This Five-Year-Old Boy Was Left Home Alone — His 911 Call Had Everyone Cracking Up

By: Loretta Smith | Last updated: Aug 25, 2023

A call to 911 is rarely a laughing matter, but for Sara, a humble dispatcher working the evening shift, a call from one Elijah Peterson was almost enough to have her on the floor. 

Thankfully, she managed to maintain her composure just enough to help this five-year-old Ohio kid through a difficult experience. Could this be the funniest 911 call ever made?

Two Incompatible Entities

If you have toddlers at home, you probably must have learned by now that those chaps don’t mix well with phones. After a protracted period of a toddler having access to a phone, the phone often turns up either damaged or some unmonitored calls would have been made. 

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At the end of the day, you may become miserable at having to call back the individuals your child beeped, and apologize for the error, or start working towards getting a new phone into your next budget. 

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Not Typically a Laughing Matter

911 dispatcher calls are not typically something to laugh at. Sara took her job very seriously but she just couldn’t help herself from cracking up when she received an unexpected call from a 5-year-old boy.

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The call brought some levity to her day and she couldn’t help but share with her coworkers. This call was one she certainly wouldn’t be able to forget!

She Had To Force Herself Not To Crack Up

It was just a regular shift. During one of her calls, her colleagues watched with concern as she struggled to maintain a straight face. As they say, the more you try not to laugh, the harder it becomes. But, as the conversation continued, suppressing all that laughter became almost impossible!

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Of course, she was a professional trained in maintaining a calm demeanor. She had not expected the situation to develop as it did and had to stay focused in case it got serious. 

A Shift Any Dispatcher Would Pray For

911 dispatchers can be generally said to have a tough job. So, they are trained to accommodate all the trauma and stress they may encounter while discharging their responsibilities. 

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Briefly, just imagine yourself being the emotional refuse dump of an entire city, because that’s the perfect analogy for a dispatcher’s job. They are often the first point of call when there’s bad news and occasional good ones. So, a 911 dispatcher’s job can be emotionally draining and may test one’s mental agility. But this experience brought some much-needed laughter to this dispatcher’s shift.

Playing The Call Back Later

Once the call was over and her colleagues had time to take a break together, she played back the call and put it on the speaker for everyone to hear. Of course, they all exploded in laughter at what they were hearing. Sara later took the call for her friends to hear, as well.

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The story was too good not to share! It has twists and turns, ups and downs, and will stick with you (so long as you have a good sense of humor). It all started after Elijah got tucked into bed for a nap by his father. Things got out of control from there.

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5-Year-Old Elijah

5-year-old Elijah was a happy kid! He spent a lot of time playing outside and spending time with his friends.

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The kid was naturally curious, as dispatcher Sara was about to find out. But it all started with Elijah taking a nap.

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Elijah Sleeps Soundly

Five-year-old Elijah often napped in the late afternoon, and today was no different. After a few hours of play, he was ready to slip into slumberland. As he did most days, his father tucked him into bed. It didn’t take long for Elijah to fall away into dreamland.

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Before he slipped away, he got his father to promise to make his favorite meal for him once he woke up. With that, Elijah closed his eyes, sure that he would awake to a tasty treat and that everything was fine.

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Something Had Changed While He Slept

A few quiet hours later, Elijah opened his eyes. He couldn’t hear anything in the other parts of the house, probably because his dad was trying to keep everything quiet while he slept. He slipped from his bed onto the floor, ready to eat his favorite food.

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He probably realized that something was wrong when he couldn’t smell cooking in the air. He called out, but the call just stayed hanging in the air, unanswered. Where was he? Did he go out to get food?

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It Seemed Like Elijah Was Home Alone

Elijah walked around the room and called out for his father, but he got no answer. He checked the bathroom, then his father’s room. Maybe he was sleeping too? Nope. He couldn’t find him. He even looked out of the windows to see if he had gone outside for some reason.

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But, he wasn’t there either. Elijah was puzzled. He had very rarely been left alone in the house like this before. In fact, he couldn’t remember the last time it had happened. The house was strangely still.

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Human Presence, A Necessity

Like most other toddlers, Elijah was used to always having someone around. It was abnormal for him to be left all by himself. So, whenever he wants something to eat or drink, he needs someone to fix it. 

