Thank You

It was like a scene out of the newest action movie. The brave cop and hero of our film switched on his blue flashing lights and pressed the gas pedal to the floor. Chasing the speeding SUV down the crowded road, he swerved around the other drivers while requesting reinforcements. It was a dangerous game of cat and mouse as both the law-breaker and the cop waited until the other would make a mistake resulting in either the capture or escape of our villain. Finally in a flurry of broken car parts, the criminal lost control, slamming into another vehicle into a ditch and sending himself off the road and into a nearby parking lot.

This scene did not unfold on a screen in a packed theater, but rather just a few yards in front of me yesterday afternoon. After spending the day with family and friends, I was driving Grace and Bob home in my car when we witnessed the wreck. Our jaws dropped as I pulled to a stop on the busy road and we watched wide-eyed as the cop jumped out of his car, pulled his gun on the criminal, then tackled him to the ground. I would have got out to check on the person in the other car, but if they were severely hurt I would have been hysterical and only got in the way of the others who had already rushed to their aid. So when we had a chance, we left the scene and continued home another way.

Only Bob did the driving instead of me. I was so overcome with anger toward the idiot driver that I couldn't think straight. How could someone have such little respect for human life that he would endanger everyone sharing the road with him? Did he even care about the person he had just slammed into? If I had been the cop, I wouldn't have let the man surrender, I would have emptied my gun on him at my first chance. (Now that I know how to shoot one, Mwahahaha) As these thoughts and questions swirled in my mind, I grew steadily more angry and I tried my best to keep from cursing.

It wasn't until later that night when another thought consumed me. What if we had been just a few cars further ahead? What if we were the ones he hit? Would we have survived the wreck? If Grace and Bob had been hurt, I would have crossed the street and wrestled the gun from the cop so I could shoot the man myself. I know it sounds awful and very un-Mandy-like, but I really think I could have done it. When people I care about are hurt, I have the potential to get violent, and this would have been no exception.

As if whole ordeal was nerve-racking enough, thinking of all the what-if's and worst-case scenarios nearly cripples me. But I was skimming through of my Bible tonight when the book flopped open to Psalm 121. This is a Psalm of Ascents, from a collection of songs the Jews would sing on their way to Jerusalem as they crossed treacherous terrain. Verses 7 and 8 say "The Lord will protect you from all evil; He will keep your soul. The Lord will guard your going out and your coming in from this time forth and forever." How comforting are those words!

I firmly believe God protected us yesterday. It could have easily been us in the other car, but God had His hand on us. He continues to amaze me with the ways He so obviously works in my life and my weak words of gratitude simply aren't enough. I want my life to be a "Thank You" to Him. I want to be pleasing to the God who loves me by living in absolute faith. (See Hebrews 11:5-6) He deserves nothing less.

Letter to a Stranger

Dear dude in the steakhouse this evening,

You stunk! Please understand that covering yourself in your cheap cologne is no substitute for bathing. I wanted to enjoy my delicious steak and buttery baked potato, but I couldn't get the taste of your overwhelming stench out of my mouth. Try the scent of body wash like Irish Spring. Now THAT smells good. And doesn't waft over the booth divider.

Also, please shave your scraggly face and wear some shirts that are not a girly shade. Or how about a nice suit and fedora? I can imagine the grimace on your face right now, but give it a try. Your girlfriend would find it attractive. Or did you scare her away with your awful cologne?

A note about the next time I sit in the booth adjacent to yours: If you ruin my steak and tato again, I will have the waitress take the bill to your table.

Thanks!

Mandy, Sam and Grace

Phone Etiquette

Part of my job at the radio station is answering calls and directing them to the appropriate individual. Not my favorite part of the job because I tend to get tongue-tied and sound like a babbling idiot. And now you're wondering why I'm in radio if I tend to get tongue-tied. Well if you weren't wondering before, now you are because I just mentioned it. And I hate to disappoint you with my lack of an answer, but let's get back on track, shall we?

So I answer the phone a lot. And recently, I've had several calls where I answer as normal, then the person asks for someone who either isn't in the office at the moment or does not even work there at all. Upon hearing my less-than-desired answer, they abruptly hang up on me. How rude!

