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Former NYC cop handles his first Florida alligator, and its a delightful 'squealing' mess

“One of our newer officers from New York experienced his very first-run in with a gator and it showed!"

Largo Police Department/Facebook

Officer Martinez is all of us non-Floridians.

A police officer who moved from New York to Florida just reached a new milestone as a Florida cop: handling a rogue alligator.

Thanks to a fun video posted to Facebook by Florida's Largo Police Department (LPD), we see the newly arrived Officer Christopher Martinez on "his first alligator call." And well, he handled it a bit like anyone outside of the state would.

“While most of our team handled it like a pro,” the LPD wrote in its caption, “one of our newer officers [Martinez] from New York experienced his very first-run in with a gator and it showed! Let’s just say there was some jumping and maybe some squealing.”

florida, florida gator, new york vs florida, cops, funny videos, funny police videos, wholesomeOfficer Martinez getting hazed, Florida-style.Largo Police Department/Facebook

In the now-viral clip, with over 2 million views, a visibly nervous Martinez has his gloved hands in the air as he tries to wrap his head around what to do.

“Okay, let’s talk about how we’re going to do this,” he says, trying—and failing—to remain calm. His fellow officers can’t help but laugh as Martinez keeps backing away every time his partner tries to hand the critter off.

“IT HAS SO MUCH BITE FORCE!” Martinez exclaims. Meanwhile, his partner kindly reminds him that with tape around its mouth, the gator actually has a bite force of zero.

Finally, Martinez musters up the strength to take the creature, only when it starts to flap about in his hand, he loses it, crying “Aghhh… Oh my God!” in at least two octaves higher than his normal speaking voice.

florida, florida gator, new york vs florida, cops, funny videos, funny police videos, wholesomeA very normal reaction, tbh. Largo Police Department/Facebook

And then, through whimpers, we hear “take a picture for the love of god.” This guy gets it. Even in the face of imminent danger, one simply must strike a pose.

As Martinez hands the captured gator back to his partner, it once again squirms, which of course sends Martinez screaming into the distance and his teammate roaring with laughter.

“Welcome to Florida, Officer Martinez,” the onscreen text reads. The department also added that, I"the gator was safely removed and relocated to a proper area," and despite Martinez's traumatic reaction, "no officers were harmed."

florida, florida gator, new york vs florida, cops, funny videos, funny police videos, wholesomeNot all heroes wear capes. Largo Police Department/Facebook

florida, florida gator, new york vs florida, cops, funny videos, funny police videos, wholesomeNailed it, Officer Martinez.Largo Police Department/Facebook

Down in the comments fellow Floridians had a field day.

“New Yorkers all hard core until a baby dinosaur arrives,” one viewer quipped.

“Better get used to it.....there are bigger ones that ring doorbells lol” warned another.

“Wait until he finds out they climb fences too lol ” someone else wrote, to which another responded, “...or slips through the doggy doors.”

Listen, Florida: for the rest of us (save maybe Louisiana), handling gators is not a normal thing! We don’t have an Alligator Hotline, okay? We don’t have “throwing a gator into a recycling bin” as part of our morning routine? We’re not this guy:

But hey, kudos to you all for handling the wildlife like champs. But all this gator chat has led us to this question: is “must know how to handle an alligator” on every job description, or is that just sort of assumed? Inquiring minds wanna know.

To watch Officer Martinez's big moment, click here.

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People can't get enough of this grandma's reaction after watching the grandkids for 6 days

"She said, 'don’t call me, I will call you.'"

Canva Photos

Melissa Beeler's mother-in-law was absolutely fried after watching the kids for a week.

Parents need a break. They need a little quiet, a little adult time, a little respite where tiny hands aren't grabbing at them and demanding snacks. They need time for romance and connection with their partner. It's all extremely necessary for them to come back with a full cup and actually be a good parent to their kids. Family vacations don't count, as they're hardly relaxing for parents. It's just the usual rigors of parenting in an exotic location! Sometimes, all parents just need to get away by themselves, even for just a short date night.

Grandparents, to the rescue! Well, sometimes, anyway. There's been a lot of debate in the news lately about why grandparents are spending less time wit the grandkids (is it called babysitting?) than ever. Part of it is that more and more older adults of grandparenting age are still working and don't have the free time to provide childcare. Those that are willing and able to help out are absolute superheroes. But even heroes have their limits.

Melissa Beeler recently shared footage on TikTok that all parents can relate to. As she and her husband pull up after returning from vacation, grandma (who has been watching the kids for a week) has the most hilarious reaction.


grandparents, parents, parenting, kids, babysitting, family, love, grandma, grandpaGrandma Mimi needed a drink after the week she had.Giphy

Simply put, grandma (or Mimi, as they call her) was ready to hightail it out of there the second mom and dad got home. And no one can blame her.

Melissa and her husband Ryan had left Mimi in charge of not only three kids, but two puppies, while they went on a weeklong cruise. That's right, one whole week.

