Lockdown and the identity crisis

Yesterday, my daughter’s friend’s school went into lockdown. This happened because the fire alarm had gone off. I’d been aware of this through a FB group that I am a part of; people were sending messages about it. One parent was upset because she could not contact her child attending the school, get into the school or talk to school staff during the lockdown. She was frantic and unaware of what was going on. Fortunately, thanks to that group, more information about what happened came through and it turned out it was nothing major and no one was hurt.

Today it was another school’s turn to go into lockdown: My son’s elementary school. When I picked Jesse up from school today, he was upset. I asked him what was wrong and he explained that his school had gone into lockdown. I decided to talk more about it with him after we got home. By that time, however, his school principal sent out an email to all the parents about the lockdown. The same message was sent out over the phone. I was surprised to learn that the lockdown had happened hours earlier. I had not been aware of it at all. I was also a little upset because what if something had happened? I would have LIKED to know something was up at the school so I could be aware of any messages or emails to watch for on my phone. I was also concerned about other parents being worried when being told by their children at the time they were picking them up that the school had gone into lockdown. With so many bad things happening at schools these days – shootings and such – of course we’ll be a little worried when being told the school has gone into lockdown, but it would have been nice to know when it actually happened and not hours later when the situation had ended.

Well, obviously, nothing did happen. There was a police incident in the area and the police had requested the school go into lockdown. That is all that I know and all that I was told. Unfortunately, there was nothing about this police incident on the news this afternoon. So the details are sketchy.

I explained all of this to Jesse and assured him that everything was okay. He was upset that a lockdown had even happened at his school. I explained to him that his school went into lockdown for his safety. They did it so that the bad guys could not get into the school or be anywhere near the students playing outside. I pretty much told him it was so the school could keep the bad guys out. He was still troubled about it. I assured him that the school did it to keep everybody safe and that the staff know what to do if anything goes wrong. They are trained to act in emergency situations. I reminded him about learning about school lockdown before. It seemed to make him feel better.

Also today, I came across a funny historical fact in a World War II book I am currently reading. Before Eisenhower became President, he was in the military. He and some other fellow officers had their picture in a newspaper. Unfortunately, whoever captioned the photo incorrectly identified Ike as “Lt. Col. D. D. Ersenbeing.” Um….Ersenbeing?? LOL I had a good laugh over that. I even verified that on the Internet and it really happened. Eisenhower even admits to this in his memoir.

Wow, and I thought MY maiden name was often misspelled.

But my first name is often misspelled, too. I have had it spelled “Don” or even “Donn” so many times, sometimes I wonder if I am two different people! Yes. My masculine alter ego is indeed named Don Kolkausser. Let this be known! He is not to be confused with Daniel Colclasure!

Geez.

This reminds me of silly and confusing voicemail messages I have received on my phone. I am not talking about people calling a wrong number, either. I am talking about recorded messages from my kids’ schools. I have a feature on my phone that transcribes voicemail messages into text and, well, it looks like it ain’t exactly perfect.

These are some of the messages I have received:

“Hey Simmons, I has got a picky guy. Nathaniel.” Then: “Dear parents, guardians, students of (some school my daughter doesn’t go to).”

“Hey Simmons, I had set up with you Dennis.” Then: “Dear parents or guardians. Please your calendars for our families star night on…”

“Hey Simmons, I had set up with you Dennis Daniel.” Then: “Dear parents and guardians. Please set…”

“Hey, Samantha has a picky guy. Nathaniel.” Then: “Dear parents, guardians and students…”

“Hey Simmons, I had set up at the dentist by noon.” Then: “Dear parents, guardians and students…”

My kids have also been misidentified, with names ranging from Justin, Donald and Jonathan. (Interestingly, they have uncles named Justin and Donald.)

Sure, I have a good laugh over these incorrect names, but even more of a laugh when the wrong words are used. It’s all good, though. I am usually able to figure out most of what the messages are trying to say!