Joe Rattz

ProFlowers Sucks! - A Review

joe@rattz.com — Sun, 04 Apr 2010 04:19:00 GMT

I wanted to send Vickey some flowers last week and decided to give ProFlowers a try. Boy was that a big mistake. First, let me show you what I thought I was buying:

I was having them delivered to her work. Let me just state right off the bat that the entire point of sending them to her work is to make her feel special and appreciated. Beautiful flowers arrive to the building's front desk, she gets a call, and picks them up at the desk. Well, at least that was the vision I had in my mind.

So Friday arrives, which is the day they are scheduled to be delivered, and after awhile I realize that I haven't heard anything from her about receiving them. Of course I hadn't alerted her that she would be receiving them...they were supposed to be a surprise. At some point I decided to check the ProFlowers website to see if I could tell if they had been delivered yet, and if not, possibly when they would be delivered.

Sure enough, once I was logged into their site, I could see my order and they had a track order button so I clicked it. I was just stunned when it took me to the UPS website and I could see it had been sent UPS and had already been delivered to her building's mail room and received by Lewis. I am sure it must have made Lewis's day to receive flowers from me. Not knowing her building's mail procedures, I wondered if it was possible that mail deliveries inside the building had already been made for the day, and could her flowers possibly sit there all weekend in the mail room. I decided I had better call her and let her know to go get them. She was a bit confused because she doesn't even know where the mail room is in her building. So she went looking for the mail room, went to the wrong place, but by the time she got back to her desk, she noticed that she had missed a call. The mail room person didn't leave a message, so had she not been trying to find them and keeping an eye out, she probably would have never noticed the missed call since they didn't bother to leave a message.

Last year I had a check from my company's credit union sent to me to buy a new car and that check bounced around my building for days before it finally made its way to me. In fact, the credit union was on the verge of putting a stop pay on the check and reissuing it when it finally arrived. So I already know that something sent via a company's mail room can be unreliable in terms of how long it takes to arrive.

While she was trying to track down the flowers, I was on the website trying to find out what happened. I was not aware they would send the flowers via UPS. I expected a florist to deliver them. After looking around the site, I did see where they explain this. It wasn't made clear to me when I was buying them though because I would have never bought them from ProFlowers had I known this. I will return to this point later.

So, Vickey finally tracks down the flowers and they are in a cardboard box. It requires her to put water in the vase, add the plant food, cut the flower stems, and place the flowers in the vase. Now, this isn't a big deal, but she is at work. It isn't like she has the kind of scissors there that you would want to use to cut flower stems not to mention that she is working. I wasn't trying to buy her a hobby kit, I wanted a vase of arranged flowers to be delivered. Also, since it was all in a box already and she was planning to bring them home that night anyway, it made the most sense to her to just leave them all in the box and bring it home that way and put it together at home. Of course this totally defeats the purpose of sending them to work, right? In a way this is a bit unfair to complain about because she could have put it all together and it was for her convenience not to, but that wasn't what I wanted.

So in the end, I guess what really matters is how gorgeous the flowers are, right? So let's take a look:

Hmm, not so good. These flowers look pretty sad. They are very droopy. Now we could blame this on our flower arranging skill, but again, I was expecting them to come arranged. For the $80 I spent, I am pretty sure I could have had beautiful flowers delivered by a local florist that were arranged very nicely. Let's look at some more photos:

These flowers are just pathetic. Let's take a look at some individual flowers:

Just ridiculous! And these are not the exceptions! Most of the flowers are like this. They are nowhere near as full as the picture shows.

So here are just a few points I want to make.

1. I clicked on and purchased the picture at the top of this post. That is what I was buying. Sending me a box of flowers and a vase is just unacceptable. It would be like ordering a Big Mac from the photo on the menu board at McDonalds and them bringing you a bun, a couple hamburger patties, and some condiments.

2. I don't think the quality and quantity of the flowers compares to their photo on the website. I haven't counted them though.