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In fact, some toddlers won’t go to the bathroom alone if someone is not there to go with them. So, it is a little surprising that Elijah got worried when he found the house all quiet. He has not been weaned off completely depending on his parents. 

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Hmmm, What's Going On?

Elijah grew increasingly confused. He was only 5 years old so he had not been left on his own before. Lots of questions crossed his mind.

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Where could his father be? Had he gone out to buy his favorite meal? Would he be back soon? The kid couldn’t help but get a little worried.

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Was His Father Trying To Scare Him?

At first, Elijah thought his father must be playing a joke on him or some prank. That didn’t sound right—his father hated jokes and hated even minor pranks. He disliked playing any game at all, especially with Elijah. He was never any fun.

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If it was a joke, then it wasn’t a very funny one. Elijah then wondered if something terrible had happened while taking his nap. He looked at the dinner table and felt annoyed. Then, he felt guilty and sad.

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What Was He Going To Do?

The novelty of having the whole house to himself had already worn off. Elijah wondered if he had seen his family for the last time. He panicked, running from room to room, and began to cry. He was all alone. He had no idea what to do. He was only five, after all.

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He even went through all the cupboards and hiding places, hoping that his family would jump out, some takeout in hand, laugh at him, and make all the doubt vanish.

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He Was Locked In

Nothing happened. It was as though time had locked in place. Not only that but he was locked in the house, as well. One of his first ideas was to ask his friendly neighbor, the one with the cute dog, for help, but the door wouldn’t budge. 

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Elijah was only five—he didn’t have access to any phone. The problem was, he’d never dialed a number himself. However, there was one number he remembered.

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Always Remember This Number…

There was one phone number he could dial, one that his mother had reminded him of whenever she was teaching him what to do in a scary situation. Plus, it was even short enough that he could remember: “911!” 

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Elijah couldn’t think of a scarier situation than this—he was stuck inside all alone and without an adult around to help! His father might have been in trouble, for all he knew. He picked up the wireless phone and started dialing, confident someone on the other side could help.

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Just A Regular Evening At The 911 Call Center

At the 911 call center, the staff was having a typical day. Only a few calls had gone through. Of course, quiet shifts are not the norm, but they are a good sign. After all, nobody calls 911 because they’re having a good day. 

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On days like this, the team got to know each other. They can’t engage in other activities while waiting for calls to come through because they have to stay focused. It’s a tough job, but somebody has to do it!

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Sara Answers Elijah’s Call

Sara, a dispatcher at the 911 call center, picked up Elijah’s mortified call. When she picked up the line, she was taken aback. She could only hear silence and soft sobbing. Whoever was making the call was crying. 

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Because Sara had been trained for situations like this, she kept a calm voice and asked the mysterious caller to stay calm. Because the sobs were coming from a child, she knew that first she had to calm him down, then ask him to stay where he was.

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Sara Jumps Into Action

As a dispatcher, Sara had been trained for these situations and had answered many distressed calls. She put her experience to practice with this call just like any other.

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However, she couldn’t help but be nervous and unsure what to expect because she could tell Elijah was very young. She hoped the child was not in any kind of danger. She had to find out more information to know how to proceed.

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Keeping Him Calm

Sara asked Elijah basic questions and asked him to remain calm. The little boy assured her he was alright but was afraid his dad wasn’t around. She was concerned about the boy’s well-being and would do anything to help.  

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When a young child calls 911, there are two ways it can go – being a naive act or meaning something bad. And, in this case, Sara couldn’t tell. When she asked what his dad looked like, he said he was “unfair with no hair.” 

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Out Of Danger 

Sara was very professional about the call and took notes of the conversation. She was careful to catch all of the details, reading between the lines and the silly way Elijah was telling her about the events of the evening. 

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He asked her if it was illegal to promise chicken nuggets and not deliver. He asked her if she’d ever had to arrest anyone through the telephone—and if so, how? Sara struggled to not crack up while he randomly threw these silly questions back after she had asked hers.

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Keeping Composed

Elijah’s funny comments were enough to make anyone laugh, but Sara remained professional. She felt that the child was not in danger but needed to go through all the proper processes to ensure his safety.

