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Acquainted with Emergency Services

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Arnold: [to Chocolate Boy] Go to the fire station, tell them we're stuck in a tree, and we need help getting down.
Eugene: Tell them Eugene sent you. They know me. They rescued me many times before.
Hey Arnold!, "Stuck in a Tree"

A character that usually causes a lot of trouble, on purpose or accidentally, to themselves or others, will always get the attention of Emergency Services (i.e., police, firefighters, paramedics, etc.). When they arrive to the scene and they see who caused it or if they get a call from the character, they might respond with a deadpan "What did you do this time?".

That's because the character has a reputation of causing trouble too many times to the point that the emergency workers know who they are and are very familiar with their actions. They will usually have a Unusually Uninteresting Sight or Oh, No... Not Again! reaction or have a Casual Danger Dialogue when they see the character again. They might casually greet each other by saying their names as if they're friends or if they're already friends, usually with a First-Name Basis. It's likely they might already know each other from a previous Noodle Incident they caused. This could also happen in the case of an individual who's a hypochondriac. They might also have an Instant Emergency Response if it constantly happens in the same area.

They don't necessarily have to be emergency workers; they can also be doctors, nurses, security guards, judges, lawyers, or any profession where they are required to rescue, help, and/or punish people when they are in trouble or causing trouble.

This is very much Truth in Television, as members of emergency services will remember you really fast if you are in contact with them regularly, like as a petty criminal, dialysis patient, etc.

This can also be used as a comedy gag, where a character will reveal how often they get visited by them or how often they contact them.

This may apply to a character who is a Bungling Inventor, The Chew Toy, Delinquents, The Jinx, The Klutz, Lethally Stupid, Too Dumb to Live, or a Walking Disaster Area.


Examples:

    open/close all folders 

    Anime & Manga 
  • A Certain Magical Index: Touma is very well acquainted with the hospital staff in Academy City, given he usually ends up there after fights with espers or magicians. In particular, the "Frog-Faced Doctor" gets to know him pretty well. On at least one occasion Touma showed up at the hospital despite not being badly hurt in the incident just to say hi to the staff and brag that he didn't get hurt this time.
  • My Hero Academia: Izuku Midoriya has received treatment from Recovery Girl multiple times, due to repeatedly fracturing various body parts as his body is not fully suited to One For All.

    Comic Books 
  • In Gaston Lagaffe, the firefighters are so used to Gaston's explosive experiments, floods, and noxious gasses they try to beat their own records for time taken to get to his office building. One strip has Fantasio calling them and saying "the usual address". Mind you, many of Gaston's latest lunacies are so outlandish they can still take them off-guard from time to time.
  • In Léonard le Génie Basile is a familiar sight to the staff of the local hospital, who keep a room permanently reserved for him. They occasionally complain about how much of their time goes to treating him, or casually remark that his subscription needs to be extended.

    Comic Strips 
  • In Zbeng!, the personal background book for Asher and Josepha has a document from a hospital about Asher being a model patient in the stomach pumping section — Josepha is a Lethal Chef, and the guy loves her too much to say "no" when offered her cooking.
  • In one Baby Blues comic, Wanda and Darryl are rushing Zoe to the doctor after thinking she may have swallowed a battery. Wanda mentions how they were there just last week after Darryl stepped on Zoe's hand and says that if this continues, the staff will know them by name. Darryl dismisses this, but the next panel (focusing on the staff) shows she was right.
  • Crankshaft tends to go haywire with accelerant during barbecue season. As a result, the town's fire department has learned to check on him as soon as the spring weather turns nice.
  • Citizen Dog: Cuddles is on first name terms with the local police.

    Fan Works 
  • The main characters in the Avantasia Protag AU series are so well acquainted with the local police that they became friends with one. Jim the cop has fatherly feelings towards them and tries to keep them from getting into too much trouble. He also spends time with them off duty sometimes. They even all have his phone number on speed dial. Interestingly, the rest of the force seems to have made Jim their private cop because he's the only one they'll listen to.
  • Naruto in Blue Skies has apparently landed in the hospitals after trying to fly so many times that he has a room reserved for him by the time he's ten. He can also calmly diagnose his own injuries, including which bones he broke this time.
  • Child of the Storm has Harry especially, given his Doom Magnet tendencies, though Carol isn't immune to it, especially given that she doesn't have the same recuperative powers (though she doesn't tend to get run through the same meat-grinder as him). McGonagall ends up despairing how his knack for finding trouble is even worse than canon, wondering if he can even go one term without risking his life. Dumbledore, the realist, expects that a fortnight is more likely.
  • Once Upon Five Dozen Mattresses: Rainbow Dash's crimes in the capital are usually handled by a "Garda", as she says:
    I usually get questioned by Garda. She's okay, right? Because police work is kinda dangerous and Garda knows me —
    — oh, good. Yeah. It's her day off. I get it. I'm just glad it wasn't anything worse. You know how it is. You see somepony over and over, under sort of the same conditions even when it totally isn't your fault and even if you're maybe not quite friends yet, you worry.
  • In A Young Woman's Political Record, Tanya von Degurechaff has melted so many computation orbs in testing, she knows the exact code for the form she needs to fill to claim it was destroyed in non-combat testing and how to fill it by heart.

