Amber Frey: Oddities

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Over the last few days, Amber Frey has been making the circles in the media, pushing her new book, Witness.

I’ve listened to her story, and while I feel she is simple girl who acts on emotions instead of logic, she isn’t coming clean about everything.

She talks to Matt Lauer on NBC.com in a video entitled “I was just so scared”. In the video (time marker 4:38), she says she was afraid to go home. That was December 29, 2002. She says she was so afraid that she didn’t go home for a week.

Now, in Oprah’s interview which airs today, and I believe in her book (though that is a guess) she says that Scott told her in one of their taped conversations later in February 2003 (more than five weeks later) that he left her a gift for her birthday in a nearby hotel. Amber Frey tells Oprah that she went and retrieved that gift out of curiosity. She doesn’t say a word about being afraid this time.

Isn’t that odd???

Clearly, something is amiss. If you are that afraid early on, you don’t become less afraid as the story thickens with insane lies, a full-blown police and FBI investigation. Something has to give here. What is the real truth, Amber?

Amber also gets very defensive with Oprah Winfrey when Oprah asks Amber if she had seen the breaking news. The whole country had seen the news. Amber flat out denies ever seeing the news or hearing about Scott Peterson’s story prior to being told by friends on December 29 that her Scott may indeed be “this” Scott.

It doesn’t sit well with me. Why did she ramble on about all the reasons why she didn’t watch TV for five days?? It was Christmas, she has a young child, she didn’t have time, etc. She didn’t read the paper, either? Not only did she get really defensive, but she stumbles for words. She wants to seem mad, but doesn’t quite pull it off.

I believe that Amber truly hoped and wished that Scott would be cleared and that he would come back to her. I believe she was in denial at times and could not accept the truth. Accepting the truth isn’t easy in the face of such a tragedy. Anyone would have a difficult time with this one, no doubt. It is understandable.

But on their first date when Scott Peterson first tells Amber that he is single, living alone, has never been married and doesn’t even own a dog (time marker 2:21), and then within three weeks on December 9, 2002, changes his story and says he had a wife but lost her, Amber should have gotten mad at him. He admits to his lie, plain and simple.

He lied, but instead Amber felt sorry for him and wanted to believe him. She didn’t question him. This is where she violated herself. She should have realized that a lie of this magnitude would never bode well for anyone—ever.

Some Explaining To Do…

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Last night, my husband and I went to return some gifts we had purchased for my parents for Christmas. We arrived at the store about three minutes before 7 p.m. As we pulled up to the front door, we saw they closed at 7 p.m.

My husband quickly bolted out of the car into the cold and dashed for the trunk. I quickly ran around to help him stack the two items so he could go in without me. He struggled for the door but managed to get it open before I could help him and then he disappeared amongst the customers.

I told him on the ride down that I would wait in the car. He had the receipts. The items were as we purchased them so I didn’t anticipate any problems. While I hadn’t specifically told him, the receipt clearly said 100% satisfaction or your money back.

I sat in the car and waited. I waited and watched as another customer was serviced before my husband. Then I saw him at the counter waiting and next thing he comes back out with the receipt as he normally would. However, as he walked towards me, I sensed something was up. I don’t know why. Perhaps I saw slight indications in my husband’s walk that he was agitated. If so, it was subconsciously registering because I didn’t see anything in particular that I can tell you about. It was just a feeling I got.

He got into the car as normal and I quickly asked him, “Did everything go okay? Did you get the refund?” He started the car, handed me the receipt and starts to pull out.

Out came the truth. “No, I didn’t.”

I’m like, huh?

Hubby: The sales guy told me that he needs a manager to make the return. I wasn’t happy but what could I do? He told me to come back another time. So instead, I left the items and told him to call us to make the return. I didn’t want him to have the receipt so I made him make a copy.

Me: What? You left the goods (at this time we are already a block down the road!)? Did you get something from him in writing that says this?

Hubby: No. I knew I was supposed to do something — so I had him right it down. I couldn’t think of what I should do?!

Me: He wrote it down and kept it. How does that help US? ((deep sigh of frustration! ))

Hubby was pissed at this time and threatened to turn around and go back. I told him that this guy sniffed him– and didn’t want to be bothered to do the return a few minutes before closing — so he pushed him off with a lie. And going back in now wasn’t going to help. For one they were closed and for two, he could deny everything. The damage was done. He knew you bought into his story. It was “clearly” a story. I knew this guy could do a return. I just wasn’t buying it.

I told him if I had gone in, I would have demanded he CALL A MANAGER! I would have read the return policy on the receipt and I would have nit-picked him about how odd it is a store would only issue a return at random times! I would have called him on his lie. Flat out. I would have turned up the pressure so fast, he would have made the return!.

The hubby knew it too. So he said to me, “That is why you should have done it!”

I shot back — I just hope we get our money back tomorrow and we don’t have some B.S. argument on our hands. This guy could take the goods and we could get screwed with a bill and no product now too!!

