I’ve been wanting to write a Christmas story, and now I have one for you. It’s from Rome, Ga., and it starts at Moe’s Southwest Grill, where Anquinice Carey has worked for four years as the morning prep person and dining room ambassador. She’s the lady who greets you, and makes sure everything is served just right. “Anquinice” is too hard to say, so friends call her “Ms. Dee” which is short for her middle name, “Deca.” That’s what I’ll call her too.
Ms. Dee is a single mother of five: ages 15, 13, 11, 9 and 3. The family was evicted from their house last May, and since then, she has paid $165 a week to live in a motel. Six people, one room, no stove, no refrigerator. “I didn’t complain, I was just glad to have a roof over my head,” she said. There’s a microwave oven, and a Dollar General Store nearby, so Ms. Dee and the kids have lived off sandwiches, and whatever fast food they could afford. There’s been no such thing as a home-cooked meal.
Floyd County Sheriff’s Corporal Ghee Wilson is a regular customer at Moe’s, and struck up a friendship with Ms. Dee, who he describes as “a very upbeat person.” Now and then, he would overhear some conversations about “living in the motel,” and he started listening a little more carefully. “That’s no way for a family to live,” he would say. Yes, she was looking for a real, furnished home, but she would need two months’ rent money plus a security deposit, so that was out of the question. Last Saturday, five days before Christmas, he had an idea. “I wondered if I could do something to help,” he told me. “I have about 800 Facebook friends, so I thought I would put her story on Facebook, and if a few of them gave five or ten dollars, we could at least get them in an apartment.”
In part, here is what he posted: “Facebook friends, I know it is nearly Christmas, and money is probably tight, but I am going to put this out there anyway. I know a family in dire need of a place to live. It is a single mother and her five children. They are living in a local motel. This mother is a VERY hard worker and takes care of her children on a single income. She can make the rent payments but can’t afford to pay all of it up front. I am trying to raise $1,200 to help her out with deposits. I am donating the first $200, so I will need $1,000 more to get this family in a home. Every little bit helps. I can assure you that all the money will go to help a local family right here in Rome, Georgia.”
Eighteen hours later, he couldn’t believe what he saw. “My Facebook page blew up,” he said. “My friends shared it with their friends, and just like that, we had $1,500. It was a humbling experience.”
He had good news for Ms. Dee, so he and a fellow officer offered to give her a ride to a local realty office. They told her some new apartments had become available, and maybe she could find a good deal. They followed her into the office, and then, THIS happened. It’s worth watching:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uDZAhMVHH4M
Yes, you saw it with your own eyes. Thanks to a caring cop, and the help of many friends (and a few strangers), Ms. Dee and her five kids are moving into a (partially) furnished home. It has a stove and refrigerator. Officers from the Floyd County Sheriff’s Office, the Floyd County Police Department, Rome Police Department, and the State Probation Office have been gathering donations like bedding, blankets and comforters to make it a home.
Corporal Wilson said, “She didn’t ask for any of this. She didn’t know it was coming, and to be honest, I didn’t either. I’ve heard about the power of social media, and now I know how powerful it can be. I just wanted to do a little something to help her and the kids, and it worked out great. It has restored my faith in people.”
As for Ms. Dee, she’s convinced it’s a Christmas miracle. “I’m so thankful there are so many people with a caring heart,” she said. “God is always there, and and He is always on time. This was my time. I know many people are hurting, and I want to tell them, never give up. Stay humble. Stay patient. Miracles do happen.”
Ms. Dee shares my belief that police officers don’t get enough credit for their good deeds. “They didn’t have to do this for me,” she said. “They don’t have to do a lot of things, but they do. They’re giving people. They’re my angels.”
(Corporal Ghee Wilson is still accepting donations to help with other furnishings for Ms. Dee’s new home. PayPal donations can be made by using his email address: gheewilson159@yahoo.com, or you may contact the Floyd County Sheriff’s Office at 706.291-4111, or 2526 New Calhoun Highway Rome, GA. 30161)