Exploring Bethlehem and Getting in Trouble with a 911 Operator

Yesterday, after Mr. Man, Baby Nugget, and I attended a storytime at the PBS 39 Studios on the southside of Bethlehem, PA we decided to check out the “sky walkway” that was across the street from the PBS studios.

I had been in the park that is located across the street from the PBS building previously and knew that there might be something that visitors could check out up there, but I never went up the staircase until today.

We chose to use the elevator because I had Baby Nugget in the stroller.

When we got to the top we saw an awesome walkway called The Hoover-Mason Trestle that was constructed so that visitors could see the remnants of the Bethlehem Steel mills up close.

Bethlehem Steel was a giant of the steel industry for more than 100 years but filed for backrupcy in 2001 after great decline in the 1980’s and 90’s. It was the heart of the city of Bethlehem and the city faced tough times after its demise. Fortunately, Bethlehem is now on an revitalization period due to its growing arts scene and its embrace of its formerly industrial past. Below this walkway are stages for music and entertainment performances. An organization called ArtsQuest helps stage Musikfest, one of the largest non-gated free music festivals in the country, every August in Bethlehem. The old steel mills are now a backdrop for the emerging arts scene in Bethlehem.

Here’s the Part Where I Get in Trouble With the 911 Dispatcher

After we got out of the elevator to enter the walkway, Mr. Man, the ever curious three year old that he is, pushed the button on the yellow call box that was located not far outside of the elevator. I was busy pushing the stroller. Since the walkway wasn’t really being used by many visitors at the time, I did not ask him to hold onto the stroller while I walked. Both of my hand were in use pushing the stroller.

A ringing sound came out of the call box. Oops! We have a history with this.

Last year, when we frequented the Di Vinci Science Center, Mr. Man had a habit of pushing the call button on the elevator which was located in easy reach of a toddler right beside a sign that said “DO NOT LET YOUR CHILD TOUCH THIS BUTTON”. Most times he touched it before I even got into the elevator since I was pushing a stroller while walking behind him. In these situations at the Di Vinci Science Center the call box seemed to ring but nobody ever picked up.

So I wasn’t that worried when this box on the trail began to ring. It rung three times but this time a person did pick up . I quickly moved my family away from the box and stayed silent because I did not want to get in trouble and I wasn’t used to an operator picking up.

We continued on our walk on the trestle. We looked at the views from the bridge and stopped the look at the flowers that grew along the old train tracks that paralleled the bridge. I glanced at the plaques explaining Bethlehem’s steel heritage and looked at the remnants of the steel mills on the opposite side of the bridge from the flowers.

We were having a good time and I forgot all about the button and the yellow boxes until Mr. Man decided to push the button on the next yellow box we happened upon.

This time I felt like I should talk to the voice on the other end of the line and explain that it was a mistake. I felt a little bad about walking away from the last operator.

I was surprised though when the person on the other end of the line identified themselves as “911”, I had assumed that the call box was connected to an office or something for the walking bridge. Nowhere on the call box did it say that the box is connected to 911 and there was no way to turn off the call once the button is pressed.

So I spoke when the 911 dispatcher answered the call. I told her that my son likes to push buttons and he was a button along the bridge we were walking on. She seemed to ignore what I was saying and continued her assessment of the situation and asked me where I was located. I told her where we were and she didn’t seem to understand what I was talking about. I told her it was all a mistake and she asked me my name. I told her I didn’t want to tell her my name I just wanted to end the call. I told me my son saw a button on a call box and pushed it. Then in a every authoritative tone, she told me that I need to “Watch your son and make sure he doesn’t doesn’t push buttons”.

She probably continued talking but that’s when I lost it a little. I told her in not the quietest voice that I have ever used that it was “Hard enough to raise a three year old” and I didn’t need her to chastise me.

Then Mr. Man spoke up and sort of yelled, “Stop being mean to my Mommy”.

This caused me to take stock of the situation and decide that it was time to walk away. I do not believe I or people in general should automatically become subservient to people who speak at them in a certain tone but I was a little concerned that I was getting a little hot headed about the situation.

She continued to talk but I motioned to Mr. Man to walk away, so he walked and I pushed the stroller. It took me a while to calm down.

We sat on a park bench near the end of the bridge and had a snack and some water and looked around a bit longer. Our walk back was much more subdued.

Less than an hour later, after we rode the elevator down from the trestle and played in the park below I noticed a City of Bethlehem police car pull onto the patio beside the PBS39 Building just as we were walking across the street on our way to our parked van. I was very certain at that moment that the officers where there for me because I got mouthy with a 911 operator.

Both wearing shorts, the officers quickly got out of their patrol cruiser. One of the officers walked right into the PBS39 building and said not to someone I could not see in the lobby of the building, “You can’t loiter here.” I wished that I could see what was going on but at the same time I had the feeling that I had gotten away with something.

I continued walking around the building to the parking lot and noticed that the other officer wasn’t far behind us. He continued to walk right behind us as we walked down a narrow sidewalk to the large parking lot catercorner to the building. I tried to keep Mr. Man moving so we would blend in and I could pretend that I was a nice person who doesn’t mouth off to 911 operators.

It must have worked because by the time I looked back, the police officer was no longer behind me. There was side door to the building and a loading dock and I figured he must have gone in that way.

Most likely, he wasn’t there for me at all. The officers were probably there for something like loitering in the PBS39 building.

I fumed about my interaction with the 911 operator it for the rest of the afternoon. I thought about things I should have said like, “Don’t tell me how to do my job” or “Maybe in the next life I will be reborn as an octopus so I will have eight arms and I can stop my child from pushing buttons.” Honestly, none of my comebacks were very good.

I fumed until I went to my evening library job and I got so busy working with a new computer system and intricacies of the Summer Reading Program that I forgot all about my altercation with “The Authorities”.

I told Mr. Katie about the incident last night after work and his response was something along the lines of, “Nobody tells Katie what to do”.

Nobody tells Katie what to do indeed!

So that’s my story. What trouble have you been causing?

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