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She did tell Elijah that it was unfortunately not illegal to not deliver on chicken nuggets. Elijah was clearly disappointed. As she spoke to the kid on the phone she called for backup to head over to the house and check on his safety.

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An Insecure But Strong Chap

The demeanor of young Elijah, and his ability to see the silver lining on every dark cloud tells a lot of the kind of adult he would likely grow into. Naturally, the average youngster would have gone to emotional tatter after getting the first hint of his parent’s separation.

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Apparently, Elijah is emotionally resilient and would make an emotionally intelligent adult, if allowed to grow in a nurturing environment. 

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Help Arrived Soon 

Besides being a wisecrack, accidental or otherwise, Elijah was smart to call 911. He was alone and locked inside his house. There was no imminent danger, but a child of that age shouldn’t be left unattended for that long. He was scared and wanted his parents. 

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Not long after, two police officers arrived at Elijah’s house. He had successfully given Sara his address and she directed the police officers to keep an eye on him until his dad came back.

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Sara Was Still On The Phone 

The officers kindly kept Elijah company and helped him calm down. He (and the police) were well entertained, and the five-year-old even forgot how upset he was before. But if the boy’s father or mother didn’t show up within a few hours, they would have to bring him to the station. 

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Meanwhile, Sara was still listening in and comforting him from the phone. He had begun telling her about something he called “pizza spaghetti.” Sara had to hold back her tears—her colleagues noticed her beaming throughout the call.

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Elijah Was Safe, But Where Was Dad?

Everyone involved was thrilled to see Elijah was calm, safe, and unharmed. Sara felt great relief that the police had arrived and were in the house with the little boy.

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However, one important question remained: Where were the parents? And, why had they locked Elijah in the house all alone? He was right to call 911. But how did this happen in the first place?

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Following A Lead

To take her mind off Elijah’s last question about “Santa Claus’ farts,” Sara took to the internet to learn about his father—but mostly to remind herself of the seriousness of her job and distract herself from the giggle rising in her chest. 

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Using the name he gave her (and despite his unhelpful description of “Biggy McBald-pants,“ as Elijah called him), she found his father on Facebook. He wore a hat in every picture. This was to “hide the nut,” as Elijah sagely informed her.

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The Saddest Story

Sara was looking for a tonic to the boy’s eccentric stand-up routine, and she had found it. As she looked through his profile, she noticed a pattern in his posts and photos. There were a lot of worrying thoughts, and most of them sounded serious. Their severity peaked when he mentioned Elijah’s mother.

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While she hadn’t discovered a possible location for Elijah’s father, she did uncover a sad truth about their family from a month-old post: his dad and mom had recently gone through a messy divorce.

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She Knew How Divorce Could Affect Kids

While it appeared that Elijah was a playful, happy kid, she knew that divorce could be very painful and difficult on a kid, especially one of Elijah’s age.

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Her heart broke to think that Elijah was unknowingly using humor to cope with some really difficult shifts in his family. Could the split have something to do with the situation at hand with Elijah being left home alone?

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What Happened To His Parents?

Between the moments when Elijah was asking the police officers, “whose gun is bigger,” and “where do chicken nuggets come from? Chicken mountains?” Sara read up on the breakup from his father’s perspective. It was a troubling read.

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His father wrote frank and emotional posts about feeling lost without his wife, how he didn’t have the energy to go on sometimes, and how all meaning had left him. Elijah asked her if clowns used ketchup for their lip makeup. “I’m not sure,” she told him.

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The Facebook Sleuthing Continues

Going off his posts, it seemed his father would have created more problems for the family than he would have solved. He seemed like the dramatic type. Not dangerous, but he didn’t seem to have any filter when talking about his relationship and family online. 

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He said some hurtful things, even about Elijah. His posts got stranger after the separation. It looked as though Elijah was an only child. She wondered where this man could be while his son was home. What was he thinking?

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The Silly Billy

Although she couldn’t ask Elijah about his family’s situation, she asked him to confirm some things. And he did, even going as far as to call his father a “silly billy” for his behavior. After that, he acted like everything was alright—except for his missing chicken nuggets.

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Sara was impressed with little Elijah. After getting the scare of his life, he casually talked to a stranger and pretended that nothing in his household was wrong. Sara asked him to put the two officers on the line.