3. Here is the part that I can't figure out and bothers me most. Who would want their service? By this, I mean, I am assuming that some of their customers are satisfied with their service and product. There are certainly a handful of radio show hosts endorsing this company. But for the life of me I can't envision when this service is what anyone would want. In fact, I am surprised they can even employ women at that company. It strikes me as the kind of service and product that some flower-hating men would create. I would expect women would say, "I'm not working here. No woman would want flowers delivered like this." Of course, there goes my sexist attitude! So, I don't see their service working for sending flowers in a romantic situation. So what are the other times I send flowers? People in the hospital and funerals. OK, I have a sick friend or family member and perhaps they are in the hospital. Maybe it is even serious and they are unconscious. So I send some flowers from ProFlowers and the box can just sit there in their room until the flowers die or the patient gets well. AWESOME! Money well spent! OK, let's say it's a funeral. Exactly who is going to have time to open the box and arrange them? Yeah, I see that working well. So, I just can't figure out when I would actually find their service useful.

Let me just say one thing in their favor. When I called up and complained, they did give me a refund. So I want to give them credit for that. They also offered to replace the flowers so if I had been happy with this type of delivery and my only dissatisfaction was the health of the flowers, I believe they would have taken care of that. Now in truth, I didn't really want a refund. I usually don't like accepting refunds in situations like this because I think people often just think you are complaining because you are trying to get something for free. But when I was on the phone with them I realized that they would never give me what I really wanted. What is that you ask? For them to stop masquerading as a florist. That's what I really want. But that would mean virtually stopping their business and I know they aren't going to do that. So I accepted a refund.

All I can say is that I can't imagine me ever using them again. They just don't fit any need I have to send flowers. But, perhaps this will work acceptably for you and they may make an excellent florist for you. After all, they can send beautiful flowers almost anywhere in the country*.

* Some assembly required!

Bill Turpin, "Hurricane Jimmy" Strawder, and Rick "Harps" Jackson at Chevy's Back Seat on Friday, March 19, 2010

joe@rattz.com — Sat, 20 Mar 2010 23:42:00 GMT

I went to Chevy's Back Seat in McDonough, GA, last night to see Bill Turpin, "Hurricane Jimmy" Strawder, and Rick "Harps" Jackson, and to test my new camera. Here is a slideshow:

Collective Soul Inducted Into The Georgia Music Hall Of Fame In 2009

joe@rattz.com — Mon, 15 Feb 2010 20:12:00 GMT

Collective Soul Inducted Into The Georgia Music Hall Of Fame In 2009

Many Collective Soul fans may already know that Collective Soul was inducted into the Georgia Music Hall Of Fame on September 19, 2009. While I can't shed any new information on that, I can share these photos that you may have never seen before that were taken and provided by Bill Turpin, Will's father. Thanks for sharing these Bill!

Viola Sanders' 80th Birthday

joe@rattz.com — Thu, 11 Feb 2010 21:14:00 GMT

Yesterday was my mother-in-law's (Viola Sanders) 80th birthday and because she doesn't get to hear live music that she can enjoy very often, we decided to take her to Chevy's in McDonough, GA to see Bill Turpin perform.

However, before we went, Vickey gave her a new birthday hat that she was more than happy to model:

Here she is being cute:

We then left for Chevy's and arrived after a trivia contest had begun. The category was cowboys and Indians and boy did we stink. The teams weren't quite fair since one team had about 32 players compared to our team of 4. I am ashamed to admit though that the team that won only had 2 players!

Vi ordered a BLT and here she is just challenging me to pry it from her fingers:

She must be crazy though because everyone knows you don't take a BLT from a woman on her 80th birthday.

After the trivia contest, Bill Turpin performed the wholesome kind of music that is just so difficult to find these days. I am sure it was a trip down memory lane for my mother-in-law. He also sang Happy Birthday to my mother-in-law. I think she may have developed a crush on Bill!

