Written On A Whim

 

Last night, I packed my beach bags to head South the next morning for a few days with my nephew’s family, but then the rain storms came on this Saturday morning and I delayed my happy trip. Mad as Rip, I stomped into the kitchen and started jerking things out of the cabinets to clean things out and earn a feeling of accomplishment. I did have sense enough to put on some good music. After an hour of making a real mess with “stuff” all over my dining room and breakfast tables, I heard a knock at the front door. Wondering who in this world would knock on my front door on a Saturday morning, I scowled and jerked the door open. There stood my sweet postman with a small package in his hand and a smile on his face.

“I didn’t want to leave this outside with more rain coming. You have a good weekend,” he said.

Bless his sweet heart. He just changed my entire day! That got me to thinking about how many random people have spread sunshine to me and my family in Andalusia so many times this summer. I am THANKFUL TO LIVE IN ANDALUSIA, ALA. Recently, we were out of town for 10 days and had rigged up a watering system on a timer to try to save the St. Augustine and plants in the back yard. When we got home, we got a call from the Utility Department asking if we had been using more water than usual. They just noticed and wanted to be sure that we did not have a leak under the house. Also, earlier in the summer, I was at the beach and my cell phone rang. It was Amy Jones wondering if I had checked a wrong box on my absentee ballot form which was indicating that I would be voting absentee in the next election. She just wondered if I had made a mistake. I had because I had certainly intended on voting in the run-off at the polls. How very thoughtful of these two folks to be so thorough and reach out to citizens to help!!

Two days ago, after getting a manicure at Salon Utopia, my good friend and nail tech chased me down to return the can Koozie that I had left. She knew that I didn’t care about the Diet Coke, but the Koozie is special since it was a gift from my cousin Donny Radcliff. I take Donny (in the form of a Koozie) along with me quite frequently. At that same establishment, the owner, Lindsey Reeves, stepped out in the parking lot to trim my daughter Becky’s bangs. Becky had a pulmonary ailment and was on her way to Haiti for a mission trip. She was afraid of breathing the possible chemicals and did not have an appointment. Lindsey went the extra mile and with twinkling eyes, she just laughed and went outside to help Becky out!!

An out-of-town friend of mine has property in Andalusia. She was in town to clean out a house and had a large stack of junk for the dump. She called the street department and asked where to take the things. The gentleman said, ” Why, ma’am, would you take it anywhere? Just put it by the side of the road and call us. We will be glad to move it.”

She asked, “Well, what is your fee?”

He replied, ” Well, nothing. We’ll be glad to get it.”

My friend then told me of how different it is to be treated with such courtesy– and for free! She noted that Andalusia just seems to be “different” and that even the people who work in most establishments are friendly and demonstrate a good work ethic. Her comments reminded me of a family that I met recently. They are from Fort Walton, Monroeville, and Evergreen, and they come to Andalusia once a month to get together, eat, and go antiquing. They told me that they come to Andalusia because it is a friendly, beautiful town. It is, indeed!

Perhaps it is my age that makes me stop to notice the beauty and kindness surrounding us, and I could go on about our schools, churches, government, and the arts in Andalusia, but I fear that would turn into an Amy Ramble. Perhaps another day on a whim. In the meantime, Kudos to this community. I am proud to be a member of this fine group.

 

Feeling thankful to be an Andalusian,

Amy Russell Spurlin

 

P.S. By the way, guess what was in the box that the mail man presented me? It was a surprise from a friend– a handmade piece of art that said, “My goal in life is to wear flip flops every day.”