Last first date of 2021?

When it comes to dating, I’m a big fan of meeting at a coffeeshop for the first one. It can be as short or long as either person wants it and there’s nothing that makes it last longer than it should. For instance, dinner. A first date dinner could be great, but if it’s not going well, you’re both kind of stuck there till the dinner is served, eaten, and the check is delivered. Honestly, I’ll probably never do a first date dinner again because of this nightmare.

But this date I’m talking about was set up to be quick because she had a Christmas party at 6pm, and we were meeting at 5pm. Perfect! If it went well, we could set up a second date. If it didn’t go well, we only had to suffer for about an hour.

She and I met at a coffee shop in east Tallahassee. I’m not a picky coffee drinker. In fact, I don’t drink coffee at all so the one thing I always search for on menus is tea. This place had tea but also had sodas they make right there in the shop. I ordered a soda and she ordered some kind of special coffee drink.

It was a warm evening so we sat outside at a picnic table, a few dozen feet from the coffeeshop door. The conversation was OK. Nothing spectacular. There was only one moment where the silence seemed to linger, but it didn’t feel too awkward. The conversation livened up a bit when we got to the topic of past relationships. It may have then stalled a bit when she asked me what my future plans are. “You know,” I said, “I’m not real sure, actually.” My short-term plans were to move to Tallahassee, which has been accomplished and while I plan to travel in 2022, I don’t really have plans beyond that.

Around 6pm we said our goodbyes. It was really nice to get out and spend time with an adult woman. That was kind of my whole reason for asking her on a coffee date, and she was interesting and cute, so that was a bonus. I should also say that we met through a dating app. In other words, we hadn’t exchanged numbers yet.

So the next day I sent her a message asking how here day was going. Then it got interesting.

Check back soon for the rest of the story!

-Out of the Wilderness

Weirder things have happened

We hear this phrase all the time, but imagine how weird something would have to be that when it happens, you CAN’T say weirder things have happened.

I’m not sure I ever want to be around when that happens, actually, because in this life there is ALWAYS something weird happening.

Another phrase that’s included today is, “crazier things have happened.” But again, there’s got to be something that’s the craziest. I don’t want do know what that is!

What’s something crazy you’ve witnessed before? I posted this for a crazy story, but also I’ll share a weird story. In church one Sunday, I saw a boy and his dad trying to quietly exit a row during the sermon. They seemed a little rushed but I didn’t know why… until it happened. The dad reached around the son and placed his hand over the son’s mouth. In a big explosion, the son barfed. Because the dad’s hand served as a seal, the vomit sprayed out the sides, landing on the faithful church-goers in the seats near him.

Poor fella.

Poor church-goers.

It was awkward. But I’m assuming weirder things have happened.

-Out of the Wilderness

Why the 2014 railroad film disaster still upsets me

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

Georgio Armani goes to hidden beach in ad starring a German model

I’m very late to the game with this ad, but I only saw it for the first time this month, December 2021. For some reason, I saw quite a few fragrance ads while I was watching *ahemmmm* the Bachelorette last night. But terrible shows aside, here’s the ad!

The Music. Used as the soundtrack for this 45-second ad is “Way Down We Go” by KALEO. Full track is below…

Song heard elsewhere. This song was also used in the following…

“Logan” Trailer #2…

Orange is the New Black Season 4 trailer…

A scene from This is Us…

Riverdale show promo…

There’s a long list of other shows and movies using this song, but those are just a few.

The Actor. Starring in the commercial is a model named Aleksander Rusić.

The Location. According to this article, the location is listed as, “between the salty plains of the Atacama Desert, Chile and on the spectacular Hidden Beach of the Marietas Islands in Banderas Bay.”

Does this ad make you want to buy the fragrance, or just make you wish you had a different body?

Thanks for stopping by!

-Out of the Wilderness

I could use a win

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