Once the festivities were over, I took a picture of Barbara, Viola, and Vickey:

Notice that Viola still has a death grip on that BLT! Bill was even nice enough to take one with Viola:

Viola had a great time and I am sure she will be wanting to go back next year.

If you want to learn more about Chevy's, here is a link to their facebook page: http://www.facebook.com/chevysdiner?v=app_4949752878

For more information about Bill Turpin, contact him at Real 2 Reel Studios at http://www.reel-life.net. Not only is Bill a talented musician himself, but he is one of the owners of Real 2 Reel Studios. They can handle all of your recording studio needs and have provided services for Collective Soul, Kansas, Toby Keith, Donny Henderson, and many more.

Customer Servicelessness

joe@rattz.com — Fri, 02 Jan 2009 18:58:00 GMT

Am I the only one noticing how bad customer service has become on this planet? I swear that it feels like everyone I do business with is clueless. I just discovered this chat thread I had sent to a friend to show him what I feel like I deal with on a daily basis. This thread is from March 2006. At the time, I needed an engine mount. Here is that thread:

Vin: Welcome to Live Help! How can I assist you today?

Joe: When a part description refers to LH or RH side of the engine, from what perspective is left and right?

Vin: May I know the part you are looking for ?

Joe: Take this one for example:

Joe: http://... (URL removed to protect the ignorant)

Vin: Let me check

Joe: Does LH mean left when facing the engine from the front of the car, or does it mean if you were sitting in the car, left side?

Vin: Yes

Joe: Yes, what? I gave you two choices.

Vin: Oh please hold

Do they not even listen to the question?

Do You Have a Card?

joe@rattz.com — Fri, 02 Jan 2009 18:44:00 GMT

I see that I haven't blogged much lately, so I thought I should add a couple posts. I notice that I apparently enjoy posting stories about what a moron I can be, so with that in mind here is a recent one.

About two months ago, I attended a Sharepoint seminar. For those unaware, Sharepoint is a Microsoft web portal software package. Did anyone say geek? I was the first attendee to arrive at the seminar. Did anyone say geek? Does anyone see a pattern?

Since I was the only one there at that point, one of the guys that worked for the company providing the seminar approached me to talk. He handed me his business card and introduced himself. I replied with my name and the company I worked for. He was familiar with my company and told me the name of one of the management team at my company he had spoken with in the past. After these introductory sentences he then asked me, "Do you have a card?" I thought...don't ask me why...that he had already forgotten he had given me his business card, so I lifted my hand still holding his card and said, "Sure, you just gave me one." He replied, "I mean one of your own." Wow, did I feel like a moron. I could only reply, "No, I am not important enough to have one." And now we know why!

A as in apple, B as in ...

joe@rattz.com — Tue, 12 Jun 2007 18:37:00 GMT

I have been trying to remember the circumstances of this story, and my wife just remembered the critical part I could not remember. Now armed with that piece of knowledge, I can tell the story.

First, I must set the timeline. It was in the first half of 2006. That's important because I had been watching Americal Idol. That's right, I am not ashamed to admit I watched. You saw Katherine McPhee! Or, as her friends call her...Kat.

So, I am on the phone spelling some word, while providing a word for each letter. You know, A as in alpha, B as in bravo. Ok, hold it, I have a problem already. Shouldn't it be B as in beta, if A is as in alpha? Anyway, I can never remember the more obscure letters and words. I don't even remember the word I was trying to spell.

I do remember I was on the letter K. There I was, "K as in...". It's amazing how fast you can think sometimes. How you can have an entire conversation in your head in a fraction of a second. So I was paniced. K as in..what? I couldn't remember kilo. Come on, what American uses the word kilo on a regular basis that isn't a drug user? So there I was...stuck...K as in ...then, Katherine McPhee's name popped in my head. I should say Katherine. But, since her friends call her Kat, and that is shorter, I said Kat. So there it is, I said "K as in Kat". If you haven't caught on yet, say it out loud. Wait for it. There you go. Yes, the person on the other end of the line actually heard me say "K as in cat". Well, once it was out of my mouth and I heard it, I couldn't help but laugh at my gaffe. In fact, I couldn't stop laughing. Now the person on the other end of the line thought I was stupid and insane. Darn that Katherine McPhee!