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The Officers Take Elijah To The Station

Given his father’s grim, worrying posts on Facebook, Sara thought it would be best if Elijah were brought to the station. The officers agreed that it would be better if they could look after him at the station. 

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Upon hearing that he had to go there, Elijah asked, “Are you arresting me for ‘kid napping’?” Even the cops couldn’t help but crack up. Elijah looked very pleased with himself. One of the officers managed to walk him to the car without much trouble. Elijah told them he would drive.

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Bringing Him In To Talk

After confirming several details about the situation with Elijah, Sara knew that their conversation was not only hilarious, it might help protect him in the future. Since the end of her shift was coming up, she thought about asking her supervisor if she could drop off the recording at the station and meet Elijah personally.

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She had kept him happy, plus he might be scared at the station without any support. While her supervisor was against it, after hearing the recording (and reluctantly chuckling), he agreed.

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Getting Elijah Support

The end of her shift was coming up anyway, so he didn’t see the harm in letting Sara go a few minutes early. He figured it might come in useful for the police. Plus, he had been put in a funny mood thanks to the recording. 

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Sara made a copy of the recording onto her phone and headed to her car. She was on the way to meet the strange five-year-old who had made her laugh but was perhaps going through a traumatic moment.

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Rewinding The Tape

Sara punched the station’s address into her Maps app and headed over. While she went, she listened to the recorded call a few times in her car, just laughing to herself about Elijah’s chicken nugget obsession and the “unfair no hair” bit about his father.

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The kid veered from making seemingly self-aware wisecracks to innocent slip-ups. She found his ability to find the fun in things when things were going wrong around him—at such a young age, too—endearing somehow. 

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The 911 Call Center Was In Stitches

Sara’s phone was lit up with messages from her work’s group chat. They had all heard back the strange conversation she had shared with the five-year-old—they couldn’t get enough of listening to it! A dull late afternoon shift had turned into quite the stir, it seemed.

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She got messages from her colleagues asking if the call was real or fake. Of course, she was driving, so she only saw the messages after she got to the station. She was about to see the kid herself.

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Getting To The Station

Sara had to take a minute to look at the messages on her phone. By the time she got inside the building, she had found they were busy processing the case. They hadn’t been able to reach Elijah’s father. It seemed that he had his phone off.

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The kid wasn’t around where they were doing the calling — he was elsewhere in the building. They had been trying to reach his mother, but she was just as difficult to contact as his father.

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She Brought The Recording

Sara found the officer in charge of finding a contact number for Elijah’s mother or father. She tried to explain that they probably wouldn’t get through to his dad, explaining that she had gone through his Facebook profile, being the person who picked up the 911 call. 

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The officer took a look and agreed. It would probably be best to focus on finding his mother instead. The officer sighed, knowing that this would not be an easy job. He asked her why she had decided to drop by.

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Finding Elijah

Sara told the officer about the recording. He downloaded a copy of the call, thanked her, then pointed her to the room where Elijah was waiting with a worker from child protection services. Sara made her way over to the room. 

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She found him easily since he was the only small child in the building. The five-year-old was saying something to the woman from child protection services, but Sara couldn’t make it out. She seemed very interested in what he had to say.

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Elijah Meets Sara 

Sara waited for a good moment to introduce herself—there wasn’t one because Elijah would jump from one topic to the next. But when he noticed her watching him, he stopped. She introduced herself as the lady on the phone. Elijah’s eyes brightened, and he ran over to her.

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Elijah gave Sara a big excited hug. He told her that she was so nice. The lady from child protection services was confused. She asked if she was his mother. Embarrassed, she said she just took his call earlier.

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Going Over The Story

Sara was just glad that the five-year-old was still in high spirits despite everything that had happened. After she chatted with him and ensured that he felt at ease, Elijah went away to read a comic book. The woman from child protection services asked her to fill her in on what was happening.

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As Elijah happily flipped through the pages of his story, Sara told her about their phone call earlier. She gave her every detail, including Elijah’s weird questions and wacky jokes.

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Putting Her In The Loop

Who was she, and why had she stopped by? After she had taken his hilarious but touching call to 911, she felt as though someone had to warn the officers about Elijah’s father’s emails. Sure, a call would have worked. 