Well, thankfully, we didn’t get screwed. We got our money back. The store owner called and I got a big chuckle. After I talked to him, I called the husband and told him what the owner told me. The first thing the owner said is why am I giving you this credit now? You didn’t have your credit card number on you last night?

This painted a visual picture in my head:

The sales guy didn’t want to bother making the return — as I suspected. Instead he wanted to close the shop quickly and so he thwarted my husband with a really pathetic lie.

To cover his ass, he wrote a note for the store owner in the morning. “Please call these people and give them credit. You need their credit card number as they didn’t have the card on them last night when they made a return.”

What a liar he was!!

My husband feels duped this morning. The poor guy. I do feel bad for him but he needs to demand what is his and his right. Then again, maybe I need to accept that people don’t see what I see. However when 1+1=3 — Houston, we have a problem.

The employee who lied to my husband is named Jake. I can tell you one thing: Jake is going to have a lot of explaining to do today. I told the store owner the crap he put my husband through and let it be known we were not happy to be treated this way.

At first the store owner tried to defend Jake, and then before we hung up he said he was sorry and could not offer a valid reason for such treatment.

I suspect Jake will be looking for a new job today or will not have the best of days. Truly a bummer for Jake. He picked the wrong customer to lie to.

Best New Year’s Gift

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What a great idea, Townsville, Australia had. From my readings (see post below), I found that Townsville, Australia decided to forgo their fireworks display New Year’s Eve and instead donate the money to the victims of the Tsumani.

Imagine if we all did that! Pass on the suggestion…we still have time.

A Truthful Perspective from Outside

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When the world faces a disaster, I don’t depend on our media alone for information. I find they can be slow to get information, often outdated and biased. I am sure all media are like this — so I shop around for my news.

The Sydney Morning Herald in Sydney, Australia provides great news coverage to counter-balance our own. I highly recommend reading this polished newspaper. It’s a major newspaper for the Australian continent. You have to subscribe, but it is free and I have not received any spam mail for doing so.

In this article on the tsunami in their New Year’s Eve edition, I found this statement quite interesting:

After September 11 the President of the United States bullied the rest of the world to stand with him against terrorism. But this week George Bush had to be bullied by the US media and a sharp-tongued United Nations relief co-ordinator to stand with the people of the Indian Ocean nations in their time of grief.

The first US response was a cheque for $US15 million ($A19.2 million), which The New York Times noted was less than half what the Republicans will spend celebrating the Bush presidential inauguration later this month. By Wednesday, Washington was shamed into bumping its donation up to $US35 million but US Senator Patrick Leahy was still seething: “I just about went through the roof when I herd them bragging about $35 million – today we spent $35 million before breakfast in Iraq.

How sad is that?

As an American citizen, I didn’t hear the $15 million number once. I only heard about the $35 million. Why was it kept so hush? Is that why other nations complained about the U.S.? Did you hear about the $15 million?

I love America for many things, don’t get me wrong but I believe for us as a nation to be respected in a world community, we must deal with what others countries think about us — and work to make changes when we are seen to have problems and do have problems.

All nations have problems but those who are going to succeed in the global community will work to address them — and won’t turn their backs in denial.

What are we going to do?

The article goes on to say:

By the end of the week some tourists were back on the beaches of Thailand and our TV screens were filled with guilt-assuaging images of military transport aircraft and crisis management teams arriving from around the world. But it was sobering to think that the total world response this week – $US500 million, according to the UN– was no more than Australians spent on their new plasma TVs in the past 12 months.

Are WE truly giving enough money — being that we are the wealthy nation that we are?

You be the judge…

A Sad Day…to be Thankful

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Yesterday evening, after watching CNN to learn more about the world’s disaster, it started to sink in. The magnitude of the horror is beyond comprehension, beyond what words could ever describe. I realized that the injured zone could easily stretch across the entire width of the United States. It’s chilling.

The population of my town would have only been a drop in the bucket to the lives lost. I can’t help but feel parazlyed at these thoughts.

I keep thinking about Nate Berkus, a well-known interior designer showcased on previous Oprah shows, and try to envision his recount of what happened to him in Sri Lanka. After being washd out of his oceanside cottage, he and his friend clung to a light pole — only to be separated and washed apart. Nate has been unable to find his friend since and presumes he drowned. Now he must come home without him. Can you imagine that? I can’t.



I am stunned.

Horrified.

Speechless.

I am thankful…. for all I have today yet I feel unsure and uneasy.

Last night, I slept in fits…dreaming about the disaster. I can’t even remember the dreams, but I dreamt of rising water, panic and fear.

Nothing seems important today in comparison. Yet every simple thing seems so valuable. I feel blessed to have my family, my dogs, water, food, clothing and a place to sleep. Today I do not take my basic survival for granted.

I send my warm prayers to all those who had to endure nature’s fury. I am so sorry for all the pain, misery and loss…