A Collective Soul Chrtistmas, December 2005

joe@rattz.com — Mon, 19 Feb 2007 22:30:00 GMT

In a previous blog post I mentioned taking Ross Childress, the former lead guitarist for Collective Soul, an apple pie for Christmas. That year I had a very Collective Soul Christmas. This is that story.

First let me mention that my favorite band is Collective Soul. This is quite a coincidence since I live in Stockbridge, GA, the town they are from. But it didn't start out that way.

I first discovered their music in 1995. I had heard their song 'December', but didn't even know who it was. Later, I heard 'The World I Know', and not even realizing it was the same band, I discovered the name of the band was Collective Soul. I then bought their second album, the self-titled 'Collective Soul'. I soon discovered that 'December' was their song as well, not to mention all of the other, really great songs. I was hooked.

I mentioned to a co-worker that I liked them, and she told me that they were from Stockbridge, GA. At the time, I was living in Marietta, GA, but had only been in the Atlanta metropolitan area for less than a year. So telling me they were from Stockbridge was just as effective as telling me they were from Pluto. I had no concept of where Stockbridge was. Conincidentally, this co-worker claimed to be the cousin of the wife of then Collective Soul drummer, Shane Evans. I never confirmed if this was true or not. I'll assume it was.

I had previoulsy gone through a dry spell with music, much as I am now. With the death of heavy metal of the late '80s, and the birth of alternative which I didn't like in those days, I had stopped listening to music. So, 1995 was a break-through year for me, music-wise. I also came to like the bands Live and Bush that year. In fact, I would consider 'Throwing Copper' to be a slightly better record than 'Collective Soul', so I was expecting great things from Live. Instead, I feel like Live lost it, and with 'Dosage' Collective Soul became the best band of the '90s. That's my opinion, you are allowed to be wrong about it. ;-)

The story doesn't change significnatly until 1997 when I met my future wife Vickey, who happened to live in Stockbridge. I am not even sure when I realized, hey, that's the town Collective Soul is from. Of course it wasn't long before I spotted the old Real 2 Reel recording studio, and often wondered driving by, if they might be there recording.

In 1999, I got married to Vickey and had a house built in Stockbridge where I have lived ever since.

Fast forward to when Ross Childress left the band. I felt bad for Ross. The reason for him leaving was kept quiet. I remember Ed Roland on 99-X saying that he had jeopardized the band, or words to that effect. I never knew the real reason until I met Will Turpin the night that I blogged about in my previous post. I wondered how sad Ross must have been losing his band, and perhaps his firends. I also thought, gee, maybe this might be a good time for a guitar lesson from him. Not that I had any idea where he lived or how to get in touch with him, or that he would want to. I just knew I wanted to, and he might be lonely. So, it was time for some research.

Using the most amazing tool of the last century, the internet, I was able to find some information that I thought might lead me to Ross. I found the name of his parents. I believe he was being interviewed and mentioned their name, as I recall. I thought, sure Ross is famous enough that I won't be able to find out where he lives, but would his parents have to be secluded like that? Sure enough, I found their address with publicly available information. Well, close to their address. I knew the street, and I knew it had to be one of a handful of houses. Fortunately it was a short street. I had a list of most of the street addresses on that street, and the last names of the people that lived there. By process of elimination, I had narrowed it to just a few houses. Over the next several months, I investigated the houses on the street, and had narrowed it down to the one.