Understandably, Mimi is shown quite literally booking it to her car. Her bags were ready to go. She had one foot out the door. And once Melissa and her husband were within sight, she was gone. The speed at which she made her escape would have made Usain Bolt proud.

"Where are you going, Mimi?" Beeler calls out. "Mimi's ready to go," she mumbles to her husband, then adding, "Thank you!"

All parents will recognize Mimi's exhausted, frantic escape walk shown in the video:


@melissabeeler2

Her bags were packed & she was ready to go. ✌️ #couples #parents #husbandwife #funny #relatable

The video went viral on TikTok where viewers just couldn't get enough of their new hero, Mimi. Commenters had plenty of jokes about Mimi's mental state after a week of taking care of 5 unruly creatures:

"Grandma is going straight to the bar"

"Mimi will probably be right back over there tomorrow, but today she's done."

"She doesn’t care how your vacation was she doesn’t want to hear about it."

"She said don’t call me I will call you"

"Mimi needs a whole pitcher margarita"

Some people had similar stories of their own:

grandparents, parents, parenting, kids, babysitting, family, love, grandma, grandpaThree kids is a lot for any grandma to handleGiphy

"My aunt watched my 4yo while I went to a wedding over the weekend. I came back and she said 'I love her to death but she and I need time apart for a looong while after this'"

"My Mom watched my three for 3 hours while I went to a funeral, they were 2, 1, 1. She had her jacket and purse on when I walked in the door, the literally pushed past me in the doorway saying, 'It’s too much, LOUISE, too much.' I didn’t hear from her for just over a month"

"Haha! This is what my mom does too! She’s enjoyed her time but now it’s time to go"

You love to see the dedication. As many commenters pointed out, grandparents like Mimi love to be involved, help out, and spend time with the grandkids, but when they're done, they're done. That doesn't mean they won't come right back to spoil them some more when they've regained their energy.

The reaction also illuminates how parents feel pretty much all the time and why the Surgeon General put out an advisory about the mental health of America's moms and dads. If Mimi was wrecked after a week, imagine how mom and dad feel!

Obviously, running after little kids is a lot more taxing when you're in your 60s or 70s. And yes, yes, of course, if you choose to have kids, you know what you're signing up for. But that doesn't make it easy. No siree.

The Beelers know exactly how lucky they are to have such a wonderful grandma who's just a phone call away, though they might need to give Mimi a much deserved break before their next weeklong vacation.

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Dad makes kids put down their phones then captures hilarious video of them 'playing' outside

No one has ever looked so sad on a swing.

Canva Photos

These dang kids and their dang screens! I'm loathe to admit that I've had this thought a lot lately myself. When it comes to planning our kids' summer break, a part of my brain assumes they'll just want to play outside with their friends most of the day; making up games, riding bikes, coming inside to grab popsicles. The stuff I did at their age. But in reality it hasn't worked out like that. Most kids in the neighborhood are either in camps, or they're inside watching TV or playing video games.

When I try to encourage my kids to go outside more, I get a lot of grumbling and push back. Is it possible this generation has just... forgotten how to play? Are the phones and tablets to blame for this strange phenomenon? One dad recently had the brilliant idea to take his kids to the park, take away their phones, and force them to go play. The results were... not exactly what he was hoping for.


Person lying down, wearing sunglasses, taking a selfie with a phone.Giphy

"It was a nice day outside," Charles Lavea told Newsweek. "I thought we could go get food and eat at the park. I took my daughters' devices, phones and iPads, off them and left them at home. I wanted them to get some sun and fresh air, so we went."

In footage shared by Laveas on TikTok, you can see what happened next. HIs two girls are shown sitting on swings, forlornly swaying back and forth, not knowing what to do with themselves. You can tell they're just disassociating until dad's weird little experiment is over. They would rather be anywhere else in the world. Specifically, they'd like to check in on what's going on on their phones. It's all over their faces and in their sad, hunched over body language.

Watch the comical video here:

@lifewithlaveas

This generation man 🤣🤣🤦 I remember growing up all we did was play at the park with the kids in the neighbourhood 🤷 #lifewithlaveas #girldad #funnymoments #trendingsound #titanicflutefail #tiktokparent #viralvideos #fyp

Commenters had a field day, and most agreed: Kids "these days" don't know how to play outside.

"Bro when I was that age me and my sista be seeing who can swing the highest and jump off the swing on our feet"

"They would ratha watch other kids playing from there devices"

"Kids these days won't know the struggles we been through since the 80s - 90s kids been through with no phones, gaming pc, iPhone, Samsung, tablets, Facebook, tiktok, YouTube & Instagram wasn't invented. Even internet was hard to get when we use to have dial-up internet back then."

"Honestly the kids nowadays have no idea how to play outside eh? My kids too 😂🙈 I used to run out the door and never came back til the street lights turned on."