    Films — Animation 
  • Rise of the Guardians: Jack Frost has become acquainted with the yetis guarding Santa's workshop. Just after saying he's been trying to get inside for years, he says "Hey, Phil" to one guard, who gives him an "I'm watching you" gesture.
  • Treasure Planet: Implied. Jim Hawkins has apparently violated a particular law about hoverboarding often enough that, when the robotic constables who are bringing him home forget what number the law has attached to it, he is able to finish the number from memory.
    Constable 1: We apprehended your son operating a solar vehicle in a restricted area.
    Constable 2: Moving violation nine-zero-four section fifteen paragraph...um...
    Jim: Six?
    Constable 2: Thank you.
    Jim: Don't mention it.

    Films — Live-Action 
  • In Dirty Grandpa, the local drug dealer and surf shop owner Pam has a very buddy-buddy relationship with the police implying that he's had a great number of encounters with them. They imprison him for selling coke but let him go because he needs to open up his store even allowing him to take the drugs they confiscated with him.
  • John Wick: Befitting John's legendary status in the underworld, when the police roll up due to a "noise complaint" (caused by John dispatching a dozen assassins sent to ambush him), John is cordial to the police officer whom he's on a first-name basis with and in return, Jimmy knows enough not to bother doing anything even though he can plainly see a dead body in John's home. This makes Jimmy arguably the smartest person in the whole setting.
  • Guardians of the Galaxy (2014): When the Nova Corps arrests everyone, one of them, Rhomann Dey, pauses as he notices "Star Prince" among them. Presumably, this is due to a single noteworthy incident rather than frequency, but it still counts.
  • In Terminator 2, when the T-1000, disguised as a cop, needs to find John Connor, he enters his name in the police cruiser's computer, which displays a long list of infractions and misdemeanors. When the T-1000 arrives at the foster home, his foster parents nonchalantly ask "what did he do now?"
  • TRON: Legacy: Sam Flynn is arrested after pulling a prank on his father's company, ENCOM. When he gets out and picks his bike up from the impound lot, he greets the guard with "Hey Carl" and gets a sigh and "Hey Sam" in return.

    Literature 
  • Harry Potter:
    • The Hit Wizards (the Harry Potter equivalent of a SWAT team) have reserved beds at St. Mungo's hospital.
    • Harry himself is well acquainted with the school nurse, Madam Pomfrey, after winding up in the hospital wing multiple times per book. His friends (Ron, Hermione, and Neville) are also frequent guests there.
  • Honor Harrington:
    • Alluded in "Ms. Midshipwoman Harrington", when some of the ship's officers learn that Honor has had regular full-contact training bouts with one of the ship's Marine sergeants, their first reaction is to ask how well she's gotten to know the ship's medical officer.
    • In Honor Among Enemies, it's implied that Aubrey Wanderman's training in hand to hand combat with SMAJ Hallowell (the senior enlisted marine aboard the Wayfarer) and Horace Harkness has made Wanderman quite familiar with the ship's doctor, to the point where a later conversation involving Honor includes Wanderman saying in unison with Hallowell, at the end of the conversation, "this ship has a fine doctor!"
  • In Emergency Room by Caroline B. Cooney, the police bring an extremely drunk homeless woman into the Emergency Room and the nurse greets her with, "Hi, Norma." Then she turns to Diana (a new hospital volunteer) and explains that the police bring Norma in about once a week and that Diana will soon be able to recognize the regulars too.

