Jun 02 2010
The Lesson We Can Learn From Sarah Ferguson’s Big Mistake
In the past week I’ve heard a message three different times — I think I need to pay attention to it.
I watched with interest as Sarah Ferguson, Duchess of York, talked to Oprah Winfrey on her show today. I couldn’t change the channel as she spoke about how she came to the place where she literally sold out her ex-husband, Prince Edward, for the tune of $40,000. She later says during the interview that she asked for much more, some 500,000 pounds more, and that she doesn’t recognize the woman on the tape. She feels sorry for that woman.
She took full responsibility for are actions and showed remorse as Oprah asked her how she came to this place. How could the Duchess of York stoop so low for such a low sum of money? Isn’t there anyone who could have given her that amount of money? She is the DUCHESS OF YORK, after all. Ferguson claimed, no, she is on her own and needs money. Although, she also claims the initial $40,000 that she asked for was “for a friend.” She didn’t give details about who this friend is or what he/she needs the money for. Where is the money now? It has gone back to the newspaper.
The newspaper. Yes, this is where I became glued to the screen. Oprah asks her to recount the initial meetings with this person who gave her the money. Ferguson tells Oprah, and the world, that she was told he was a businessman that would help her. Upon their first meeting, however, she has a gut feeling, “he’s a journalist.” I’m thinking … oh my gosh, oh my gosh, she KNEW! SHE KNEW! Her instincts told her this wasn’t right. This was a setup. He’s not who he says he is. And, it gets worse. She knew so much so that she even said it to the guy … you are a reporter. He denied it. Then, she is supposed to have a dinner with him and some other people and she thinks (again, her instinct working here) to have everyone, including the “businessman” sign a non-disclosure agreement. He comes up with an excuse that it is 7:00 p.m. back at his office and no one is there to get approval. He’ll bring it tomorrow. She proceeds with the dinner. The next day, the man doesn’t have the contract and Ferguson proceeds with the meeting.
From Oprah.com:
“I sat there and thought: ‘He’s a journalist. He’s a News of the World journalist. I know he is. I’m going to leave,’” she says. “So just before I get up, I say: ‘I need you to sign a confidentiality agreement, please, because I’m not discussing anything more with you unless you do. And I’m sorry to be so rude, but in this day in age, we have to.’” …
“I even got my office to check this man’s name up in India.”
Warning signs were lighting up her night sky and she ignored them.
Story number two tells a similar tale of a woman who just felt something was off. The difference is that she took action. Immediate action that may have saved herself and her child. ABC News reported on a New Jersey mother who opened her door to a census worker, but something didn’t seem right with the man taking her information. He was shifting his body and she just didn’t feel comfortable with him. She started answering his questions and then it hit her — she recognized him from her state’s registered sex offender list, which she reviews every few months.
On the video, they show a recent photo of the man as she saw him, and a photo of him that is on the sex offender list — two very different looking people. It would have been hard just to recognize him based on the image and the face before her. This woman relied on her gut that something wasn’t right, then her mind did the rest.
“I just had an overwhelming bad sense about this person,” she told “Good Morning America” … “It was just a gut feeling. I’d never had that before. It just literally washed over me.”
The mother called the police and the man was arrested.
The last story is from my friend Stacey who talked about this issue in another way, recently on her blog, The Acorn Garden. She says that for years her body was telling her something wasn’t right. She didn’t listen to it until recently when she had surgery to correct it, but wishes she had “listened” to herself sooner. She says,
“This can be about noticing things are “off” with others, but it can also be about listening to our bodies, and knowing what is normal for us, and what “is just not right.”
Ladies, this is a wake up call. We need to listen to ourselves. When you hear the whisper, listen to it. Believe it. Take action.
Related:
For several years now I’ve seen Susan G. Komen’s name floating around, always associated with breast cancer events. I never knew who she was, until now. I was watching a show (OK, I was watching “Oprah” again) and they featured Susan’s sister (Nancy G. Brinker) who told the story of how her sister (Susan G. Komen) died of breast cancer.
