Hubby and I may gripe about the stupid calls he takes for work, but he does get valid ones, too.

He was home for lunch break with the boys and me. A call came on the radio, Hubby replied and dashed out the door. I heard the siren wailing as he hurried down the street. He called a short while later to let me know he was OK. A two-year-old child was drowning in a pool and he was the closest unit to the scene. EMS was already there and had revived the child and were readying for transport to the hospital.

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He's recently had a lot of calls dealing with unruly teenagers. There was the boy who was acting belligerent and threatening toward his mom. Hubby's method of dealing with him: "It doesn't take much of a man to threaten a woman. Why don't you try someone your own size - see what happens."

Another family with a troubled teenage daughter who was refusing to go to school: Hubby read her the riot act. It sounds like she has serious emotional problems and the parents are in the process of getting her into a residential program. Good for them.

The best was the tweens with 'tude. They were riding up and down their rural road on a 4-wheeler and yelling obscenities at a neighber. The neighbor got fed up and called the police dept. Hubby took the call. Driver girl starts in with the attitude "This is my 4-wheeler and I can ride it where I want..." Hubby cuts her off with "I'm not your Daddy and I'm not your friend. Give me your parent's phone number now, and your friend's too. If you keep up the attitude, you're going to JAC and I'm impounding the 4-wheeler." Her Dad was surprised to discover she wasn't riding on their driveway, alone (the girls were a couple miles from their house, with no helmets or other safety gear, illegally riding on a public road). While waiting for the dads, another neighbor shows up to speak to Hubby. She's a bus driver and the girl ignored flashing red lights to pass her bus while kids were crossing the street. Both dads got an earful and a recommendation to take the keys away.

Seriously, who lets their 12-year-old ride a 4-wheeler without a helmet or supervision?