Just finished pictures with the Easter Bunny today, hallelujah. Whenever I work with either the Bunny or Santa, I see a side of human nature that makes me shake my head in disbelief. Read on if you don't mind learning about human depravity!
I think people forget the reason why they do these things... it's for the children, right? And if there's a nice picture, bonus. As a company, we do it to make money, no bones about it. And if we didn't make money, no more Easter Bunny/Santa.
But I've had perfectly sane-looking people come up to me with their children, and do something that just astounds me. When I tell them nicely that if they're not purchasing our pictures, we ask them not to take any pictures with their cameras, these women (and some men) will say, "Well, I'm taking them anyway. I waited 30 minutes." And then proceed to take pictures with their own cameras as I stand there.
Granted, these bad apples are few and far between, thank heavens. But the fact that they're out there makes me wonder what in the world is going through their mind when they do it. How can that be worth it? They get a picture of their child knowing that they were dishonest and... frankly, mean about it. It's the meanness of character that gets to me.
I told one woman (nicely) that it's just like going into a store and stealing, because taking pictures is what WE do, and the picture is our product that we sell. Didn't faze her one bit, she just kept snapping away. There's really nothing we can do about it, because we don't want to ruin it for the children, who are witnessing (innocently) their parent's lack of a moral base.
Our company policy is actually for no camera devices to be allowed on the set, which makes more sense to me because then there's no opportunity to cheat. I'm hoping we move more toward that policy in the future, because this part of my job is absolutely the worst. Give me a screaming two-year-old over a dishonest parent anytime.
When Santa used to be a mall promotion to get people to come, the malls used to provide the Santas, the film, the camera, and gave the pictures away because they were trying to get people to shop at their mall.
Gradually, they started charging for the pictures, and now, it's a professional studio with the lighting, digital cameras, and heavy-duty printers. Only it's better than a studio, because we have a real, live Santa or Easter Bunny! But a studio would never say "Yes, you can take pictures with your camera as long as you buy something." Yet we say that every day to people. No wonder they think we should just let them take their own photos! That policy needs to change to "I'm sorry, no camera devices are allowed." Period.
But it takes training and re-training employees and customers, and it's a process. We hardly ever have people coming up anymore saying, "Oh, they let us just take pictures last year!" with a wide-eyed, innocent look. They know not to try that because it hasn't been allowed for many years.
Another scam that we've been seeing is, "Oh, I don't know what package to get." Then they allow me to bust my butt and take really nice pictures of their kids (while they're snapping away with their expensive DSLR), and then have the nerve to say, "No, I don't want to buy any pictures today."
Ugh. If Christ hadn't died for EVERY SINGLE ONE of these people, I would be totally disgusted by them. As it is, I see that if not for Him, I might be just like them (Lord help me, that was hard to type). Only Christ can redeem these, and despite what I think, they ARE totally redeemable. Too bad they've apparently walked away from the priceless gift that He's holding out to them.
I hope you know what that gift is and how it can change your life, like it's changed mine. In fact, thinking about what Christ has given up for me and what He paid for ME to be redeemed is making me feel better. It's taking that ugly, heavy feeling off my chest from thinking about the bad deeds I've seen this Easter season.
Tomorrow we celebrate Christ's resurrection. He's the only One with an empty tomb because He's alive today. He died on Friday for me - and for you - because the penalty for sin is death. I didn't have to die for my sins (ALL of them) because Christ died for them.
I accepted Christ's gift - He saved me from a death I totally deserved. He died the most awful, painful, humiliating death that man could conceive, and He did it for me, for you, for everyone on this planet.
Do you think Jesus was just a great teacher? Is He just another religious leader to you? I challenge you to really read the Bible and see what He was, and is.
We aren't happy about Easter Sunday because it's all about the Bunny. Because it's not. And all those people I wrote about need Christ, but no more than I did at one time. Do you need Him?
Sunset at Mille Lacs Lake
Sunday, April 24, 2011
Wednesday, April 13, 2011
Terrified of the Bunny
Around this time of year, a tradition we have here in the US is taking a picture with the Easter bunny -- not as popular or well-known as the ubiquitous picture with Santa, but entertaining nevertheless.
Our Easter bunny at Northtown Mall is a very dignified, studious-looking rabbit because he has enormous glasses. They indicate poor vision, which is why he has to eat so many carrots. But he's also got soft white fur and gigantic feet, which endears him to many 3- and 4-year olds. The 2-year-olds, on the other hand...! You knew I had some stories, right?
