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The newest Earthling refugees have landed on Mars and are busy adapting to their new lives. Enjoy!
I got several fascinating emails from readers about calling 9-1-1. Here is a typical response:
“I was a fire fighter for 30 years. When 9-1-1 started we would tell people to dial 911, and it was pronounced nine eleven by everybody. After a while it was tell them to call 9-1-1, cuz people could not find the eleven.”
Another was:
“There's a reason for it being called 9 1 1. It used to be called 9 11. My favorite aunt was told to call 9 11. Her reply was that there was no 11 on the dial. It was common enough they changed the name.”
A different reader reported that 9-1-1 is not common in Europe. I did some investigation, and the answer is more complicated. 9-1-1 is used in North America (US, Canada, Mexico) as well as Anguilla, Argentina, Belize, Costa Rica, Ecuador, Ethiopia, Jordan, Liberia, Palau, Philippines, Saudi Arabia, Tonga, and Uruguay. In England, where the idea started, they use 9-9-9. However, it seems that when countries create emergency systems, the new ones use 9-1-1. A different reader noted that because American TV and movies are seen worldwide, 9-1-1 is also understood worldwide. Let’s just say that in the next hundred years, the world goes to a common 9-1-1 system.
I learn so much from my readers! Thanks.
I have a scene in Chapter 20 where somebody calls for the Martian equivalent of an ambulance. If you think what I wrote can’t happen, think again. After my second heart attack, when I was laying on the bed, sweating like a pig, totally without strength, and feeling like a ton of weight was on my chest, my wife says, ‘I’m calling 9-1-1. What’s the number?’ I can barely breathe but I did manage to gasp out, ‘Are you for real?’ I can’t make this shit up! Enjoy!
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