    Live-Action TV 
  • As shown in the Christmas Episode for 'A.N.T. Farm'', Chyna's dad goes to the emergency room a lot during the holiday season. When he goes to put up a wreath, she takes out a phone and says, "Rose, it's me again. We're gonna need another ambulance soon."
  • Tim from Home Improvement. One episode has his son Randy get injured while sledding. When Tim takes him to the hospital, it turns out he's on a first-name basis with the staff (who, assuming he's the one injured again, are glad to see he's walking in under his own power). He even has his own coffee mug there (and they've memorized how he takes it). Naturally, he ends up suffering an injury while musing about how he's never been there without being hurt.
  • Malcolm in the Middle:
    • In one episode, Reese comes home pursued by the police. When his parents notice the sirens, Lois decides to start making coffee. Then Hal notes that the policeman is a guy called Hank, who only drinks decaffeinated coffee.
    • In one episode, Malcolm is taken to the hospital to treat a serious head injury. The first thing the nurse says when she sees Francis, Malcolm, Reese, and Dewey come in is, "Oh, for God's sake, you kids again?" According to Malcolm, the boys have a history of ending up in the hospital for stupid and dangerous stunts: Reese tried to drive a nail through an aerosol can, Francis tried to flip a knife and catch it, Malcolm fell asleep with scissors pointed at him and Reese tried to wake him up by popping a balloon, and Dewey tried to put his teeth on a bike wheel as Malcolm was spinning it.
    • In an early episode where Lois has a pregnancy scare, a Flashback shows Lois, who's heavily pregnant at the time with Dewey, arguing with Hal. They're interrupted by a cop who greets them by name and says that they caught Francis, who was around 8-9 years old at the time, driving a stolen street sweeper, hands them a court summons, and tells them that they know where to go and what to do.
  • Spencer on iCarly has a habit of accidentally setting things on fire and calls for the fire department to put it out. They react to his calls with annoyance and in one episode, decide that they are fed up and refuse to come back next time.
  • Daredevil (2015): The main trio's acquaintance with the NYPD through Foggy's childhood friend Brett Mahoney does mean that they're regular fixtures at the 15th Precinct.
  • Done as part of Klaus' Establishing Character Moment in The Umbrella Academy (2019); after he overdoses on drugs and recovers in the back of an ambulance, he high-fives the paramedic that's with him, suggesting that they've done this routine plenty of times before.
  • In Married... with Children, Al pretty much starts knowing the cops on a first-name basis due to getting arrested multiple times over the series (or someone in the family getting arrested, like when Peg tried to open her own toll booth near the airport or when Bud got arrested for sexual harassing the background girls for his exercise video who turned out to be undercover agents). And Officer Dan (the police officer who often busts Al) even becomes a member of Al's men's rights group, NO MA'AM (National Organization of Men Against Amazonian Masterhood).
  • The Andy Griffith Show, Otis Campbell, Mayberry's local drunk, constantly makes one of the jail cells his own personal bedroom during the weekends to the point Andy doesn't even bother trying to stop him from coming in and sleeping off the booze. Even allowing him the keys to the Sheriff's office to come in when he needs too.
  • In My Family Ben complains that since the accident-prone Abi moved in he's been going to the hospital so often they've got him chipping in for staff birthdays.
  • An episode of Titus (season one's "Dave Moves Out") opens something like this:
    Titus: Officer, I got a call saying my brother was being held here.
    Desk Sergeant: Of course sir. Now, what's your brother's name?
    Titus: [shaking his hand] You must be new here.
  • In Community, it's mentioned that Greendale Community College is on 911's blocked caller list. It probably has something to do with their habit of letting things like paintball and pillow fights get completely out of control.
  • The Office (US):
    • After Michael and Jan get into a big argument during their dinner party, the neighbors call the police. When they arrive, Dwight tries handling it and the officers tell Dwight they don't want to deal with him right now.
    • While escorting Pam and Jim to the hospital so they can have their child, Dwight puts a siren on his car to speed traffic along. The police immediately show up and tell him to pull over, referring to him by name.
    "You're not allowed to impersonate a police officer. Don't make this difficult, Dwight."
  • Criminal Minds: The unsub in "The Good Earth" is a hypochondriac who continues to believe she's suffering from a skin condition that has long since been cured. One nurse derisively alerts the doctor that "the tomato lady" is back, and the doctor tries his best to be civil before basically snapping at her to stop wasting his time.
  • The Brittas Empire: It has been stated in the series that the emergency services are called so much that they would much rather leave Brittas to his latest disaster than help him in any way.
  • Chance in a Million: The police have arrested Chance so many times for matters that are completely coincidental that they actually now have orders not to arrest him.
  • The Red Green Show: Mike Hamar is such a prolific criminal that the court system knows him on a first name basis.