Instead of calling them back and fussing them out for their rudeness, I'm going to record some of my tips on phone etiquette and hope by some miracle they stumble across this post. You know who you are. Take notes.

First, simply because YOU dialed the wrong number and didn't expect to speak to me does not mean it's ok for you to just hang up! People of decency should apologize and it is super nice if you'd wish the phone answerer a nice day. Only then can you end the call without acting like a jerk muffin.

Before you call, please have in mind exactly what you want to say. Write down a few notes to refer back to if necessary. Because if you're all confused and spouting out "um's" every three or four words, you will be thoughtlessly wasting the time of the person on the other end of the line and probably trying their patience. I generally have a whole dang speech prepared when I call requesting an interview. It goes something like this...

"Hello, my name is Mandy and I'm with the Talk Station in Morehead City, North Carolina. I was calling to see if Congressman Jones would be interested in joining Ben Ball on the morning show Coastal Daybreak to talk about his efforts to increase the North Carolina public beach access with Senators Hagan and Burr. (pause for big breath) Would this possible early next week?"

Normally after the quick spew, I take the next few seconds to really catch my breath as the Congressman's aide responds. It may be a lot of information, but at least I'm prepared and ready to do business, dangit!

Now I must take a couple paragraphs to address teenage phone manners. When you call a home and someone answers, don't just say "Hi" and expect us to know who you are. We are awesome yes, but not psychic, so please introduce yourself. Because when you start asking about the time of the youth event thingy my parents planned, then I'm twice as confused because I don't know what you're talking about in addition to who you are.

Please request to speak with the person you're trying to reach instead of assuming I am my mother. My mom is adorable, so I'm flattered, but still! There are five women in my house and only frequent callers have just recently begun to name us correctly. And sometimes even they have to go down the list of sisters before naming the right one. It's almost like a fun guessing game, but the only clue they get is "Nope, try again!"

So people, PLEASE talk on the phone properly. Ok, rant over. I hope you learned something.

Imagination > Animation

It has been way too long since I last posted anything. I would blame my lack of posting on the fact that I've been super busy, but I know my mom would disagree and cite all the tv shows I've spent time watching recently. (Psych and Burn Notice just came back, so I've been absolutely giddy. Totally loving Shules, but Jesse not so much) So I'm not gonna even bother trying to excuse myself and move on to the topic that's been bouncing around in my head all week.

*Ahem*

This week, my friend Katrina and I spent an hour in Walmart shopping for an Operation Christmas Child box. We spent more than half of the time walking down each aisle of the toy department pushing buttons and being thoroughly creeped out by the animated toys. When I was little, we didn't have these toys with moving body parts which hilariously fail to imitate real animals. We had to use our... wait for iiiiit... imaginations!!

Really, I think animation significantly limits the toy's usefulness. Sure, moving arms and legs may be sorta cool in that you don't have to waste allllll that energy to move them yourself. But stuffed kitties with mechanical insides are absolutely no good for cuddling. You can't squeeze their plushy lower half into your Barbie Corvette so they can drag race against the beanie baby on the next shelf. Just give me a toy that does absolutely nothing so that I can make it do whatever I want! Confused? Let Phineas and Ferb explain it:



Genius, right? My favorite Disney boys totally get it. And my favorite Disney toys from Toy Story get it too. Yes, Buzz Lightyear had the wings that pop out and the voice box that apparently has an epic Spanish setting. But practically all the other toys in Andy's room were simple and therefore able to do absolutely anything. At the very end of Toy Story 3 as Andy drops off his toys to the little girl down the street, he hands each one to her while describing just how awesome these individual toys were. He didn't describe their high-tech animations, but rather the characters they played in his imagination which made them a special part of his childhood. *sniffle* I may need a tissue.

Anyways, Katrina and I picked out a little stuffed monkey with no mechanical qualities whatsoever so that the little girl who receives it can make it do whatever she wants. I even tested its cuddliness before putting in the box to be sent to another country. It passed with flying colors. I liked it so much that I may have to buy myself another one. Yes I am almost 22 years old, and I may be purchasing a stuffed critter for myself. As if I didn't have enough already.