Is this an emergency?

We learned something Friday evening. If a cell phone has been deactivated, it really shouldn't be used for a toy. Because... if you dial 911 you really do get 911.

The kids had our old cell phone along with them in the van. They have been playing with it for several days. They set the alarm, and when it rings, they "answer" it. I didn't think anything of it when I heard them talking about calling 911. After all, the phone had been deactivated over a year ago. Then I heard them saying, "Hello, Emergency." and then they said it again and then it clicked. They were imitating what they had heard. I grabbed the phone from them and said, "Hello?" and I heard, "This is 911, can I help you?" "Oh, I am SO sorry, my kids were playing with our old phone and dialed 911. Everything is fine, there are no problems..." "Ma'am, you need to remove the batteries from your old phones, even if you de-activate them." "What is your name? What is your location?" Nobody came to check us out, but our lesson was learned. The batteries are out of our old cell phones.