The Never-Ending Personal Thread
The ClubHouse: The Game II - Mysterious Puzzler: Discussions/Challenges:
The Never-Ending Personal Thread
Spamgirl | Saturday, January 27, 2001 - 11:42 pm  i lived in a place for 2 years... loved it... it was the upstairs of a house... my daughter was born there and lived there until last june... the landlords lived downstairs... they were WONDERFUL... like parents... bought us dinner sometimes... beer for jay... gifts for the baby leaving there was the hardest thing i could do... i loved it... shopping, neighbors... sephie's first little friend was there, and i hated leaving her... sephie adored her so much - she used to look out the window to see if she was coming home... everything was perfect there, but it was only a one bedroom... the landlord even said he'd lower the rent to keep us there but we left, and my best friends exboyfriend moved in well, last month he came home drunk.... he'd filled a lighter over an ashtray (stupid guy) and like 6 hours later, when he got home, he put his cigarette in it... needless to say, somehow it sparked... caught all the paper behind him on fire... the walls were covered with papers and articles, they caught too... when he turned around, the place was an inferno... he got really bad burns and lost everything - even his winter coat now the entire upstairs of the house is gone... and the saddest part is that if i ever went back, it wouldn't be the same... i can still remember my daughter taking her first steps there... the day we brought her home from the hospital... where my husband proposed to me (the first and second times ... looking in the mirror at my big pregnant belly.. lying in the bed while she rubbed her daddy's back through my belly... and now it's all gone... and it's horrible that was really the first place i felt was home... and losing it really kills me... i'm afraid to go back because i'm afraid they blame me for it... i sent them a letter appologizing, but they never replied so my daughter hasn't seen her little friend since... which is a horrible shame... and she has no friends here because the parents here don't want their kids playing with a white girl (and they've told me that themselves) |
Juju2bigdog | Sunday, January 28, 2001 - 08:22 am  A killer anecdote for Elitist: Back when I was a young agent, when women were a real novelty as feds, and I was a curvy sweet young thang who looked seventeen, I had to deal with an informant who had information about a crime I needed to solve. This guy was a caricature of a Florida redneck lowlife criminal (most informants are criminals), missing teeth, tattoos, bullying swagger, the whole get-up. I kept having to meet with him in the local detective bureau during off hours when there were not many people around. Every time I had to deal with him, he would look me up and down real good, put on his best rapist's leer and ask me if I know judo and karate and all that stuff. I would always just laugh weakly and reply yes. Finally, one day I had had enough. When he asked the inevitable question, I looked him straight in the eye and in a deadpan voice said, "Yes, I do know all that stuff, but I only got the crash course. All I know how to do is kill." And he never asked me again.
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Guruchaz | Sunday, January 28, 2001 - 10:13 am  That is so "raw". I picture you sort of like Lara Croft in TombRaider. Anyhoo...
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Ocean_Islands | Sunday, January 28, 2001 - 10:44 am  Juju tell us more wild mysterious stories of your life as a federal agent. Was there a course on wrapping yourself in woolens to avoid detection? lol
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Merlin | Sunday, January 28, 2001 - 01:11 pm  I just had something take place that brought back the memory of Elistist’s question when he began this thread. The question of seeing someone going through something and not helping. I had lunch today with a daughter who made a surprise visit. We went to our favorite local restaurant. As we were going in the door, I saw the owner of the restaurant doing something on one of the patios. I could tell there was something different about him, but I didn’t know what exactly it was. I have known this man for about twelve years. When I first met him, Julio was a waiter in another restaurant. He had only recently left El Salvador in an effort to escape the conflict that was present in his country. He came in undocumented. Julio has since gotten his papers in order and is now here legally. Julio impressed me in the beginning by how hard he worked and the fact that even then he had to goal of owning his own restaurant. He had already started saving his money. He used the trunk of his car as a bank. When he shared with me that he had $5,000 cash in the trunk of his car, I tried to encourage him in trusting a local bank. At this same time, I was aware that Julio drank enough to become intoxicated. He would do this after he got off work. I could see it was a somewhat regular thing. I did not encourage him to do anything