We were at the park today making friends with another mom and her kids. Our kids were playing together when it became evident that my son was in trouble. He was playing in a tree. He was getting down out of the tree and slid down and got his knee wedged in between two trunk limbs of the tree, maybe 18-24 inches off the ground. He got so stuck we women couldn't get him out, so I had to call 911. It took 5 firemen to get him out by prying the limbs apart as much as they could. One guy actually hung like a monkey from one of the limbs and used his weight to push the limbs apart while the other used pry bars down below.

It only took five minutes and my son isn't hurt at all, but it was just such a sight to see. The firemen were friendly and I think rather happy it was an easy exercise for them.

When I first called 911, I received the county's automatic answering recording and had to wait, but didn't have to wait long. I made sure to tell the dispatcher exactly where we were and she asked good questions. It wasn't a life or death situation so we weren't panicked, although my son was in pain being stuck in the tree. We waited patiently and the first ambulance showed up 5 minutes later and then a firetruck showed up a minute after that, both without sirens blaring. Good thing, because they needed the pry bars out of the truck.

Anyway, I just wanted to contrast this simple little 5-minute rescue with the tragedy that happened in Fulton County earlier this week. http://www.11alive.com/news/local/story.aspx?... I find it hard to believe that a dispatcher, with 10 years of dispatching under her belt, could not use her common sense to realize that the cell tower that the call was coming from was not anywhere near downtown, and maybe she had typed in the address wrong. It was Wales Drive, not Wells Drive. Partly because of her mistake, the lady died.

I believe Johns Creek (where this lady lived) is looking into getting their own 911 system, as well they should. There's no reason whatsoever that Alpharetta or any suburbs should be on the same system as downtown Atlanta.

And no, I know 911 isn't perfect, but here in Gwinnett, they seem to be doing ok for us (my family) so far. So I just wanted to give credit where it was due.

I pray for that dispatcher. She'll have to live with her mistake the rest of her life.