Citrus Heights Photo Gallery | Thanksgiving Day Shoppers, Blessed By Red Berets, Those Worn By Sacramento Guardian Angels!

Thanksgiving 8:30 pm – Yes!  TOYS R US, Arden Fair Mall, was the place to be.  Parents and children, eyes bright with anticipation, awaiting the store opening at 9pm, securely wrapped around this renown building, as a Christmas ribbon embraces a gift to warm the heart of a little one!   In line, these sojourners into the night after a Thanksgiving Day feast and perhaps an overdue nap, were on a Christmas kick-off high – Parents knew this evening, as did grandparents, and anyone looking for a gift which might be found at TOYS R US, had in store a sale price of a favorite item which brought added excitement – money to be saved this eve, would allow perhaps one more gift to be nestled under the tree.  What’s there not to be happy about! 

A special gift was given to shoppers this eve!  A free gift for all:  that of a sense of safety.  As this gift is not for sale, but given freely from the heart and social conscience, the Guardian Angels made their presence, and truly they were a present for our shoppers on a dark eve, where vulnerability is at a height. 

Let’s see what shoppers, still standing in line, had to say: 

Tonya, a lovely woman in line when asked how she felt about the presence of the Guardian Angels had this to say:  Are you glad they’re here:  “Very glad.  Yes, it makes me feel very safe.” 

Trish, when asked how she felt when she saw the Guardian Angels:  “Safer, definitely safer.  We know we can trust in keeping our vehicle here and our stuff will be here when we get back.” 

This feeling was unanimous for the shoppers quickly interviewed.  A sense of perhaps relief was in the air. 

The plans to make this a safe, successful adventure for those who were happy to stand in line, paid off!  The staff, so professional, so personable, were well versed in the strategic plan to safely allow up to 50 buyers in at a time, to ensure customer satisfaction and a sense that once you were in, you would find your item(s) and be on your way. 

As shoppers were cared for, having their shopping needs addressed inside Toys R US, the now lonely, dark parking lot filled with cars, was first perused by our Guardian Angels, whose first line of business for the eve was to ensure a safe environment. 

Unbeknownst to shoppers, a strategy was in place by the Guardian Angels to help ward off one whose intent was not to appraise a gift yet on the shelf, but to study carefully the placement of cars parked in unlit areas, perhaps keenly aware of a woman and children pushing a cumbersome cart, searching for ‘where is the darn car parked?’ haze, only aware of one goal:  ‘get the car unlocked, pop a trunk and load those toys, and last but not least, secure child(ren) into car seats, safety click-it, make sure purse is still in hand and not left in the cart!  Wow!  And, this is after price comparisons have been made...decisions such as, ‘I wonder if this will fit in the car,’ ‘Is this the right gift?’  ‘Too big to mail???’ 

As one can see, the many activities accompanying holiday shopping is a great diversion for the shopper allowing a figure in the distance to go unnoticed, whose eyes may be studying you as his/her strategy is in the making…

After many walks through the parking lots, flash lights with beams to announce an intruder in bushes, lying in wait; looking for the person who is idly standing between cars – those who appeared to try to melt into the night … the eyes of the Guardian Angels seek such individuals/scenarios and will make themselves visibly present, and in a nonthreatening stance, approach such person and ask if they’ve seen someone suspicious and would they please keep an eye open for such. 

Guardian Angel, Patrick Kent explained, the very essence of their presence can and oftentimes defers a potential assailant from acting.  Hopefully, a purse theft, and even worse, an assault, has been preempted, and that is our Guardian Angels of Sacramento’s plight. 

Tonight was a blessed evening, as shoppers whose expectations were met, had welcomed the season of giving, now ending in a safe journey home, thanks to the watchful eye of not only security guards, but a ‘little red beret’ who traveled into dark passages this night, helping create that safety-net, that in times of economic struggles, is so needed and so welcomed. 

Thank you, Guardian Angels! 

To Contact Sacramento Guardian Angels: 

Sacramentoguardianangels@org

A special walk-along with the Sacramento Guardian Angels was held this night!  It's an article in the making and one you will certainly want to read.

Nonprofits wishing to contact me:   

lisaophotos@yahoo.com