*77

I knew about the red light on cars, but not the *77

It was about 1:00 p.m. In the afternoon, and Lauren was driving to visit a friend... An UNMARKED police car pulled up behind her and put his lights on. Lauren's parents have always told her never to pull over for an unmarked car on the side of the road, but rather to wait until they get to a gas station, etc.  Lauren had actually listened to her parents advice, and promptly called *77 on her cell phone to tell the police dispatcher that she would not pull over right away.  She proceeded to tell the dispatcher that there was an unmarked

police car with a flashing red light on his rooftop behind her.  The dispatcher checked to see if there were police cars where she was and there weren't, and he told her to keep driving, remain calm and that he had back up already on the way..

Ten minutes later four cop cars surrounded her and the unmarked car behind her. One policeman went to her side and the others surrounded the car behind... They pulled the guy from the car and tackled him to the ground. The man was a convicted rapist and wanted for other crimes.

I never knew about the *77 Cell Phone Feature, but especially for a woman alone in a car , you should not pull over for an unmarked car. Apparently police have to respect your right to keep going to a safe and quiet place. You obviously need to make some signals that you acknowledge them ( i . e,. Put on your hazard lights) & call *77 like Lauren did.  Too bad the cell phone companies don't generally give you this little

bit of wonderful information.

Speaking to a service representative at ** Bell ** Mobility confirmed that *77 was a direct link to State trooper info. So, now it's your turn to let your friends know about *77.

This applies to ALL 50 states. See below.

Princess Ariel's note: Read the details of behind this knowledge at UrbanLegends, which has this warning at the very bottom:
Using your cell phone to contact a police dispatcher (as advised in the email) is also an option, but be aware that the "dial #77" or "dial *77" option does not work in every state. If you aren't sure, dial 911 instead. (Contact your local/state police or the American Automobile Association for specific information about emergency cell phone numbers in your area.)

Cat Rustling

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Pk7yqlTMvp8

'off the mark' Comics by Mark Parisi

If you enjoyed these, be sure to visit http://www.offthemark.com/ for more laughs.

Dog Tired

An older, tired-looking dog wandered into my yard.  I could tell from his collar and well-fed belly that he had a home and was well taken care of.   He calmly came over to me, I gave him a few pats on his head; he then followed me into my house, slowly walked down the hall, curled up in the corner and fell asleep.

An hour later, he went to the door, and I let him out.

The next day he was back, greeted me in my yard, walked inside and resumed his spot in the hall and again slept for about an hour.  This continued off and on for several weeks.  Curious I pinned a note to his collar:

I would like to find out who the owner of this wonderful sweet dog is and ask if you are aware that almost every afternoon your dog comes to my house for a nap.

He lives in a home with 6 children, 2 under the age of 3 - he's trying to catch up on his sleep.  Can I come with him tomorrow?

The next day he arrived for his nap, with a different note pinned to his collar:

I've Got My Eyes on You

These pictures were taken with a home made trail camera above Blue Creek, east of Walla Walla, WA.  There's nothing humorous or inspirational about them, I'm just including them because I think they are wonderful shots that animal lovers will enjoy.

Welcome to My Water Bowl

This explains why people send jokes to you:

A man and his dog were walking along a road. The man was enjoying the scenery, when it suddenly occurred to him that he was dead.  He remembered dying, and that the dog walking beside him had been dead for years. He wondered where the road was leading them.  After a while, they came to a high, white stone wall along one side of the road. It looked like fine marble. At the top of a long hill, it was broken by a tall arch that glowed in the sunlight.  When he was standing before it he saw a magnificent gate in the arch that looked like mother-of-pearl, and the street that led to the gate looked like pure gold. He and the dog walked toward the gate, and as he got closer, he saw a man at a desk to one side.  When he was close enough, he called out, "Excuse me, where are we?"

"This is Heaven, sir," the man answered.

"Wow! Would you happen to have some water?" the man asked.

"Of course, sir. Come right in, and I'll have some ice water brought right up."  The man gestured, and the gate began to open.

"Can my friend," gesturing toward his dog, "come in, too?" the traveler asked.

"I'm sorry, sir, but we don't accept pets."

The man thought a moment and then turned back toward the road and continued the way he had been going with his dog.

After another long walk, and at the top of another long hill, he came to a dirt road leading through a farm gate that looked as if it had never been closed. There was no fence.  As he approached the gate, he saw a man inside, leaning against a tree and reading a book.  "Excuse me!" he called to the man. "Do you have any water?"

"Yeah, sure, there's a pump over there, come on in."

"How about my friend here?" the traveler gestured to the dog.

"There should be a bowl by the pump."

They went through the gate, and sure enough, there was an old-fashioned hand pump with a bowl beside it.

The traveler filled the water bowl and took a long drink himself, then he gave some to the dog.  When they were full, he and the dog walked back toward the man who was standing by the tree.  "What do you call this place?" the traveler asked.

"This is Heaven," he answered.

"Well, that's confusing," the traveler said. "The man down the road said that was Heaven, too."

"Oh, you mean the place with the gold street and pearly gates? Nope. That's hell."

"Doesn't it make you mad for them to use your name like that?"

"No, we're just happy that they screen out the folks who would leave their best friends behind."

Soooo.  Sometimes, we wonder why friends keep forwarding jokes to us without writing a word.  Maybe this will explain.  When you are very busy, but still want to keep in touch, guess what you do? You forward jokes.  When you have nothing to say, but still want to keep contact, you forward jokes.  When you have something to say, but don't know what, and don't know how, you forward jokes.  Also to let you know that you are still remembered, you are still important, you are still loved, you are still cared for, guess what you get?  A forwarded joke.  So, next time if you get a joke, don't think that you've been sent just another forwarded joke, but that you've been thought of today and your friend on the other end of your computer wanted to send you a smile.

You are all welcome at my water bowl anytime.