I think this was around 2001. So, now I knew where his parents lived. Now what? I thought, I have to find a way to bump into him. Now, I seriously doubt that Ross still lived at home. I decided that the best way to catch Ross was to check out his parents house at a time when Ross was most likely to be there, Thanksgiving and Christmas. My thought was that if I drove by their house on one of those days, I would hopefully see some vehicle that would say, "I am loaded". I wasn't sure what vehicle that might be. Could be a Porsche. Maybe something more exotic. That was my thinking. So, beginning in 2001, I believe it was, I drove by their house at least once each day on Thanksgiving and Christmas. Now just let me say, driving by their house was not easy. They lived at the end of the street. It dead-ended into their driveway. So there was nothing very subtle about me turning around in their driveway. Their house was back from the street a decent distance, so they probably never saw me.

I went by year after year, never seeing any signs of Ross. One day in December 2005, something happened. I was cutting through Stockbridge a few days before Christmas trying to avoid Christmas traffic. I was on unfamiliar roads, when suddenly I came out on the Childress' road. Being near Christmas, I thought I might as well go check. When I drove to the end of their street, I saw something that changed my course of action. Their house was for sale. They may be moving soon, and I would lose my opportunity.

I deliberated over the next couple days about whether I should approach them. This would be a lost opportunity once they moved. If were going to take advantage of it, I would have to do something soon. To do so would require stones I just wasn't sure I had. I was wrong.

The day before Christmas eve, I pulled into their driveway. There was no Lamborghini in the driveway, no Hummer nor Escalade. As I pulled in, I saw a gentleman in the yard, raking leaves. I parked, got out of the car, and approached him. As I walked up to him, I introduced myself. He returned in like kind, and his name was the name of Ross' father. It was his father. I asked him about his house being for sale. He told me it was already sold. That he was raking the leaves to get it ready. I told him I was a fan of Ross. I told him how much it bummed me out that he had left the band. I would have expected him to want me gone, but he didn't act that way at all. Every time I let the conversation die down to a good exit point for me, he re-engaged the conversation. Perhaps he was lonely. Perhaps he was proud of his son, and enjoyed talking to someone that appreciated him. Perhaps he was just kind. He was recovering from a medical procedure, and it seemed he was underdressed to be out in the cold. Because of his medical condition, I felt like he should have been wearing a turtle neck sweater to help keep him warm. We talked for what must have been 30 mintues or so. He told me way more than I would have expected, probably way more than he should have. He told me, and I share this with you, assuming you found this post by googling for Ross and are his fan, that if I ever bump into Ross, don't talk to him about guitars. He is tired of talking about that. This was good information for me, because that would have been my natural inclination. Instead he said, "talk to him about fishing. You won't be able to shut him up." I couldn't believe how kind and open he was. He told me about Ross having a studio in Stockbridge. He told me some of his future plans. Then he made a mistake, and told me too much.

He told me Ross was coming by the next day, and what time he was supposed to be there. Why would he tell me that? In all honesty, I was pretty much checked out of the conversation from that point forward with a private conversation going on in my head. I am not sure what we discussed after he told me that. Most of the time, in my mind I was trying to determine if that was an invitation for me to come by for Christmas to meet Ross. I mean, why would you tell someone when and where he would be if you didn't intend for them to show up? I deliberated over asking him if it would be ok for me to drop by. But, that would give him the opportunity to say no. Then I would have to be an even bigger jerk to actually show up. Yes, I know, by now you are thinking it would not be possible to be a bigger jerk. If I didn't ask, and just showed up at the correct time, that would be perhaps tolerable. That was my plan.

Oh the anguish I felt the rest of that day. Another opportunity. Another chance to play the fool! Why did he tell me that? Should I go by, or shouldn't I? In all honesty, I was a little concerned about Rosses' dad. He really shouldn't have been outside in the cold raking leaves. I decided, I would buy him a turtle neck sweater and take that by on Christmas. Yeah, that would be my excuse. That was my plan.

