 8 in one month...just under 4 months...make time for Thanksgiving (which I have to work this year) and Christmas (again, working), and I figure it should be done in/or around February. Then comes the daunting task of finding an agent and publisher (so another 10 years).

This is something I've believed in for quite a while, but I got away from it, like I've gotten away from music. Those of you who remember me, (one or two, right?) will remember that I play piano. I used to be pretty good, and whenever I sit down to play nowadays, well, it really is like riding a bike...except I haven't done that since I was a kid...sad, yes, I know. So, I will persevere, no matter how many times I'm shot down at the beginning. My goal is to be able to write full time, quit my job, and never have to work another holiday, another overtime shift, another night shift...(for those of you who don't know, which is all of you I guess, I am a supervisor at a 911 center in Decatur, AL) That's my dream anyway, although, I've only got 18 years and 11 months until retirement...woohoo!

Well, I hope that this blog is a continuing venture, and that more than just my wife reads it, because I'd like to connect with some old friends. And if the book is ever published, you'll have to be gentle with me when you tell me what you thought.

For now, I just looked at the time, and I've only got 10 minutes until my Fantasy Football Draft starts, and I want to have a good seat for when I DON'T get LT. (I'm 4th, so maybe I'll get Shaun Alexander, good Alabama boy)