I write this because I am the photographer for this as well as for Santa, and I enjoy it (mostly). I can't give away all the secrets, but I will say that our official position is that the Easter bunny shall always be a "he" no matter who inhabits his suit, and he never speaks, unless it's an emergency.
We did have a situation a couple of days ago when the Easter bunny's "grandma" told him that she'll be over for dinner that night... IN THE PRESENCE of an impressionable 5-year-old, so I had to tell the child that it's pretty cool that she gets to have dinner with the Easter bunny. I hope the parent isn't too confused when the kid says he wants to have the bunny over for dinner, too.
One of the most fun things about this job is seeing the children react to our bunny.
When 2-year-olds see the bunny for the first time, there are usually two reactions. The first one involves a lot of staring and open-mouthed astonishment, which evolves into frantic clutching of the parent when he/she walks within 10 feet of the furry critter. This is usually followed by loud screaming and tears, not conducive to (of? for? pick one) an attractive Easter photo.
The second reaction usually happens when the parent is wise enough to recognize the increasing tension in the child's grip on his/her shoulder and slows down enough to give the child time to get used to a human-sized creature that normally is smaller than a breadbox. Still a lot of staring, but as the parent sidles toward the sitting bunny, the child tentatively reaches out and gives the bunny a high-five, with a lot of coaxing. And then we can proceed with the sitting, because it's within the realm of possibility now.
But what I love the most (no matter the age) are the expressions of rapture and adoration when they hug the bunny or give him a handshake. They are just thrilled to be in the presence of such an amazing creature, and it shows in the glow of their faces. It makes the other screaming ones almost worthwhile.
Sometimes, and I feel a little bad about this, but the screaming pictures are often pretty hilarious. It's so tragic that it's funny, even though we know the child was definitely not faking it. So I will often take a picture of the screaming child because I know there's a possibility that it will be funny cute.
Everyone loves the CUTE cute pictures, you know, the ones where the child is absolutely delighted to be sitting there, and smiling like a cherub. You've seen some of those, and I'm usually pretty good at getting those, most of the time.
But the FUNNY cute and TRAGIC cute ones stand out. Any psychologist (professional or otherwise) willing to offer an explanation about this is welcome to leave a comment. The only thing I can think is that we know the object of their absolute terror is... a fuzzy bunny. And so we don't take their fear seriously.
It's funny how even in a blog about the Easter bunny and terrified children I can see a God connection. When we see God, do we see a Being with whom we can sit and feel totally comfortable and loved, with complete devotion and affection our response? Or are we terrified to sit alone with Him, afraid that He'll find us out and reveal us to the world with all our darkness and warts? Or that He'll arbitrarily punish us just because He can?
(WARNING: Spoiler) I guess it comes down to how well you know the object of your affection, or terror. If the children really knew that a normal human being sits beneath that bunny suit, their terror would vanish. If we really knew God the way He wants us to know Him we would feel wrapped in love when we sit with Him.
Do you have a funny Easter bunny story?
Our Easter bunny at Northtown Mall is a very dignified, studious-looking rabbit because he has enormous glasses. They indicate poor vision, which is why he has to eat so many carrots. But he's also got soft white fur and gigantic feet, which endears him to many 3- and 4-year olds. The 2-year-olds, on the other hand...! You knew I had some stories, right?
I write this because I am the photographer for this as well as for Santa, and I enjoy it (mostly). I can't give away all the secrets, but I will say that our official position is that the Easter bunny shall always be a "he" no matter who inhabits his suit, and he never speaks, unless it's an emergency.
We did have a situation a couple of days ago when the Easter bunny's "grandma" told him that she'll be over for dinner that night... IN THE PRESENCE of an impressionable 5-year-old, so I had to tell the child that it's pretty cool that she gets to have dinner with the Easter bunny. I hope the parent isn't too confused when the kid says he wants to have the bunny over for dinner, too.
One of the most fun things about this job is seeing the children react to our bunny.
When 2-year-olds see the bunny for the first time, there are usually two reactions. The first one involves a lot of staring and open-mouthed astonishment, which evolves into frantic clutching of the parent when he/she walks within 10 feet of the furry critter. This is usually followed by loud screaming and tears, not conducive to (of? for? pick one) an attractive Easter photo.
