Thursday, March 07, 2019

The Refrigerator


Next week, I will send out letters raising funds for my mission trip to Vietnam this summer, my ninth. This entry, from April 27, 2011 is about one facet of those letters!. 
She promised. My sister-in-law Sally has the best refrigerator ever. Inside, it's always full of good food as Sally is a great cook and a wonderful hostess. The outside is covered, every inch of it, with pictures; pictures of relatives and friends,  new photos and old. Everybody I know and plenty of folks I don't know have their face on Sally's refrigerator. That is, everybody except me. At Christmas, I asked Sally the reason for my exclusion from her Wall of Fame. Her reply was that the picture I send each year with my mission trip informational letter was the same shot, me holding a little girl in Honduras who just received her first pair of shoes. So, last month, when I sent out my family letter about my Vietnam mission in July-August, I included a picture of  myself and two Chinese little girls from my work in Asia last summer, complete with a quotation from Jesus, as seen above. On Monday, I called Dave about an unrelated topic and since I had him on the phone, I asked him to take a look at the refrigerator. Guess what? STILL NO STEVE! I'm not saying I was fighting back tears when I hung up but basketball coaches have known to walk an  emotional tight rope. Let's just say I'm hanging on.

You know, I think I am a pretty good brother-in-law and brother as well as uncle to Sally and Dave's three kids.  I also don't think I'm arrogant- I'm not demanding a prominent placement on the appliance. Believe me, I would be overjoyed to be magneted to an inconspicuous corner or even plastered right above floor level. I just want inclusion. Years ago, the rock group Dr. Hook composed Cover Of The Rolling Stone, lamenting their never being featured on the best known musical magazine. It worked for them and they graced the cover shortly thereafter. Maybe my ploy will pay off as well. If you want to come to the aid of a disheartened brother-in-law, please leave a comment and I will forward them to the stunningly beautiful wife of my brother. Maybe you can help me swing the tide. Sally, can you hear me?
 
God bless,
Steve
Luke 18:1

http://www.hawleybooks.com/
E-mail me at steve@hawleybooks.com

*The refrigerator picture was borrowed from http://www.goldcountrygirls.blogspot.com/

13 comments:

Clara Akwarandu said...

Omg, this whole time I thought it was refridgerator! Ha, even spell chack says so.

Karen Kyle Ericson said...

Awwww Sally have a heart. Pertty please let Steve put his picture on the refrigerator. :)

hahaha hope it works Steve!

Clara Akwarandu said...

Oh, and that's not very nice Sally! His face doesn't look THAT bad.... Im kidding!

Thess said...

Dear sally,

The awesome, awesome sister in-law,owner of this now famous fridge door, please put Steve's picture next to Mickey Mouse.

Thank you,
This suck up blog reader

Erick Reinstedt said...

Sally, Please! I am celebrating my anniversary this weekend and I don't know that I will be able to enjoy or focus on it knowing that a brother is in such grief and sorrow (we are supposed to weep with them, etc.). So, please, put the picture up for him and set us free from the toil of this intercession on his behalf. Remember, what you do for the least of these . . . (just kidding, Steve).

Erick Reinstedt said...

Did I mention that, if I can't enjoy the weekend, my wife can't either. And if she can't, then she won't be able to effectively homeschool our daughters. And if we can't, then I won't be able to effectively pastor. So, not only is our weekend in jeopardy, but also our daughters' future, and the fellowships'. Not any pressure, or anything, but there could be a tremendous impact on all of the Central California region over time depending on whether or not she puts up the picture. So, please . . .

Jessica Kramasz said...

Surely the Steve at least deserves a corner :-)

Thess said...

Sally,
Either you give in or we blackmail you..haha!

This is fun (brings out the gangstah in me).

Anonymous said...

I just found your blog and I loved your post about the fridge and your neglect thereof. Sally, wrap the picture around the handle if you have to; but please include brother-in-law in your wall of art.
:-) Renee
Http://renee-joyjourney.blogspot.com

zak alsmeyer said...

good story

zak alsmeyer said...

good story

Graced! said...

Sally, Steve seems like a nice guy. It wouldn't hurt to stash his mug on your notorious kitchen appliance; but then you wouldn't have anything to hang over his head. It's always nice to have a little something about which to carry on a conversation with an in-law. So, I say hold out for a good trade with him (or never, I love a good, honest and innocent point of contention). Or you could clean your whole fridge off and enjoy the the incredible difference it brings to your home. I only know this as my overladen fridge recently died (could be due to the overwhelming weight of the history it maintained and not the fact it was 23 years old) and when I replaced it, the serenity of a sleek, efficient machine which served me ice was breathtaking and a joy only a female could comprehend. I pray you have wisdom to walk in the way of true sis-in-law-dom.

Susan said...

Okay Sally! From a counselor's point of view, I can see there may be some control issues here...I sound like Roger (my mentor). Please hang Steve somewhere on your fridge!

Love,

Susan Jones