The next day was Christmas Eve. I decided while running around doing last minute shopping that I had better go ahead and buy that sweater. I dropped by a department storem and looked at some sweaters. At that point I realized, not only did I have no idea what size sweater to get, I just couldn't go through with it. My plan was called off.

Later that day on Christmas Eve, while at a warehouse club picking up some food items for Christmas dinner, I again lamented the lost opportunity to meet Ross. Well, it was too late to get a sweater. But, there was a delectable apple pie staring me in the face! No, it's wrong, I can't do it. But I could go ahead and get the pie just in case! I did buy the pie. I wasn't going to take it to them though.

We went to church that night for the Christmas Eve service. You'll notice that the title of this blog entry is "A Collective Soul Chrtistmas, December 2005". It just wouldn't have been a CS Christmas if the story ended here would it? At some point during the service, our pastor announced a special musical guest...no, cool your jets...Bill Turpin and his son Michie. Ok, I recognized Michie as he was a regular at the church. He was a good looking kid and with the longer hair, had always looked like a rock star. His hair is shorter now, so not as much now.

Ok, there is a Bill Turpin and a Michie Turpin on stage performing in Stockbridge, what are the odds there is no relationship to Will Turpin? At the end of the service, I approached Bill and asked him if he was any relation to Will. Bill is Will's dad, and Michie is Will's brother. Ok, I could buy that, as I said, Michie looked the part, and they were both talented musicians. So there I am having a discussion with Will's dad and brother at my church on Christmas Eve. How surreal!

At this point, I am on what would appear to be about a 1000 cups of coffee buzz despite the fact that I don't drink coffee. Wow, what a weird CS Christmas. What do you think the odds are that I wouldn't go now? I mean, come on, it's destiny at this point, don't you think?

The time fast approaches Christmas day that Ross is supposed to be at his parents. I am getting nervous, still not sure I will do it. It just feels wrong. But, not that wrong...I was nearly invited. So there I am, sitting in his driveway. My wife will not get out of the car and go in with me. I grab the apple pie and approach the house. As I near the door, Rosses' mother comes out. I introduce myself, and she invites me in. What amazingly nice people. I walk in, and Rosses' dad is in a chair with his back to the door I walked in. I speak to him to tell him that I brought them an apple pie. Ok, at this point I feel like a complete loser. In the same room, are two guys and one girl. I would guess they were in their 30's. One of them, I believe, was Rosses' brother. Mr. Childress says to me in a mildly irritated tone that Ross was late. Looking at the other folks in the room, I felt like an intruder. Honestly, it felt like if they had knives, they would have just as soon slit my throat as said hello. I felt very uncomfortable. I have often wondered, were they angry at me for intruding, or Ross for being late? I could see it being both. I can see them being irritated that the big Rock Star can't be on time for Christmas dinner. And, I can see them being more irritated that Ross can't be on time, yet here is this jerk bringing him rewards and interrupting their Christmas.

As uncomfortable as I was, I was very disappointed that Ross was not there. I wanted some connection to Ross even though it was apparent that I would not meet him. At that point I announced that I had forgotten something in my car, and went to get it. I took the Gibson key ring (it held a guitar pick inside) I bought at the Nashville Gibson factory off my key ring and took it back in. I gave it to his mother or father and asked them to give it to him. I don't know if he ever got it, but I'll bet he did. I liked that key ring because it made it convenient to always have a guitar pick with me. Ross, I hope you liked it. It wasn't much, but you did a very cool thing for me once in concert...you got me a pick when I couldn't see or catch it. I think it was at the Roxy, or maybe the Tabernacle...I have seen them at both venues. I was up above you and you threw me 2-3 picks, and I kept losing them in the lights. You ran out of picks, went back to your mike stand for more, and returned. You did get me a pick. For that I say thank you.

At that point, I left the Childress residence with my tail between my legs. I never did meet Ross. His parents are incredibly nice though.

Now you know about my Collective Soul Christmas.

