We all know how handy a pager can be. For a start, where would emergency services be without them? But even in our day-to-day lives, the pager has become an invaluable tool to keep us connected, not only for convenience but for safety as well. But inevitably, things can get embarrassing if your pager sets off at an inopportune moment. So, if you’ve ever had an awkward situation with your pager, then read on and you may feel a whole lot better…

Hot to Trot

A fireman was on call while he headed off for church one Sunday morning with the family. Thinking he had put his pager on to vibrate, he settled in for the sermon between his wife and kids and a rather large lady on the other side. Suddenly the serenity of the service was shattered by the high-pitched shriek of his pager going off (no, not on vibrate), and the fireman got such a fright he was madly scrambling to get to his pocket to silence it and overbalanced into the large lady’s ample lap. Finally silencing the pager, the fireman looked apologetically to the vicar who asked dryly, “Do we all need to respond son, or just you?”

Short Back and Long Sides

An emergency ambulance driver tells the story of being in the barber shop half way through a haircut when his pager set off. With a road accident to attend, there was no time for symmetry and the fellow had to tear off in his ambulance with one side “short back and sides” and the other “not so short back and still lots of side!”

Do You Take this Woman?

One couple, who met in a hospital while both working as paramedics, were finally getting married after many years of dating. It was an outdoor wedding and, unbeknownst to the groom, his friends had secreted a number of pagers under a few of the chairs and one in his suit jacket. When it came time for the celebrant to ask if anyone objected to the wedding, the groom’s troublesome mates set off the first pager with an ear-splitting bleep. After the initial shock, everyone began to laugh and the ceremony recommenced, but every time the question was asked again, another pager was set off. Eventually the joke appeared over and the wedding went ahead. Just as the celebrant proclaimed the pair man and wife, the pager in the groom’s pocket went off and he looked at the message on the screen which read, “Congratulations, sorry you couldn’t be saved by the bell this time!” Boys will be boys.

Sisters Doing it for Themselves

The last tale is one that proves crime definitely doesn’t pay. A young woman who worked in hospitality often had to travel home alone late at night. One evening as she walked from the train the short distance to her apartment she was set upon by a man intent on robbing her of her handbag, phone and pager which was clipped to her trousers. However, the man got more than he had bargained for when she turned on him and pointed her pager directly in his face and pressed a button. The harmless looking pager was in fact a pepper pager, a nifty little safety device filled with pepper spray. The spray temporarily blinded the robber and the young woman was able to call for help. The man was arrested not ever knowing quite what had happened…

Author Bio: Jenny Kettlewell is the Marketing Manager for Multitone Systems, a telecommunications strategy company that has provided pager and paging systems for organisations in the public and private sector for many years.

Category: Computers and Technology
Keywords: pager