Atlanta

"May I have your attention please. There has been a Code Orange activation on the third floor."

When people hear that announcement over the intercom system in the hospital, the majority of them just shrug and keep on doing whatever it was that they were doing, whether it be hospital employees or visitors. Nobody really gives a hoot about this Code Orange activation. Mainly because nobody knows what it means.

Code Orange means that a fire alarm has been tripped.

Now, I can understand trying to limit mass hysteria in a large building by not having an obnoxious fire alarm, but what good does this do when nobody can decipher this cryptic code and fails to be placed in any heightened sense of alertness or preparedness? The simple namesake of this device, fire ALARM, at least suggests that the people occupying the building should be alarmed that there may be a fire within the confines, and won't be able to rest easy until the all-clear signal is played over the intercom. The fire alarm should actually be comprised of an system that will unsettle a person's mind and generate some thought about evacuating the building at the first indication of an actual fire.

Right now, most of us just sigh and do our best to ignore this "Fire Nuisance."

One of the many random thoughts I had during the 7 hour drive to Atlanta...