The second reaction usually happens when the parent is wise enough to recognize the increasing tension in the child's grip on his/her shoulder and slows down enough to give the child time to get used to a human-sized creature that normally is smaller than a breadbox. Still a lot of staring, but as the parent sidles toward the sitting bunny, the child tentatively reaches out and gives the bunny a high-five, with a lot of coaxing. And then we can proceed with the sitting, because it's within the realm of possibility now.
But what I love the most (no matter the age) are the expressions of rapture and adoration when they hug the bunny or give him a handshake. They are just thrilled to be in the presence of such an amazing creature, and it shows in the glow of their faces. It makes the other screaming ones almost worthwhile.
Sometimes, and I feel a little bad about this, but the screaming pictures are often pretty hilarious. It's so tragic that it's funny, even though we know the child was definitely not faking it. So I will often take a picture of the screaming child because I know there's a possibility that it will be funny cute.
Everyone loves the CUTE cute pictures, you know, the ones where the child is absolutely delighted to be sitting there, and smiling like a cherub. You've seen some of those, and I'm usually pretty good at getting those, most of the time.
But the FUNNY cute and TRAGIC cute ones stand out. Any psychologist (professional or otherwise) willing to offer an explanation about this is welcome to leave a comment. The only thing I can think is that we know the object of their absolute terror is... a fuzzy bunny. And so we don't take their fear seriously.
It's funny how even in a blog about the Easter bunny and terrified children I can see a God connection. When we see God, do we see a Being with whom we can sit and feel totally comfortable and loved, with complete devotion and affection our response? Or are we terrified to sit alone with Him, afraid that He'll find us out and reveal us to the world with all our darkness and warts? Or that He'll arbitrarily punish us just because He can?
(WARNING: Spoiler) I guess it comes down to how well you know the object of your affection, or terror. If the children really knew that a normal human being sits beneath that bunny suit, their terror would vanish. If we really knew God the way He wants us to know Him we would feel wrapped in love when we sit with Him.
Do you have a funny Easter bunny story?
Tuesday, April 5, 2011
Praying for a bracelet
You know how when you get something, all of a sudden, you see it everywhere? Whenever we get a new (to us, anyway) vehicle, my eyes are opened up to seeing that same make and model everywhere I go.
I lost a lovely silver bracelet a few months ago. It had a magnet closure, which is one of the main reasons why I lost it. The other main reason was that I was driving through a blizzard at night and the wipers were having a hard time keeping up with all the snow piling up on the windshield.
As I reached out to grab the wiper and pull it up so it can hit the windshield and bang off some of the accumulated snow, my bracelet caught the edge of the window and flew off onto the snow-filled street. I was dismayed because it was the first time I'd worn the bracelet, and I loved it because it had little silver hearts that had "faith", "hope", and "love" printed on them.
I stopped the van on the side of the road and tried to look for it, but the snow was coming down so hard and it was so dark that it was hopeless. Several times over the last few months, I stopped and tried to look on the side of the road, but the snowbanks were piled pretty high, and the odds of seeing the bracelet in all that snow were pretty low.
So yesterday, with the warmer weather and the snow melting all over, I thought I'd have a go at it again. It was a lovely, sunny day, and I had a little time as I drove home from my BSF meeting. The last few times I'd tried to look, I don't remember ever praying for help as I looked. I thought to myself that this was such a little matter; God really didn't need to be bothered by this puny request.
But that day, I realized that it bothered me a little that I couldn't find this bracelet... there was a sense of non-closure. Maybe it's my latent OCD coming out, whatever. So I prayed for help, to the God of the universe, that He'd help me find this bracelet. I prayed that I'd see the flash of silver and somehow find closure in this trifling matter.
Now I know that He doesn't always answer prayers right away. It's not that He doesn't hear or doesn't care, He just has a bigger picture of things, and He knows what's good for us, even when we vehemently disagree with Him. Sometimes He says "yes," sometimes He says "no," and sometimes, to our chagrin and impatience, He says "wait." And sometimes He waits patiently for us to even ask for help or guidance. But He always answers... in His perfect time.
As I walked on the side of the road, looking for a flash of silver, I prayed, sometimes a little desperately, despite my lack of attachment to this bracelet. I mean, I hadn't had it for even a week before I lost it!
Those who don't believe in the power of prayer would say that it doesn't matter... when something happens, it's a cosmic coincidence if it happens the way we want it to, and it just sucks if it doesn't. There's no reason for why things happen, they just do. Some people live their whole lives this way, not even thinking there may be another way, and I'm so glad I don't have that particular world view right now. I used to, and I was a different person then. But that's another story.