Will Turpin at Season's Bistro in McDonough GA on February 15, 2007

joe@rattz.com — Fri, 16 Feb 2007 18:53:00 GMT

When I found out that Will Turpin, the bass player for Collective Soul, which is my favorite band, would be playing at a local restaurant on February 15, 2007, I asked my wife about us going for our Valentine's Day celebration. She was all in favor of that. She too is a big CS fan, plus, we could miss all the Valentine's Day crowds.

In addition to Will being there, I knew there was going to be a special mystery guest. My imagination had me thinking it might be Ed Roland, or Ross Childress. It was not. I will tell you who it was in a bit. The occasion for the event was a weekly song writer's event where local song writers get the opportunity to play their songs in front of a live audience. This event is hosted by local musician, Bill Turpin, Will's father. I wasn't quite sure what Will would be performing. It is a song writer's workshop, and I wasn't aware of Will writing songs.

Bull Turpin opened the event with guitarist Nathan Bennet, I believe his name was. Before long, Michie Turpin, Will's brother was on stage with them. Not long after that, it became apparent that the special mystery guest was Donny Henderson. This struck me by surprise though I don't know why it should have. Donny and Michie go to the same church I do, so I know they know each other. I also know that Donny records at Bill Turpin's recording studio.

For those unfamiliar with Donny, he is an amazing vocalist. He occasionally sings at our church. I remember the first time we ever heard him, we couldn't believe the voice was coming from him. You can learn more about Donny here:

http://www.donnyhenderson.com

After a while, Will came up on stage and sat at a keyboard. I didn't know Will played the keyboard. It's funny how you tend to peg people in certain roles. I saw Will as a bass player, not a song writer or keyboard player. I also saw him as a background singer. I was surprised when Will started his set that his vocals were as good as they were. The first song caught me by surprise. I really hadn't expected it to be so strong. I always pictured Ed Roland as the writer in the band and just assumed no one else did that. I thought the first song was pretty good, but later when I actually got to talk to Will, he indicated that they, CS, were working on a new album, but that song probably would not make the album. He did indicate that one of his other songs might though. Before Will completed his set, his borthers Michie and John were on stage too. Four Turpins on one stage!

I had also heard Michie sing at our church before, but hadn't realized how good his voice was. It was much deeper than I recalled, and I would say even better, though perhaps less confident, than Will's.

About half way through Will's set I realized I had a crappy digital camera in my car, so I ran out to get it. Now, this is a digital camera from 1997, so don't expect much.

After the performances were all over, I worked up the nerve to approach Will to get a close up that was likely to turn out better. Now, I know, there are lot's of pictures of Will Turpin, and I could have easily just downloaded some, so I thought to myself, how would I prove I took the picture? So, get this, I decided I would ask Will to hold my driver's license in his hand facing the camera while I took his picture. How nutty is that? When I approached him for the picture, he and Donny, who was also there, suggested I get in the picture. That seemed slightly better than him holding my driver's license, which I had already taken out of my wallet, and was clutching in my left pants pocket. I am glad he didn't notice. I can only imagine what he would have thought I was doing. ;-) So, I got in the picture. For a 1997 digital camera, the picture turned out pretty good. It probably helped that I wasn't the one taking it. Who took the picture you ask? A Turpin family member from Scotland named Jim Whit (sp?) I believe it was. I think he was Will's cousin.

Will Turpin, Me, and Donny Henderson

Will was far more approachable than I would have expected. While standing there waiting for a chance to interrupt him to ask to take his picture, I was thinking, this has to be really annoying having people do this to you all of the time. On the one hand, I didn't want to bother him. On the other, I wasn't sure I would ever have the opportunity again. So, as they say, the rest is history. And I have the photographs to prove it.

Speaking of taking opportunities while they are available, perhaps one day I will blog about how I took Ross Childress an apple pie to his parent's house for Christmas in 2005. It was also an opportunity I wouldn't have again. And no, I didn't actually meet Ross, but I did meet his parents, and they sure were nice.