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However, she had been moved (emotionally and to tears of laughter) by the five-year-old, and she wanted to offer him support. Plus, she said, it meant she could get off her shift a little early. She swore that Elijah, who looked immersed in his comic, laughed a little.

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His Father Couldn’t Look At Him

The child protection services agent asked her how she managed to draw so much out of him. She had been gently trying to coax information about his family life out, but he didn’t want to talk about it. Even though he had described his father as a “silly billy,” it was clear that his father had been struggling to be a dad.

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That, combined with his strange posts, painted a clear picture of what was occurring. His father struggled to look at his son because he was reminded of his wife.

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Elijah Didn’t Understand

None of this was lost on Elijah, despite him being very young. Sara repeated what Elijah had told her, minus the rhyming jokes about his dad, his cooking ability, and his fashion sense, and the two of them began to see what had been happening.

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The kid knew that his father didn’t like him—even resented him—but he couldn’t understand what he had done. He had always been a good boy and tried to stop being funny around his father. He worried he had said something wrong.

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Talking About The “Mean Silly Billy”

The two women tried to explain that his father didn’t hate him. But when he asked when his father was, they couldn’t say. The child protection services agent asked him what life was like with his father at home. Elijah repeated what he had said about his father being a “mean silly billy” and “unfair with no hair.”

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Even though his comments were childish and silly, there was a tinge of sadness to them. He had already learned to use humor to cover up his negative feelings.

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Life As An Only Child

Elijah tried to make out like he didn’t mind being left to his own devices. He said he liked having the house to himself because he didn’t have to breathe his daddy’s farts all day. He didn’t even mind that nobody was coming to pick him up. Sara asked him if he ever wanted to talk to someone.

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Elijah replied that he really would have liked someone to talk to. The child protection services agent asked him if he had brothers or sisters. No—Elijah was an only child.

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Nobody To Talk To

Although Elijah had Sara and the child protection services agent in stitches, it was clear that the situation was quite serious in his household. Elijah said that because his dad often ignored him, he spoke for him, promising to make him spaghetti pizza or chicken nugget burgers and to take him to Disneyland.

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The five-year-old had started talking to himself (which is where he came up with most of his “material”).  It seemed his father had grown so distant that he had left.

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They Finally Reached His Mother

Sara looked at Elijah and wondered how anyone could ever have abandoned him. An officer came to the door and announced some good news: they managed to get into contact with his mother. She was coming to pick him up. Elijah seemed happy to hear this.

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His mother became panicked and upset after hearing what had happened to her son. She had no idea how badly her ex-husband had been treating him. She told them she would be over as fast as she could.

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Choosing Between Mom And Dad

Why was Elijah with this man, given that he seemed so disturbed? His mom explained that when they split up, Elijah wanted to stay with his dad. His mom didn’t fight him—or for him—and her ex-husband seemed happy.

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Or at least as happy as he could have been. Elijah’s mom believed in giving Elijah a choice. It has been a bad call. While many men make great single dads, this guy was not one of those fathers.

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Elijah’s Father Caught Wind

A few days later, Elijah’s call to 911 was all over the internet. Sara hadn’t put it up, but she suspected someone at work had leaked it. It even got so popular that Elijah’s dad heard about it. Naturally, he wasn’t happy about the recording. 

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Although his son’s words were silly and childish, they still painted him negatively. As a result, he made several heated calls to the police station and spoke to several people. The person he was angry with was Sara.

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He Was Out Of Luck

Complain as he might, Elijah’s father couldn’t get the satisfaction he was looking for—the only recourse he had would mean officially opening up a case—and he didn’t want anyone digging deeper. So he left a complaint with the 911 call center, and that was that.

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Meanwhile, Elijah began living with his mom full-time. Although he still missed his dad, he was happy living with someone who would listen to his silly rhymes and jokes. He was never left alone in the house—but he didn’t mind so much.

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Hurricane Divorce

Failed marriages are like a large dragon that has been unleashed on the modern world, and it is trashing its tail around and creating deep problems in our social structures. 

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Couples who separate in their kids’ formative years sometimes cause them to grow into emotional wrecks. While it is not advisable to remain in an unhealthy relationship, both partners should ensure their kids get a soft landing from the relational turbulence. 

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