The data backs it up. There's been a shocking decline in often kids play outside in the last couple of decades. One study estimates only 6% of kids aged 9-13 regularly play outside unsupervised.

But is it so simple as to say that phones and tablets have rewired our kid's brains and the fun of playing outside can't keep up with the quick and easy dopamine hits found on screens? That's part of the problem, sure. But did you know that only around 20% of kids walk or bike to school, compared to 70% of parents who did so when they were young? That's not kids' fault, and it's definitely not because they're in their room playing on their iPads. It's because our culture has stoked so much fear in parents that our kids will be kidnapped or hit by a car that we rarely let them out of our sight anymore.

Kids have less unstructured free time than they did in the past, too. Your average kid is enrolled in more sports, clubs, and extracurriculars than ever before. Those are generally good things on their own — these activities challenge them, teach them new skills, and help them make new friends. But it doesn't leave them a lot of time to flex their imagination and invent silly outside games with other kids, and that time is important too.

It's easy to grumble about how kids are obsessed with their devices — and of course, genuinely laugh when dads like Lavea show that their kids barely know how to use a swingset — but change is going to have to start with us parents. The screens aren't going anywhere. Time spent playing outside is so good for a child's mind, body, and soul. We may just have to awkwardly force them into it a little more often, and that might mean pushing our own fears aside, or (the scariest thing of all) putting our own phones down to lead the way, too.

This article originally appeared in February

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Humor

JD Vance accidentally dropped the college football championship trophy and people have jokes

We can still come together to make fun of politicians.

CBS News/Youtube & Michael Li/Flickr

JD Vance "fumbles" the coveted college football national championship trophy.

It's a tradition for sports teams that win major championships to receive the honor of visiting the White House and meeting the President. The Super Bowl champion Philadelphia Eagles will be visiting soon. The World Series winning Los Angeles Dodgers visited earlier this year. And just this week, the national champions Ohio State Buckeyes took the stage with President Donald Trump and Vice President JD Vance, an Ohio State alum.

It was a simple photo opp. There would be no hard hitting questions from journalists about the economy or Russia. Everyone involved was there to simply celebrate the accomplishments of a talented and hard working group of young men in a controversy-free ceremony. What could possibly go wrong?

JD Vance had other plans. The moment he went to hoist the trophy, it appeared to quite literally fall apart in his hands.

Vance puzzled over the trophy for a moment as he tried to slide it toward himself. Then, as he began to lift it, the top half toppled over only to be caught by Ohio State running back TreVeyon Henderson before hitting the ground. You can actually hear the crowd gasping and holding their breath before Henderson saves it, all while the United States Marine Corps Band performs "We Are the Champions." You honestly couldn't script a more hilarious sequence if you hired Hollywood's funniest comedy writers.

To be fair, the college playoff national championship trophy is a little confusingly constructed. The bottom half is just a black stand for the trophy itself, which is the 26.5 inch tapered golden piece on top. So technically, Vance didn't break the trophy. He just didn't realize that it came apart in two pieces.

But it was too late. The blunder was caught by dozens and dozens of cameras, with the jokes about Vance "fumbling" the trophy nearly writing themselves.

Watch the wild video here:

- YouTubewww.youtube.com

Vance, the Internet's favorite punching bag as of late, suddenly found himself on the butt end of an avalanche of jokes.

Vance is no stranger to being made fun of on the Web. First, it was the theories that he wears eyeliner while simultaneously preaching about the death of masculinity. Then, it was enterprising social media users engaging in a war of one-upmanship to see who could create the most horrifying, bloated caricature of the VP.

And now, he can add this fumblerooski to his resume.

In a thread posted on the subreddit WatchPeopleDieInside, people came with their best jokes at Vance's expense:

"Ahh I see it's because the trophy didn't wear a suit and say thank you"

"That man has never held a trophy in his life."

"They are going to blame the Democrats for this."

On X, one user wrote, "JD Vance: Can't order donuts. Can't hold a normal conversation. Can't hold a trophy without breaking it."

Honestly, jokes were barely necessary. The photos are hilarious enough. The top half of the trophy tumbling limply into Vance's shoulder. Vance bending down, scrambling to pick up the base. It's all just *chefs kiss.*


People on the right had some fun at the VP's expense, too.

"Trophy must be made in China," one Reddit user joked.

"Dan Quail on steroids," added another.

Fox News couldn't help themselves, either. They made more than a few puns about Vance "fumbling" the trophy.

Even Vance himself had no choice but to try to take the mockery in stride.

The Trump administration is off to a controversial start, to put it extremely lightly. JD Vance's trophy snafu harkens back to a simpler time when we all came together to make fun of George W. Bush not knowing how to pronounce words or Gerald Ford tumbling down the stairs of Air Force One. There isn't much that's able to bring people from different sides of the aisle together anymore, and this one is just a minor blip in the grander scheme. But this little reprieve in the news cycle has definitely been a much needed source of comic relief.

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