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The 7 Month Itch
You know how sometimes you get an itch in the middle of your back that you can’t quite reach? You have to ask someone for help so the annoyance will go away. My itch was a big one. This is the story of how it got scratched…
Dateline-Lynchburg. Wednesday, January 31, 2001. It was a normal day in the quiet little Central Virginia town. I had only been at work for about an hour or so when my boss (a very arrogant and pompous little man) asked me to go to a managers’ office with him. Like a sheep led to be slaughtered, I followed him unaware of the impending doom. Within an hour, I was back at home, head spinning, trying to figure out what I was going to do.
Fast-forward with me now to mid-summer. For 4 months the job search marched on. In the mean time, I was working as many as 3 jobs at one time. I had had enough and decided to simply look through the yellow pages for marketing agencies in the area. The plan was to send my résumé to any of them that looked feasible. I emailed my résumé to one company, and printed several more to drop off in person at others.
The day after I left a copy at one company, I got a phone call. Mr. Frank Britt at
The Britt Agency asked if I wanted to come by and have an informal chat with him one day after work. I went one Friday in late June. Everything went great. It turned out that he has know my uncle, Jim Whitaker (Todd and Stuart's dad) for almost 30 years. For the first time in months, I felt a bit of relief. I could see a little bit of blue in my life’s sky.
Mr. Britt had told me that it was going to be a part-time/Intern position, and that it wouldn’t be available until late August, but it had the possibilities of becoming full-time. He also said that I could probably work as much as I wanted to. This was wonderful. Even though it was part-time, I would still have a steady pay check, getting lots of hours and lots of marketing experience (seeing as how it is my major at Liberty University). The pay rate was the same that a local bank was advertising for a full-time teller position. My reasoning though, was that it wasn’t in my field. Maybe not the most rock solid thinking, but it made sense to me. It turns out, however, that the bank wasn’t even hiring. They just wanted applications and résumés in case they had to hire in the future.
I kept in touch with Mr. Britt. I emailed, I called, I emailed some more. Finally, he asked me to come by for a second interview. This was great news. I knew that the wind was changing in my direction. It wouldn’t be long now. He said I should know in about 2 weeks. After 2 weeks and no phone call, I called him. He said they were still considering and would be in touch soon. He told me he admired my persistence and that it was a major plus on my part. I thanked him and hung-up, feeling quite sure of where I would be in the near future.
Now, it’s been said that one of Murphy’s Laws is that when you think you have everything figured out, you really don’t and you’ll soon find out. At least I think it goes something like that. Anyway, I don’t think Mr.
G.C. Murphy (I think those were his initials) came up with that concept first. I believe it was God. Here’s why…it’s not up to us to figure life out. We don’t have all the answers and we never will, so it’s ignorance to try to. Ecclesiastes says, and Bourgeois Monkey did a song that said, it is vanity (madness) to try to clutch the wind. This means that trying to see what we can’t, touch what we can’t, or even do what we can’t, without God’s help is, in a word, stupid. His ways are higher than ours, His thought as well. So, we might as well stop, and wait on Him. Be still and know He is God. I decided I would stop trying to clutch the wind, and just let God have his way. Read on and see how it turned out.
About a week after I had last spoken to Mr. Britt, I got a hang-up on my answering machine. I HATE those. So, I dialed *69 to find out who it was. I recognized the number as being The Britt Agency. My heart jumped, this was it. I called them back and spoke to Mr. Britt’s assistant. He said he was calling about my résumé. He wanted to know if he could fax it to another company here in town called
GammaPar. Mr. Britt does the marketing for this particular business and they had asked if he knew of anyone who could work on their sales team. He told them he knew the perfect person and began to tell them about me. So, I called
GammaPar and spoke to the President of the company. We set up an interview for the next day. It went wonderful. As soon as I left the building, my cell-phone rang. It was the Vice-President wanting to set up another interview. This one was even better, with one of the interviewers telling me he was going to recommend me for the job. They said I would hear from them the following Monday. That meant I had to wait 7 days. It was almost worse than the 7 previous months.
Monday rolled around and I sat by the phone all morning. It was close to time for me to go to work at the Ale House. I decided I would call and tell them I was getting ready to leave and that I wouldn't be home for a while. I got the voice mail. I knew I would have to wait even longer. Two minutes later the phone rang. It was Mr. Zeigler, the Vice-President. He said they were going offer me
$xx,xxx plus commission. Trust me, the x's were enough to make me smile, commission was simply icing on the cake. Needless to say, I accepted, and I started the next day.
In a split second, my world changed. I literally felt the spirit of depression leave me. For 7 months I had been trying so desperately to reach the middle of my back. But when I finally stopped trying on my own, God scratched my itch. His hands are there waiting for you. Let Him hold you. Let Him scratch your itches.
Thank you to anyone who ever thought to pray for me during this time. Your prayers worked.
Until next month guys, take care and....Lord Bless Ya'!
SM/Beebo Land Restau-Rant
Lynchburg Ale House
Two words best describe the Ale House...sports bar. The owner wants desperately to have it not be one. He has failed miserably. However, the food there is outstanding. The wait staff (of which I was a member until recently) is one of the best I have ever known. The floor, tables and bathrooms are always clean. The lighting is abit dim for my taste. I like to see what I'm eating. Its still tastes like a hamburger or chicken or whatever you are eating, but the way it looks is half the enjoyment. It's hard to say "Wow, that looks good" when the waiter brings your food if you can't even see your hand in front of your face because it's so dark. All kidding aside, the Ale House has one of the best menus in town and I will definitely frequent this establishment even without my employee discount.
Suggested Appetizer(s)
Cheese Fries (Honey Mustard Sauce and Ranch Dressing)
Mozzerella Sticks
Onion Rings
Wings (Hot, Mild, Oriental)
Suggested entree(s):
Chicken Finger BLT (choice of side)
Burger (choice of side)
Club (ditto)
Chicken Tender Platter (same)
Dixie Fried Chicken Salad (Extra Chicken, LOTS of Ranch)
Suggested Side(s)
Fries
Mac and Cheese
Slaw
Pepsi Products
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Poetry Corner |
| Aloha Means Good-bye
Some people don't know what they have until it's
gone.
Some people still don't know even then.
Other people put high value on
every little thing. And others value things
now and again.
Let's all realize that you can't
take it with you.
It's not worth even giving it a try.
So hug your family and
friends and make sure they know you love
them before Aloha means Good-bye.
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