    Video Games 
  • In Genshin Impact, there are two characters that contend for the title, Hu Tao and Arataki Itto — the former had gotten into trouble with the Millelith countless times due to her antics relating to her advertising of Wangsheng Funeral Parlor, and the latter became well known within the Tenryou Commission due to his boisterous behavior, and antics. Of the two, Itto surpasses her in the department as he had landed himself on prison, and proudly proclaims that it's is hundredth time that he served jailtime.
  • In Grand Theft Auto V if Trevor is pursued by the police of Blane Country, they will call him out by name over speaker, implying that they already know him really well.
  • In The Sims 2 and onwards, you can engage in relationships with policemen, firefighters or other emergency staff. You can befriend them, or even marry them and have them move in your household, making them a playable sim.
  • In inFAMOUS: Second Son Delsin calls the DUP hotline to phone in a tip about a 'bio-terrist' and trigger a shootout with the paramilitary unit in order to free the zone of its occupying force. Initially, the operator treats Delsin like any other citizen. With each additional call and shootout, the operator gets more upset and is quicker to recognize that Delsin is the caller. In the final call, the operator angrily calls Delsin by his formal name (Mr. Rowe!) and promises to send the full wrath of the DUP to his location.
  • In Hustle Cat, on Reese's route, the policewoman recognizes Asmodeus and he addresses her by name, even. Her reaction of Oh, No... Not Again! heavily implies that this is far from the first time he's disturbed the peace.
  • The Persona series:
    • Persona 4 allows you to not only work at a hospital, but this is required to form the game's Devil Social Link, Sayoko Uehara.
    • Persona 5 is similar. While you can't technically work at a hospital in P 5 R, if one doesn't count the medical trials, the game's Death confidant is your medicinal supplier, Tae Takemi.

    Web Animation 
  • Epithet Erased: Car Crash, one of Giovanni's most accurately nicknamed minions, has managed to rack up so many minor accidents that someone in the police force is running a betting pool on how many times he'll do so in a given month, with even the extremely strait-laced Percy King taking part. Giovanni, for his part, suspects some kind of eye condition.
  • In the early seasons of Red vs. Blue: The Recollection, Freelance Command had already implemented a key-board shortcut for reporting the team kills done by Simulation Trooper Michael J. Caboose.
    Caboose: Ctrl-F-U.

    Webcomics 
  • In Chicken Wings, Legend In His Own Mind Chuck has become sufficiently infamous that in any situation where things have started to go pear-shaped, the first guess of whoever he calls up is that it's him. Again.
    Chuck: [describes situation]
    Radio: Chuck, is that you?
  • Fluffernutters: 21: SIGH, named for the penultimate panel, before the mom says "My five-year-old should NOT know the ER doctor by name!!"
  • The Monday 7 December 1998 update of Mark Stanley's Freefall has Sam Starfall phone emergency services when the flatbed he's driving goes airborne from a rocket motor. Sam says only, "Uhm, hello?" yet the operator instantly recognizes the voice, and asks, "What have you done now, Sam?"
  • In The Whiteboard, Doc has the emergency services, National Guard, and window replacement guys on speed dial. Another comic showed that the local fire department has separate alarm board set up for Doc's shop (many of them explosions of some sort).
    "Oh, come on! We were just there ten minutes ago!"
  • In Scalie Schoolie, Grizzelda tends to call the police for things she doesn't understand, like walking around puddles.
    Grizzelda: [on the phone] Hello, the police? It's me, Grizzelda. [beat] Yes, it happened again.
  • Sparks, an unofficial sitcom-esque webcomic made using Funko! Pop figurines by MTG head designer Mark Rosewater primarily for his personal amusement, involves the main planeswalkers living together in an apartment building. One of them is Chandra. They know everyone in the fire department by name and are well-acquainted enough to ask about close relatives.
  • This xkcd strip, where someone personalizes his license plate to read 1I1-I1I1, reasoning that he can now get away with any crime because no one will be able to correctly read his plate number. It backfires.
    Witness: The thief's license plate was all "1s" or something.
    Officer 1: Oh. That guy.
    Officer 2: His address is on a Post-It in the squad car.
  • Precocious: At a parade the Sapphire Lake kids address the firefighters by first name and schedule something for next Tuesday.

