Out of the Wilderness

Turning on the TV the other night, there was a whole show dedicated to the Alec Baldwin prop gun fiasco. It might have been 20/20 or Dateline, I don’t remember. But for the segment I watched, they recalled the tragic death of Sarah ?? who was working on a film shoot on a Georgia train track bridge.

Because of the negligence of the producer and a few others, no one was prepared and when a train came through, Sarah died. Others were badly injured.

It truly ticks me off every time I think about it. I absolutely hate that the producer didn’t secure a release for this location, and even worse than that, he knew beforehand that he (and therefore, the crew) was going to “steal” the shot, meaning he was shooting on the train bridge with or without a release.

I was in television for many years and learned pretty quickly how important location releases are. That’s part of what ticks me off about this producer and whoever else dismissed the danger. It’s one thing to get a release for a street corner, or a beachfront, or inside a hotel. Not much risk there. But shooting on a narrow train bridge? Are you kidding me!?

This woman, Sarah, had no idea her life was about to be done. Of course, nearly all of us are in the same boat– we don’t know when our last breath will be. But when it’s easily preventable, that’s a big responsibility especially when it’s a work setting.

This show on TV also disclosed that the producer wasn’t really taking ownership of the mistakes made that day. And a little bit of further research shows that he is back working on films. I guess I believe in forgiveness, but this guy is so arrogant and doesn’t seem remorseful, kind, or willing to take responsibility for what happened that day.

Randall Miller is his name. He did plead guilty in the case and served time in jail, but I hope he is shunned from the industry. More importantly, I hope he realizes his role in the tragedy and knows how much forgiveness he needs from Sarah’s family. Paying a fine or whatever compensation he ended up owing isn’t enough.

-Out of the Wilderness

How many times have you called the sales department of any store during business hours and no one answered? OK, how about when you called the 15th or 16th time?

I was having one of those days. I could’ve used a win.

It’s not like this was third world problems going on here. But it wasn’t just the unanswered phone calls bringing me down. I was also driving around trying to get some deliveries (UberEats) and coping with an ongoing headache.

I sat in an empty parking lot dialing the number over and over (referring back to that sales department… who must’ve taken the month off for Christmas?) and coming up with nothing. Frustration was mounting. I was just needing a little victory, someone to answer the dang phone!

I didn’t get a win that day. No one answered the phone. I didn’t get any UberEats deliveries. Here’s where I’m about to get all spiritual. Hey, I need some help here, so why not try God, you know? The Bible says to cast our cares on God because he cares for us (1 Peter 5:7). I love this because of what it says, and what it doesn’t say. There aren’t qualifications for these “cares.” Doesn’t have to be only big concerns, only life-altering issues, it’s not required to only bring Him the big things life throws our way.

He wants it all.

So the best way I knew how, I prayed and placed these anxious things from my life into God’s hands. I don’t know exactly how it works when this transfer takes place. I can’t even say that my day-to-day situation changed, as far as I can tell. But I just did the best I could to give up control. It was a real “Jesus, take the wheel” moment, if you will.

With that said, I’m not sitting back, resting on my laurels as they say in the south. There’s some kind of way to believe it all depends on God but work as if it all depends on me, that’s how my brother put it a few years ago.

Hoping for (and expecting) a few wins in the near future, thanks for stopping by…

-Out of the Wilderness

For those of you who say turtles are slow, you haven’t been around turtles lately! OK, OK, they’re pretty slow-moving if you’re measuring in seconds. But in just a few minutes last week, my niece’s beloved turtle, Ivy, went missing after just a few moments in the backyard.

Also, any chance to use a quote from The Master of Disguise, I’m going to take it! So Ivy the turtle was nowhere to be found. To backtrack a bit, just minutes before she disappeared I went for a jog. It was only a couple of miles and when I returned, the search had already begun. She had been missing for under 20 minutes at that point.

There were a few major elements working against the search.

1. Lots of big brown leaves on the ground. Ivy is brown, of course.
2. A few feet behind the backyard fence is about an acre’s worth of trees.

We looked till the sun went down then we looked with flashlights. Nothing. That little turtle was somewhere blending in perfectly with the giant, crispy leaves. I suppose that’s why her shell is brown – to hide from predators – but for once, just for once, couldn’t it glow pink?

The next morning we were searching again because we love Ivy and really, we love my niece. We need a win here. After about an hour of scouring the bushes and trees, my sister and I were going to stop, eat breakfast, reset and regroup. I returned some yard tools to the garage. My sister was on her way back to the house, too, when she glanced over, about a foot into the brush on the edge of the woods, there was Ivy.

We heard my sister’s exclamations and we came running back out!

Ivy was no longer lost.

It’s been a few days now and there are a few things I learned from this experience:

1. God wants us to come to Him for EVERYthing, even if it’s a young girl’s lost turtle.
2. Turtles are deceptively fast.
3. Wear long sleeves when you’re crawling through the woods.

That last point is in reference to the poison ivy ON BOTH OF MY ARMS. But because I need to hold on to the title of ‘best uncle,’ I’ll say this – I would welcome poison ivy all over my body if it means any of my nieces won’t be sad. How ironic, too, that I got poison ivy looking for Ivy.

Thanks for checking out my story!

-Out of the Wilderness