This week we welcome Jennifer AlLee to Author Memories
Jennifer believes the most important thing a woman can do is discover her identity in God – a theme that carries throughout her stories. She's done extensive freelance work for Concordia Publishing House, including skits, Bible activity pages, and over 100 contributions to their popular My Devotions series. Her previous novels are The Love of His Brother, (Five Star, November 2007) and The Pastor’s Wife (Abingdon Press, February 2010). Her next novel is The Mother Road (Abingdon Press, April 2012). Jennifer lives in the grace-filled city of Las Vegas, Nevada with her husband and college-bound son.
A Girl's Best Friend
by Jennifer AlLee
When I was a kid, my family lived above a mortuary. And not just any mortuary. This one was in the heart of downtown Hollywood. To give you some perspective… this is a picture of my grandmother and I standing outside our home. The mortuary is the building to our right. The street behind us, running from left to right, is Hollywood Boulevard. If you look closely behind the building in the upper left corner, you can see the spire of the Capitol Records building. Yep, we were smack dab in the middle of the big city.
Living above a mortuary has its challenges. Solitude is one of them. It’s not like you can invite a lot of friends over to play. My mom was probably thinking about the solitude issue when she chose to buy me a dog for my second birthday. Since space was an issue it had to be a small dog, which is how I ended up with Tinkerbell, my Chihuahua.
Tinkerbell was about the best friend a girl could have. Her breed is usually known for being high-strung, but she was pretty easygoing. At least with me. I remember one time, during my “I want to be a vet” stage, I decided to practice bandaging techniques on her. She sat there patiently while I ripped an old dress of my great-grandma’s into strips and wound them around her paws and body. When she’d had enough she ran off, leaving a trail of raggedy material behind her.
But Tink was more than just a playmate. When I was about three years old, she saved my life.
But Tink was more than just a playmate. When I was about three years old, she saved my life.
My mom and I were in our apartment. She was in the bedroom, talking on the phone (back in the olden days when all phones had chords and you couldn’t roam the house freely while you chatted). I was in the living room, at the other end of the apartment. The doorbell rang. I drug a hassock over and stood on it so I could undo the security chain, then I opened the door. There was a man outside. I don’t remember if he said anything, but he picked me up and ran down the hall with me. I started screaming.
Then Tinkerbell came to the rescue. She charged down the hall, yipping and barking, her little legs pumping like crazy. She caught up to the guy and sank her teeth into his ankle. He dropped me and ran down the stairs. After my mom got me and everyone calmed down (including my great-grandmother and grandmother, who also lived above the mortuary) my mom went looking for Tinkerbell. She was standing downstairs at the open door, looking out into the street. I like to think she was standing guard, making sure the bad man didn’t come back.
So who would want to kidnap me? It’s all very soap opera-ish, the friend of an angry ex trying to teach somebody a lesson, etc… Obviously, I was just fine. But if not for my awesome dog, who knows what would have happened.
After an experience like that, you might expect me to have a dog today. But I don’t.
I doubt another dog could follow her lead. Tinkerbell was my hero.
Then Tinkerbell came to the rescue. She charged down the hall, yipping and barking, her little legs pumping like crazy. She caught up to the guy and sank her teeth into his ankle. He dropped me and ran down the stairs. After my mom got me and everyone calmed down (including my great-grandmother and grandmother, who also lived above the mortuary) my mom went looking for Tinkerbell. She was standing downstairs at the open door, looking out into the street. I like to think she was standing guard, making sure the bad man didn’t come back.
So who would want to kidnap me? It’s all very soap opera-ish, the friend of an angry ex trying to teach somebody a lesson, etc… Obviously, I was just fine. But if not for my awesome dog, who knows what would have happened.
After an experience like that, you might expect me to have a dog today. But I don’t.
I doubt another dog could follow her lead. Tinkerbell was my hero.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Leave a comment with a valid email address by midnight, Sep 11th
if you want to be entered to win a copy of Jennifer's novel,
The Pastor's Wife.
Name will also go in the draw for the Welcome Prize Giveaway.
if you want to be entered to win a copy of Jennifer's novel,
The Pastor's Wife.
Name will also go in the draw for the Welcome Prize Giveaway.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Book Trailer for Jennifer's novel: The Pastor's Wife
The Pastor's Wife, Abingdon Press
Website - www.jenniferallee.com
Personal Blog – http://jenniferallee.blogspot.com/
Group Blog - http://inkwellinspirations.blogspot.com/
Twitter – @jallee
Facebook – http://www.facebook.com/pages/Jennifer-AlLee-Readers-Group/131032373641802?sk=wall
The Pastor's Wife Speaks - a blog for women living on the front lines of ministry - http://thepastorswifespeaks.blogspot.com/