    Web Original 
  • What If?: As much as Randall Munroe seems to enjoy describing the borderline-apocalyptic results of some of the hypothetical scenarios, he'll occasionally field a question involving an illegal activity, and he'll then depict himself alerting the authorities.
    • One of the "Weird and Worrying Questions" is from someone named Brittany asking how many cats it would take to bring down an airliner by meowing at the right frequency. The illustration is Randall calling the FAA.
      Randall: Is there a "Brittany" on the no-fly list? ... Yes, with cats. That sounds like her. OK, just making sure you were aware.
    • The next book Randall released for "What If" involved an anonymous user asking about how to defeat Air Force 1 with a drone.
      Randall: Hello, Secret Service? Yes, it's Randall again...
  • The protagonist of the Polish copy-pasta "Dad the Angling Fanatic" has stepped on his dad's fishing hooks so many times, that he's instantly assumed to be in for surgical help every time he shows up at the doctor's.

    Western Animation 
  • When Carl calls 911 in the Aqua Teen Hunger Force episode "Rubberman", he's presented with a chain of different emergencies and sub-numbers to call. For the emergency of having a gerbil up your ass, the recording just asks "Richard" to call the hospital directly.
  • In one episode of As Told by Ginger, when her friends come to babysit Carl, Ginger tells them that the numbers for emergency services are noted near the phone and adds: "They know him at the hospital."
  • In Bob's Burgers Season 5 "Eat, Spray, Linda", Linda Belcher and Tina Belcher would sometimes use the restroom at a fancy hotel. They've been doing it for years and even got acquainted with the hotel security guard there, and even the pianist who plays in the lobby. The guard even knows about Linda's family and her birthday and they even listened to her idea to put new potpourri in the restrooms.
  • In The Boondocks episode "The Fried Chicken Flu" when Riley and Granddad notice the fried chicken restaurant ran out of fried chicken, Riley calls 911.
    Riley: Hello, 911. No, I ain't calling to snitch! I got a real emergency! Yeah, I'll hold.
  • Captain Planet and the Planeteers: In "The Big Clam-Up", the Planeteers go to San Francisco to investigate a case of mass poisoning with no apparent cause. After the umpteenth time of someone collapsing in front of them from poisoning, Gi says she'll call the hospital; they know her by this time.
  • In Family Guy:
    • In Season 3 "Lethal Weapons", while a naked Quagmire watches Lois chase away the New Yorkers on her lawn from his window, his window slams down shut on his penis. Unable to get the window up, Quagmire calls 911:
      Quagmire: Hello, 911? It's Quagmire. Yeah... Yeah, yeah, it's in a window this time.
    • In Season 11 "The Old Man and the Big 'C'", while waiting for Quagmire's hair implant at hospital, Joe greets every staff member who walks by the waiting room by their name.
      Peter: Geez, Joe.
      Joe: Yeah, I come here a lot.
    • The inverse of this trope occurs when the police are called and Joe shows up in uniform.
  • In Foster's Home for Imaginary Friends, Season 2, My So-Called Wife, Mac, Bloo, Coco, Mr. Herriman, and several other people are thrown in jail for a night after a phony benefactor threw a fake gala in someone's mansion without permission and the owner has everyone arrested for trespassing. Everyone was released from jail in the morning leading to Bloo saying goodbye to the police officer.
    Mac: What a crazy night.
    Bloo: Eh. I had worse. (to a police officer) Good seeing you again, Charles. Say hi to the kids for me.
    Charles: Will do, Bloo.
  • Inverted in Futurama, where Bender is familiar enough with the police to recognise individual squad cars by the sound of their sirens.
    That sound, it's Patrol Car 718!
  • In The Grim Adventures of Billy & Mandy:
    • In Season 2 Educating Grim, when Billy tries to race Grim and Mandy to school, he immediately runs into the school's front sign. Cue Nurse Penbroke walking outside hold first-aid kits looking annoyed. After Billy and Mandy leave school, Billy is already covered in bandages and walking with a crutch. When Nurse Penbroke happily waits outside for Billy, he tells her he's done for today and then she releases an exhausted sigh.
      Nurse Penbroke: Oh, Billy.
      Billy: [cheerfully] Hi, Nurse Penbroke. I can't feel my legs.
    • Grim has this relationship with the nursing staff at the retirement homes when he comes for the elderly residents, as shown in Season 5 "Home of the Ancients".
      Gloria: Hi, Grim.
      Grim: S'up, Gloria.
      Gloria: Aw. Are you here for Mr. Silverman?
      Grim: No. That's next week.
  • In Hey Arnold!, Season 5, "Stuck in a Tree", when Arnold, Eugene, and Harold are stuck in a tree, they see Chocolate Boy and tell him to get help from the fire department. Eugene tells Chocolate Boy to mention him to the firefighters because they know him from previous rescues. Arnold has a "Why am I not surprised?" reaction to what Eugene said.
    Arnold: [to Chocolate Boy] Go to the fire station, tell them we're stuck in a tree, and we need help getting down.
    Eugene: Tell them Eugene sent you. They know me. They rescued me many times before.
  • In Milo Murphy's Law, because the titular character is Born Unlucky and a Walking Disaster Area, the firefighters and police know him to the point that he keeps a framed photograph of them in his room.
    • In "Rooting for the Enemy", it's revealed that his family, mainly Milo and his father, Martin, have their own hospital suite called the "Murphy Suite".
    • In "The Note", the government is fully aware of the Murphys' luck that they dubbed their neighborhood as "The Murphy Sector".
    • In "Worked Day", when Milo's class is having a career day, they meet Melissa's father, who's a firefighter, whose squad just put out a fire at a fish hatchery:
      Mr. Chase: Milo, you weren't here at the fish hatchery this morning, were you?
      Melissa: Dad!
      Mr. Chase: Ha! I kid!... But seriously, you weren't here, right?
      Milo: [cheerfully] Why Mr. Chase, I'm flattered! [suddenly deadpan, visibly irritated] But no.
  • Over time, Jake from My Gym Partner's a Monkey has become a "regular customer" of Dr. Tamarin.
  • In The Simpsons, the Simpson family, mainly Homer and Bart, are prone to this.
    • In Season 5, "Homer Goes to College", after Homer causes a meltdown in class when the professor asks him to demonstrate how a proton accelerator works. The clean-up crew arrives to stop the problem:
      Homer: [glowing green, gesturing over shoulder] In there, guys.
      Crew: Thanks, Homer.
    • In Season 12 "Worst Episode Ever", Bart makes a bet with Homer to eat a spoonful of rotten baking soda which he agrees to:
      Lisa: [dialing Poison Control] I'll call Poison Control. [talking on the phone] Fran, it's me. Just a heads-up.
    • In Season 13, "The Parent Rap", the Simpsons go to court when Bart and Milhouse get in trouble for stealing Chief Wiggum's squad car. Judge Roy Snyder is shown to know Bart already pretty well when he is brought to court. Bart knows him pretty well too since he knows that he will let him off the hook, since "boys will be boys".
      Marge: I love our court days. It's about the only thing we do as a family anymore.
      [the Simpsons walk past a bailiff]
      Lisa: [to the bailiff] Hey, Karie.
      Karie: Hey, Lisa.
  • In the SpongeBob SquarePants episode "Call the Cops" we learn Patrick has gone on enough ice cream benders that he keeps a key to the jail cells.

