JABB 186- Q & A with Andrew

It’s yesterday evening in Dyeland City. Lady JenniAnn, clad it slightly retro clothing (the 80s??), stalks up to Andrew’s door holding a taper candle which she blows out before knocking…

JenniAnn: ::sighs and stuffs candle into her pocket:: None! Not one single time! I’ve had work on Earth and Cliff and I are trying to keep up with building demands here! And now I’m supposed to write JABB and I just want to watch my movie! I… I wanna watch people fall in love and create great music and sing about life and death and love and art and passion and la vie boheme and… You wouldn’t happen to want to take over? ::pleadingly:: Just for this week? Puh-lease, Andrew!

Andrew: Okay, okay. I’ll write JABB for you this week. ::grins mischievously:: How about I tell the story of the time you crashed my assignment in North Carolina?

JenniAnn: ::turning bright red:: Ya know, I don’t need to watch RENT right now… Besides, we should save that story for an, umm, special occasion.

Andrew: ::laughing heartily:: Agreed. But I’ll still write JABB for you. I have some questions people sent me to answer. How about I turn those into this week’s JABB?

JenniAnn: ::hugs him:: You’re a life saver! Or sanity saver at least! If I wasn’t going to get to watch RENT soon here I was gonna start doing my own one-woman production of it as I went about business here. I would, of course, have had you distract Adam once I got to “Out Tonight.” ::winks:: Thanks again! ::hurries back to her castle humming “Today 4 U”::

And that is why I, Andrew, am writing today’s issue. Feeding one of Lady JenniAnn’s interests that doesn’t involve me seems like a wise move. And I really do want to answer some of the questions people sent in after the Q and A segment in JABB 178. I hope this is okay and doesn’t make it too obvious to you why I don’t often write these. 0;-)

Hi Andrew, if you were not an Angel of Death, what else would you do and why? Also, what other areas did you work in before becoming an Angel of Death?

Wow, good questions. Well, if I was still an angel but not an angel of death, I wouldn’t mind going back to strictly case working. I really enjoyed those years of my life, being able to get really involved with assignments sometimes over long periods of time. I treasure my work as angel of death but often those assignments are brief and not as personal.

Let’s see… First, as if often the case, I was in the choir. That was great. And good practice for my years in Adam’s, Henry’s, and my band. Search and Rescue briefly. For a number of years, I was also in a department that “Touched” never really got around to discussing. It was called Inspiration and Advisement. We delivered divine inspiration from the Father to artists, authors, people struggling with big decisions, situations like that. A few other brief stints. Then it was Casework followed by Angel of Death. I’ve thoroughly enjoyed all my roles but am really happy to be where I am now. Thanks for the questions.

Now that you've had the opportunity to work with Gloria, has she been able to be of assistance in making you remember what it was like when you were first created?

Ya know, it actually has made me reflect on my early days. That sense of wonder and amazement at everything around me… So new and scary and wonderful at once. That’s one of the great things about friends, they really make you look at the world in new ways or ways that once were yours but you’ve long forgotten.

I’ve known Tess for a long time and I was really excited when, back in the mid-1990s, I learned I’d be working with her again. Ya know, I’ll be honest and admit sometimes Tess’ tough love wasn’t what I wanted but I’ll be the first to admit it’s what I needed at times. Keep the old pride in check. 0:-) She inspired me to be the best angel I can. Tess is a really strong, wonderful lady and I’ll always treasure our times together. I really miss that we don’t work together as much as we used to but I’m really grateful we still find time to meet up often on Earth, in Heaven, or here in Dyeland.

I don’t want to sound like a broken record but here’s another case of people I’m just really grateful to have in my life. I’ve known Adam for years and he was a great support when I first became an AOD. He’s just a genuinely supportive person and very forgiving. I wasn’t exactly at my most noble when we met up at the Sign of the Dove. But, ya know, he never threw my behavior back at me. He just responded with his typical humor and friendliness. Henry’s a character, too, and a great friend. Even if he’s taken to referring to Adam and myself as “his posse.” I feel very blessed that I got to spend a lot of time with them because of the band.

As for the rest of the AODs, they’re a great group and I’m proud to count myself among them. All of us see and hear things on Earth that can be really disheartening. I think it’s a testament to everyone’s strength and love of God and humanity that there are so many willing and wanting to do this.

Hmm… Well, I hope I have! They’ve certainly done so for me on numerous occasions. I especially hope I helped Gloria in adjusting to life on Earth. I hope, with some help from the ladies, I at least made it clear to her that one doesn’t kiss one’s co-workers. That was quite a moment… I hope that sharing some stories about my case-working days and the emotions I felt during cases has helped Monica. She’s certainly done very well and if anything I said helped her to where she is then I’m very glad for that. As for Tess… I would hope some where in our long history I’d passed something valuable on to her. If for no other reason than as payback for all her words of wisdom to me.

Okay… regrets… That’s a profound question. Certainly there are things I wish hadn’t happened as they did. Even things I wish I’d done differently or things I wish I had or had not said. But, ya know, whenever I find myself dwelling too much on that line of thinking, I remember times like when I got promoted to AOD. Becoming an AOD was a wonderful turning point in my life but one that followed my failing an assignment. I think that sort of thing is true in life. Bad things, even things we regret, are what make us who we are. I think it’s much more important to focus on what we can do to better our lives and those around us right now.

Well, that’s all I have for now. Thanks to everyone who sent in questions. JenniAnn, hope you’re enjoying RENT. If anyone has other questions I have a feeling I may get talked into writing JABB again and I’d rather do something like this than have to write a top ten about myself. That makes me feel awkward. So if you’d like to send a question please send one to askandrew@onthisside.net. Until next time…

Andrew

JABB TOC
Newsletter 187

(Photo Credits: The photographs used on this page are from "Touched by an Angel" and owned by CBS Productions, Caroline Productions, and Moon Water Productions. They are not being used to seek profit.)