Sunday Evening


October 5, 2008

VOTE FOR AMANDA!!!

Excitement escalated as I left Memphis, bound for Los Angeles, where I will meet up with the other press travelers and our representative from PanAmerican Tours tomorrow morning, for our flight to Peru.

I’ve gotten spoiled on international flights—more leg room, movies, etc. Our Northwest Airlines plane, from Memphis to L.A., felt cramped. Had to pay $15 for my first (and only) bag to be checked on the flight as luggage, too. Somehow, that just doesn’t seem fair. The first bag should be included in the ticket, unless it is a discount ticket, or something. Had to pay extra for your food, too. I really AM spoiled! LOL…

I’m writing this on my laptop, from a Denny’s restaurant near my hotel in L.A. You can’t take the “Southern girl” out of me—had to order grits. It’s taking them a while to prepare them. I suppose there’s not a huge demand for grits in L.A.—even at a Denny’s!

On the flight from Memphis to L.A., from a huge music city to a huge “everything” city -- ANYONE can be flying with you. It’s fun to watch the passengers and try to figure out if they are movie stars, TV stars, movie/radio/music industry stars or executives. Two guys in front of me were from Elvis’ stardom studio – SUN Studios.

There was a very interesting, 19-year old young woman seated next to me on the flight. Her name was Amanda Shiflett. Ladies, this was the trip of a lifetime for Amanda! She was on her way to L.A. – Hollywood-bound, as one of only five finalists vying to be the next “Price is Right” model!

She was a very sweet, well-raised young lady from a tiny town called Corner, Alabama, about an hour and a half from Birmingham. She’s attending Wallace State, in Hanceville, Alabama, to get her Nursing degree, and is working for a veterinary hospital in her hometown to help pay her expenses. Amanda had no previous modeling experience and no fancy clothes. Her mother told her about the audition for “The Price is Right” coming near their town and she breezed into it wearing a simple black dress and some flip flops. She had to model one of the dresses the Show brought along for the occasion. When asked why she wanted to be the next model on the Show, she told them she was just a simple Southern girl looking to do something different.

She was one of 1,300 contestants, was chosen in the top 13, and then made it to the final five! She was excited about being picked up from the airport in her own limousine, but was glad her mom was meeting her (mom couldn’t get a seat on that flight and had to take an earlier one). L.A. – although exciting – can be scary to an already-nervous young woman of 19.

Tomorrow morning, about the time I am meeting my group to board our flight to Peru, Amanda will be auditioning at The Price is Right studio. All five contenders will be filmed and the Show will be broadcast for all of us to see October 20-24. The public will get to vote for one of the girls, with the winner to be announced on November 7th.
Amanda let me take her picture for this blog. She sure would appreciate everyone’s votes, on The Price is Right’s online site, October 20-24.

It was refreshing to see a small-town girl with ambition and a dream make it this far! Best wishes, Amanda!!

It was a good missionary tool with this young girl - to share our Latter-Day Woman Magazine. And, she was eager to go online when they got to her hotel and to have her Mom and grandmother look, too. They were meeting and then traveling on with her.

Well, I’m about done with my grits and orange juice, so it’s time to get some rest before embarking on my journey tomorrow morning.

See ya then!

Julie