Roy Exum
It's not a new thing, not at all. Plato, the father of philosophy back in ancient Greece, urged us to “Be kind, for everyone you meet is fighting a harder battle.” I’ve found that to be the truth more times than not, particularly the longer I live, and that is what brought me a pause when I happened across the current issue of The Signal Mountain Mirror.
It’s a small yet lively community newspaper, just like its sister, The Lookout Mountain Mirror, and publisher Lucia Parker Hopper has some dandy people who contribute stories every month.
My eye was drawn to one written by Beverly McCormick entitled “The Angel Lesson.”
I freely admit I believe in angels. I’ve even met some of them but I wouldn’t dare call them out, for fear I might be hexed the next time I need one to cross my path. Beverly, on the other hand, wrote there is a kindergarten kid at her church who even knows the first names of two angels – Hark and Harold.
So I’m guessing Beverly knows one when she sees one and in her wonderful story, she had the bravery to “out” an angel, “a stranger named Betsy,” who mysteriously crossed her path.
It seems Mrs. McCormick was almost at the end of her tether not long ago when she sat in the customer waiting area at Capital Toyota. She writes, “Betsy had no way of know how stressed out I was. Between finances, sick kids at home, calling roadside assistance, out-of-town guests, family emergencies and attorney conversations, I was juggling many plates precariously.”
We’ve all be there – even Plato knew that – but Beverly wrote, “I thought I hid my anxious heart fairly well. I even joked with Betsy that I should have a credit applied to my bill because I had to wait so long.”
So imagine the woman’s surprise when “a stranger named Betsy” did exactly that. Because Betsy Gammon is “also” the Customer Relations Manager at the bustling Toyota dealership, Betsy even added a coupon good for a free oil change to the repair order.
Then it happened. “I could sense something wasn’t right so I asked her if she was okay,” Betsy said when asked about the incident at little later. “She told me she was going through a tough time and – I don’t know why I did it – I grabbed her hand and said a prayer with her.”
She did what? Isn’t there a law against “public prayer” or “a display of Christianity?” Not as far as the Capital Toyota employee is aware. “It just seemed like the thing to do … that’s the kind of people you’ll find all over this dealership,” the angel named Betsy smiled.
Here is what Beverly wrote in the Mirror. “The next day I got a call from Betsy. She identified herself and politely asked how the car was doing. Next, she asked how I was doing. Her concern was both timid and sincere,” read the story.
“When she asked could she do anything, I told her prayer was welcome. Some customer service manuals may advise the employee to avoid responses of a Christian nature but Betsy replied, ‘You are in my prayers.’” (Little did Beverly know the McKamey family keeps a large famed picture of Jesus Christ in the showroom.)
“A week later I found myself continuing to tiptoe in stress. The car was healed but my soul was wounded. Then I opened my mailbox to find a blue envelope with a card from Betsy. Her note of concern was a sweet gift. She signed the card as an employee of Toyota and enclosed a business card but in my mind Betsy Gammon is more than that.
“She is a member of the encouragers, human messengers who hear the whispers of heavenly angels and respond with grace. I can’t claim the being behind the behavior was more than human,” the author wrote, “but her response in my moment of despair was perceived as a heavenly touch.”
Marty Woody, Capital’s award-winning service manager, laughed with delight when he was told Betsy was in the news. “Doesn’t surprise me a bit. She’s an inspiration to our customers but to all of our employees as well. She’s happy all the time. She looks for ways to show kindness. We are in the midst of a huge remodeling project, so everybody is excited about that, but Betsy has even befriended a bunch of the construction workers! Betsy is something … everybody loves her.”
Beverly McCormick, who writes “From the Cookie Jar” every month for the Signal Mountain readers, claims a 9-year-old named Olive told her, “Angels don’t wear halos anymore. I forget why, but scientists are working on it.”
The affable Woody, who oversees both Capital Toyota’s service department and another huge shop where the McKamey family is now servicing all makes and models, doesn’t necessarily agree with Olive. “I shouldn’t be quoted on this but every so often it does seem like Betsy has a certain glow about her. She sure does mean a lot to all of us.”
royexum@aol.com