The gift of life

It was January 2007. I was just starting my second semester as a freshman at Mississippi State, and was enrolled in a public speaking class. During one of the first classes, my teacher spoke to us about topic selection, and how to choose a proper topic for your audience. She explained that polarizing issues like abortion, gay marriage, and politics caused disputes, and some of those issues could really be quite personal for some audience members.

She then brought up the topic of organ donation.

"Organ donation?" I remember thinking. "People are opposed to that?"

While I've learned some people are opposed to it, that wasn't the point my teacher was trying to make. She told our class that sometimes certain topics would strike closer to home for audience members; and for her, organ donation was one of those topics.

I don't remember all the details, but long story short, her first child was sick and needed a transplant as the only option for getting better. He didn't get one. If I remember correctly, he wasn't even two years old yet.

That year, when I went home to update my driver's license, I made sure to register as an organ and tissue donor. I had always thought about it, and had even mentioned it to my family, but never made it official. Now, my Tennessee license is signed on the back and I've got a heart stamped on my license photo.

Today, The Commercial Appeal ran a beautiful story by David Waters on how one young man's tragic death resulted in life for five people. While his death is sad, the story is a beautiful picture of redemption — God bringing life and second chances for people close to death. You can read the story about Michael Gilmore here.

If you're not registered as a organ or tissue donor and are not sure how to register, you can visit Donate Life America and select your state for registration information. (Be sure to tell your family members about your plans.) It's easy, and it's quick. As of October 2011, 112,178 people were waiting for an transplant. 1,746 of those are children.

I'm thankful my public speaking teacher shared her story that day. I'm also thankful for people like Michael Gilmore who register their donation wishes and for families like the Gilmores who honor those wishes.

Jury duty

Several weeks ago, yours truly got summoned for Memphis jury duty.

I know what you're thinking: "No big deal! You live in Atlanta now."

Yes ... however, I haven't changed my residency. When I first moved, I didn't know if I'd want to stay in Georgia for a while, and I was still thinking about grad school in Tennessee. Having lived in Georgia for four months now, I know that I like it, but I'm still not sure if I should try to change my residency. It's just easier to keep it in Tennessee, right?  — until you get called for jury duty.

I got my summons several weeks ago and spent about a week and a half calling the office to try to see if I'd be exempt. I wasn't able to get hold of anyone, so I drove 6.5 hours on Thursday to get home to Memphis. (To clarify; I'm OK with serving, and I'm not trying to get out of it. I just wanted to see if I could sign up for a slot without coming home three days early, or if I was somehow exempt because I live out of state.) I'm just glad it was close to Thanksgiving, and I'm thankful my boss was understanding about me having to come home this early.

Reporting for duty was ... an experience. It should have taken me about 35 minutes to get downtown from my house; it took me an hour and 15 minutes. Thankfully, I wasn't late, but I was certainly frazzled.

There are some interesting characters in my hometown — I already knew that. When I entered the room of 5,000 potential jurors, I headed to the back and seated myself. Little did I know I'd be close to a woman who yelled at the judge to "Shut up!" when he greeted us at 9:15 with a cheery "Good morning!" I also didn't know I'd be sitting close to a man who was telling everyone that he couldn't serve because he didn't have a driver's license "due to a run-in with the law," but "they're still gonna make me serve! My buddy served last year on a case, and one of the other jurors was a murderer!" Oh boy.

I made it through jury selection unscathed, and even got my second preferred time slot. Apparently, Shelby County is the only place that allows jurors to select the week that they serve — whew! I'm very thankful for that.

I'm sure I'll have some great stories/meet some great characters when I report back in January for my week. Should be interesting.

Writer's block

I have a severe case of writer's block. I'm finally home in Memphis and bored/procrastinating/really don't want to unpack my room. (Long story. I've moved back home for the summer and therefore must unpack, which doesn't make a lot of sense to me, but those are the rules here.) There's always lots to do here, I just can't figure out what to write about nor can I really seem to get motivated about writing. Bummer. It's been a long time since I've had writer's block.

I guess it is good to be home, though. I missed the South, mainly family and my church, but also friends, sweet tea, Southern accents, hot weather, wildlife (I saw squirrels in the backyard today and realized that I never saw any while I was in New York - how sad), working out (shocking, I know), Mom's cooking, real barbecue, wearing t-shirts, country music, and my bed.

Someone once told me that after I came back home from college, home wouldn't be the same. Sadly, they were right. I feel "at home," but I feel like I've left a piece of me everywhere that I've been. Part of me is here in Memphis, another part of me is in Starkville, Mississippi, and a small part of me is in New York. From now on, I guess I'll just miss people no matter where I am...how about we all move to one place and fix this? :)

On the upside, I'm planning on writing a story focusing on several Memphis barbecue joints, and that makes me pretty excited. There are two close to my dad's business, and they're these little hole-in-the-wall places with some of the best stuff around town. I'm looking forward to sitting down with the cooks, owners, and customers to hear their stories and taste some of that delicious barbecue. Anyone have suggestions for places I should visit?