    Real Life 
  • No insurance agency on the planet will cover Jackie Chan, who had, for the longest time, insisted on performing all of his own acrobatic stunts in his movies.
  • This happens with Cuban immigrants attempting to get to America and Coast Guard crews attempting to stop them. After a few attempts, the immigrants get very good at recognizing individual cutters and know the crew members by name. There have been instances of Cubans successfully getting to the US and gaining legal residency under the "Wet Feet, Dry Feet" policy, then hanging out outside of Coast Guard stations to catch the aforementioned crewmembers leaving base and let them know that they safely made it.
  • Ambulance crew generally refer to these individuals as "frequent flyers". It's not a fond nickname, as they tend to be either Hypochondriacs and calling the local emergency services for no particularly good reason, the town drunk who's keeled over in public, or drug seekers trying to get prescribed their drug of choice. The police also use this term to describe criminals they regularly are arresting for whatever reason.
    • A more tragic example of a frequent flyer is shown in Dr. Death: The Undoctored Story, a documentary released alongside Dr. Death, both chronicling the true events in Dallas around Christopher Duntsch who maimed numerous patients in Meatgrinder Surgeries, and killed two of them. Among the victims discussed in the documentary is Phillip Mayfield. Thanks to his nerve injury at Duntsch's hands, until his death from COVID-19 suffered pain spikes so intense that he'd end up passing out. According to him and his wife, this happened so often that paramedics knew them by name such that they didn't even need to give emergency services their address.

 
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Home Improvement [Hospital Visit]

Scene from Home Improvement, Ep 62 - Slip Sleddin Away. Randy hurt his arm after being challenged to a sled race by a local bully. After he tells his father, Tim takes him to the hospital to get it examined and Randy comes to learn he's pretty much a local regular around the joint due to Tim's penchant for injuries.

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