Solving Problems

Solving Problems

         “I would really appreciate it if you would get here quickly, I’m already late for work.”
         The caller wouldn't have understood it, but David had already done his part in solving her problem.  The words “Parking Complaint:  Blue Chevy Blazer blocking the caller’s driveway, caller requesting that it be towed”, were already in the appropriate place on the screen in front of him and were ready to be whisked away to another computer screen across the room with a mere press of the ‘ENTER’ key.
         “Yes, ma’am,” David replied automatically to the statement that had been made to him a million times before.  “We’ll have a police officer there as soon as we can.”
         The caller’s reply to the statement was predictable enough. David heard the phone on the other end of the line being slammed into its cradle.  Despite her abruptness, the caller’s problem paled in comparison to many that David dealt with on a regular basis.  Ten seconds later, the phone rang with good example of that.
         “9-1-1 Emergency.”
         “MY BABY’S NOT BREATHING!,” a woman shrieked into David’s ear.
         “Let me transfer you to the fire department,” David replied calmly as he touched a button on his phone panel.
         Within fifteen seconds, a dispatcher at the fire department had filled out her computer screen so that an ambulance would be dispatched.  David stayed on the line long enough to make sure the fire dispatcher knew what was happening and where they were going.  Meanwhile, he finished his part in the matter by entering the woman’s address and the nature of the problem into the screen in front of him.  While the police normally didn’t respond to ambulance calls, there would need to be an investigation if the baby died, so it was best to have the police there from the beginning.  The stroke of the ‘ENTER’ key transferred the entry from David’s computer screen to that of another dispatcher who would send the police. Another problem solved.
         David’s phone, a computer screen really, showed that none of the other four dispatchers in the room taking phone calls were  busy at the moment, a rare circumstance at 5:00 on a Friday.  While David liked to remain busy, he welcomed an opportunity to take a drink from the spill-proof cup of water on his desk and think back over his day.  David usually went back to sleep shortly after his wife Shelia went to work, but the police department had called just after she left for work and asked if he could come in at 11:00 and stay until 11:00 that night.  David wasn’t the least bit surprised about the call, it happened often on Fridays when several police dispatchers decided that it just wasn’t in them to do their job that day.  Their attitude really pissed David off.  Some dispatchers just didn’t seem to realize that someone had to be there to answer the phone calls that came in.  Luckily for the city and the people that lived in it, people like David  understood emergencies just don’t wait for when it’s convenient for the people that handle them.  Someone had to answer the call.  David decided, despite the fact that it was his day off, that he was the one to do it.
         “9-1-1 Emergency”
         “Yes, I’ve been involved in an accident,” said the male voice on the other end.
         “Where is the accident?”
         “At the corner of Oxford and Mokena.”
         “Are there any injuries?”
         “No, this bitch in a red SUV doesn’t understand how four-way stops are supposed to work and ran right into me.”
         “Is she still there?”
         “Yes.”
         “What kind of vehicle are you driving?”
         “A ’98 Chevy Camaro”
         “What’s your name?”
         “George Dalrymple.”
         “What’s the phone number your calling from George?”
         “937-555-1459.”
         “OK, Mr. Dalrymple, we’ll send the police over.”
         “Well, all I’m saying is that you better hurry before I hurt this bitch.”
         “Mr. Dalrymple it’s only going to cause more problems if you do something like that.”
         “I know, I know,” George replied in a manner that lead David to believe that he really did know.  “I’m just pissed.  It’s a bad end to a bad week.”
         “OK, sir,” David replied wanting to bring the conversation to an end and move on.  “We’ll have the police there as soon as we can.”
         David typed the words “Traffic Accident, Non-Injury/Possible Traffic Altercation:  Red SUV vs. Chevy Camaro” in the appropriate field on the computer screen.  The words “Possible Traffic Altercation” would get officer there a little quicker attention than a normal traffic accident call.  David was sure that George was only blowing off steam, but David wasn’t taking any chances.  Once again another problem was sent over to the person dispatching the police.
         Solving problems.  When came time for David to explain his job to others, those were the words that he used.  Every phone call that came in meant that someone had a problem that they couldn’t solve themselves.  Sure, anyone who answered a phone as part of their job could make the same claim, but questions like “Can I get hot peppers on half the pizza because my wife can’t stand them?” didn't quite approach the seriousness of a call like the 'baby non-breather' that David had taken two calls before.  David’s position was unique.  He was often brought into people’s lives at the point where they were suffering their worst crises.  Some of the calls that David could remember were like a laundry list of bad karma:  a father who discovered that his son had taken his life by his own hand, a wife saying tender words to a husband who would never open his eyes again, a mother watching a house that she had carefully made into a home burning into rubble.  David did his part by sending the police or the ambulance or the fire department to solve whatever problem faced the person on the other side of the line.  After years of doing the job, David could do it with the best of them.  A model of efficiency, he excelled when it came to determining what the problem was and getting help there as fast as he could.  He was also dedicated.  When his city needed him to solve problems, he stepped up to do it.  David took pride in what he did and often felt that there was no problem he couldn’t handle.
         “9-1-1 Emergency.”
         “David?”
         David looked at the screen that showed him where the caller was calling from.  It confirmed what he already knew.
         “Shelia?”
         “I’m leaving you.”
         David was flabbergasted.  He would have normally launched into an ingrained program of questions to find what the caller’s problem was and type on the keyboard words that would begin to solve the problem, but he just sat there.
         “Did you hear me?,” Shelia asked on the other end of the line.
         “Yes, I heard you,” David replied.  A clarifying question normally did the trick when David was confused about something.  He gave it his best shot with,  “What do you mean?”
         “I mean that I am packing up my things and I am walking out the door.”
         “Why?”
         “Do you remember our fight last night?”
         “Yes.”
         “We said that we would talk about the problem tonight when I got home from work…”
        A cacophony of ringing phones was heard around the room as the number of waiting calls had suddenly spiked, a sure indication that something significantly bad had happened somewhere in town.  David was doing his best to try and hurry her along.
         “Shelia, I don’t have time…,”
         “You better make time, David,” Shelia cut him off.  “You promised that we would talk about the problem after I got home from work this evening.  I come home tonight to find you gone.  Do you not care about our marriage?”
         “Shelia, I don’t have time for this, I’ve got other phone calls to answer.”
         “Oh, yeah, right,” Shelia said sarcastically.  “I forgot.  Your job is all about solving about other people’s problems.  What about our problems?  When are you going to take the time to solve our problems?  You’re always working. You’re never home.  How are we supposed to stay married living like that?”
         David saw the number of pending calls grow higher and higher as his conversation with Shelia got longer and longer.  He could hear some of his fellow dispatchers saying things like ‘auto accident’ and “child injured’, a situation that often resulted in a lot of phone calls, but each individual caller needed to be spoken with to ensure that that wasn’t the only problem going on out there.
         “Look, Shelia.  I’ve got to start answering other phone calls…”
         “David, if you hang up on me, I’m walking out of your life forever…”
         “Shelia, I just can’t help you right now.”
         With that, David disconnected the phone call.  He entered the words “Domestic Problem:  Male half not on the scene.  Female half leaving” into the computer and whisked Shelia out of his life forever.