Anyway, after about 15 minutes of intense searching, I saw a flash of silver that wasn't a tin can or gum wrapper. It was a heart, mostly white, with just a little patch of silver, unmistakably a piece of my bracelet. The silver must have corroded off most of the heart, and the rest of the bracelet was nowhere to be seen.
I leaned down to pick it up and stared at it with a sense of wonder... and closure. I had asked Him for help in this simple matter, and He did. I saw His love for me in that little piece of bracelet, and felt like the God of the entire universe stooped down to care for me in that moment. The feeling was indescribable.
Just as we suddenly start to see vehicles similar to our own, when we look for God in the little things, He will show Himself to us. My eyes were opened to how God works in the puny things, and I could feel Him there with me, standing on the side of the road. He answered my little request, and it seemed a miracle.
Cynics may say that it was pure luck that I found that heart. But then they will have missed the feelings of love and care that I felt when I found it. I'd rather live with the faith and hope that God is really here, than live without it.
Thanks for spending some time with me on the side of the road, and on my path in life. May you see God in the little things!
I lost a lovely silver bracelet a few months ago. It had a magnet closure, which is one of the main reasons why I lost it. The other main reason was that I was driving through a blizzard at night and the wipers were having a hard time keeping up with all the snow piling up on the windshield.
As I reached out to grab the wiper and pull it up so it can hit the windshield and bang off some of the accumulated snow, my bracelet caught the edge of the window and flew off onto the snow-filled street. I was dismayed because it was the first time I'd worn the bracelet, and I loved it because it had little silver hearts that had "faith", "hope", and "love" printed on them.
I stopped the van on the side of the road and tried to look for it, but the snow was coming down so hard and it was so dark that it was hopeless. Several times over the last few months, I stopped and tried to look on the side of the road, but the snowbanks were piled pretty high, and the odds of seeing the bracelet in all that snow were pretty low.
So yesterday, with the warmer weather and the snow melting all over, I thought I'd have a go at it again. It was a lovely, sunny day, and I had a little time as I drove home from my BSF meeting. The last few times I'd tried to look, I don't remember ever praying for help as I looked. I thought to myself that this was such a little matter; God really didn't need to be bothered by this puny request.
But that day, I realized that it bothered me a little that I couldn't find this bracelet... there was a sense of non-closure. Maybe it's my latent OCD coming out, whatever. So I prayed for help, to the God of the universe, that He'd help me find this bracelet. I prayed that I'd see the flash of silver and somehow find closure in this trifling matter.
Now I know that He doesn't always answer prayers right away. It's not that He doesn't hear or doesn't care, He just has a bigger picture of things, and He knows what's good for us, even when we vehemently disagree with Him. Sometimes He says "yes," sometimes He says "no," and sometimes, to our chagrin and impatience, He says "wait." And sometimes He waits patiently for us to even ask for help or guidance. But He always answers... in His perfect time.
As I walked on the side of the road, looking for a flash of silver, I prayed, sometimes a little desperately, despite my lack of attachment to this bracelet. I mean, I hadn't had it for even a week before I lost it!
Those who don't believe in the power of prayer would say that it doesn't matter... when something happens, it's a cosmic coincidence if it happens the way we want it to, and it just sucks if it doesn't. There's no reason for why things happen, they just do. Some people live their whole lives this way, not even thinking there may be another way, and I'm so glad I don't have that particular world view right now. I used to, and I was a different person then. But that's another story.
Anyway, after about 15 minutes of intense searching, I saw a flash of silver that wasn't a tin can or gum wrapper. It was a heart, mostly white, with just a little patch of silver, unmistakably a piece of my bracelet. The silver must have corroded off most of the heart, and the rest of the bracelet was nowhere to be seen.
I leaned down to pick it up and stared at it with a sense of wonder... and closure. I had asked Him for help in this simple matter, and He did. I saw His love for me in that little piece of bracelet, and felt like the God of the entire universe stooped down to care for me in that moment. The feeling was indescribable.
Just as we suddenly start to see vehicles similar to our own, when we look for God in the little things, He will show Himself to us. My eyes were opened to how God works in the puny things, and I could feel Him there with me, standing on the side of the road. He answered my little request, and it seemed a miracle.
Cynics may say that it was pure luck that I found that heart. But then they will have missed the feelings of love and care that I felt when I found it. I'd rather live with the faith and hope that God is really here, than live without it.
Thanks for spending some time with me on the side of the road, and on my path in life. May you see God in the little things!
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