Deja vu: Originally published Jan 29, 2011

Dear God,

Thank you for my Guardian Angel. Please give him a BIG FAT Raise.  He works very hard to protect me from Evil, as well as myself.

When I was much younger, I pictured my Guardian Angel petite and feminine, like Tinkerbell with a halo. Maybe when I was younger that was the kind of Angel I needed.  As I grew up  my Guardian Angel needed to be more formidable.

As in Ving Rhames formidable.

When I was seventeen, my cousin and I borrowed my Uncle’s 1974 Ford Pinto to run some errands. We were waiting to turn left at a busy intersection when a large truck smacked into the back of us and we were shoved 30 feet past the intersection. The back-end of the car wrapped itself over the front doors. The gas tank ruptured, spewing gasoline – a Ford Pinto defect in the mid 70’s you may have heard about.

So why does my Guardian Angel deserve a raise? First of all, my cousin did not have the wheels “pre-turned” to the left. So when the truck pushed us at 50 miles per hour, we went straight down the road, instead of turning  into oncoming traffic. Secondly, we had already dropped off my cousin’s baby niece at Grandmas house, so she was not in the car. There were no car seats back then – only laps. Last but not least, there had not been even one spark created by all that crushing metal to set all that gasoline on fire.  My cousin and I had whiplash. There was crying and shock, but no blood. There was another blessing later on as well. The insurance settlement paid for our 1st semester of college.

College must have been exhausting  for my Guardian Angel. He had to run interference from my stupid decisions. Decisions like letting drunk boys drive me back to the dorm from parties. And trying out the toga party “punch”.  I was  very, VERY naive. I was preyed upon by losers, users and evil-doers. If someone told me something, I believed it. Why would they lie? Why indeed…

I was also a  Jerk Magnet and my Angel had to be the defender of my chastity more than once. I used to wonder why I went out on a lot of first dates and had no boyfriends. Nobody messes with a formidable Guardian like Ving. Not twice.

Now that I am a happily married grandmother, my Ving-like Guardian Angel needs more action. No problem! I have 2 little granddaughters that need some serious protection. Phoenix, who is 6-years old, will be another reason he deserves a raise.

Photo of Ving Rhames, courtesy of Hollywood.com