about the drinking. Why could I encourage or advise on one thing and not the other? To shorten this story, Julio came over to our table today. I noticed he was smiling ear to ear. This was very noticeable because for the longest time it seemed Julio was always in a serene, bordering unhappy mood. I had just put it off as being the stress of his business. Almost the first thing out of his mouth, was to tell me he had quit drinking, cold turkey, just gave it up. When he told me how much he had been drinking, I was astounded that he had been able to hold it together at all. I could hear in his speaking that he had overcome the need to drink. It was a pleasant ending to a good meal, to hear that a friend had overcome something that has been overwhelming them. As I was leaving, I thought of Elitist’s question, why didn’t someone help? Will I be able to say something to Julio if I see the problem come back? Yes, I will be able to. |
Juju2bigdog | Sunday, January 28, 2001 - 02:20 pm  Well, Merlin, if it makes any difference to how you feel about it, if Julio is an alcoholic, there was nothing you could have done to help him anyway. The only person that could help Julio was Julio, and it looks like he did it. I have a friend who is right now going through trying to save the husband's life, and not much works in terms of getting him to even realize he has a problem, even though he is close to death and has had several close calls. It is a very strange disease, and those of us who are not dealing with it find it almost incomprehensible. Your friend Julio has done something quite remarkable, I suspect, but it's also something he will have to fight every day of his life. |
Juju2bigdog | Sunday, January 28, 2001 - 08:47 pm  Okay, here is a work story. In law enforcement, you get to eventually hear it all if you hang around and answer your phone. Usually, there will be at least one bizarre phone call per day: A woman called and said she has a medical condition and has to find some work she can do from home. She answered an ad in the San Francisco Examiner to do telephone work answering the 800 number for a company. First she had to buy a training packet from them for $96. Then she found out the work involved answering phones for adult chat and a psychic hotline. She was to be paid 20 cents for each minute, so she decided to go ahead and do it, even though talking dirty is not her sort of thing. She worked for them for a week. Somehow, I'm not real clear about that, they made her work on the phone all night. She did not even get to sleep. And now they have disappeared and the 800 number is disconnected, and she fears she is not going to get her 20 cents an hour. So, let's see, she had to pay $96 to talk dirty to men on the phone (which she is very embarrassed about), she did not get any sleep, and she's not going to get her 20 cents an hour for which the perps charged the callers three dollars a minute. I said, "well, I guess that's the strangest job you'll ever have." What can I say to these people except this must be my bizarre phone call for the day? |
Ocean_Islands | Monday, January 29, 2001 - 04:42 pm  Lol! I love these stories you guys. Watch out, if you keep this up you just might inspire me! And if that happens, Watch out, World! |
Juju2bigdog | Tuesday, January 30, 2001 - 06:38 am  Yes, Ocean, but if you get inspired, no more sleep for a week and a half. Bigdog and I are over in Mission, TX, (about 80 miles from South Padre Island, spent night in motel) visiting Bigdog's 96 year old Momma. Momma lives in the woods in Arkansas but is spending the winter in a trailer park down here. Momma is about homesick and ready to go back home, but has another month before she goes. When she thinks about going home, though, she thinks about all the things that need doing around her place. She mentioned that the night light over the side deck of her house has burned out, and it is way up high, so it's going to be hard to replace. She said, "Well, it's been up there 32 years, bound to burn out sometime." This morning I remarked to Bigdog that Momma ought to contact the manufacturer of the night light. Bigdog said, "what for, a refund?" I said, "no, to make a commercial." ******* And speaking of South Texas - The area where we spent the night is a much more populated area than South Padre, so I looked in the phone book to see if I could find a big chain bookstore to buy a travel book. Have you already guessed that there were no listings for bookstores but there were a page and a half of listings for boots? Oh, you been living in the big cities for too long, Juju.
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Ocean_Islands | Tuesday, January 30, 2001 - 06:23 pm  It is dark. The pavement is wet with rain. On the air, the odor of french fries and car exhaust. Above my head, I can just make out one star. People are milling about me. It is 3 a.m. It is 3 a.m. in Paris and everyone wants to catch the last bus home. It costs twenty francs and even when I get to my stop I have to walk a mile on the deserted streets to get home to bed. But the bus is broken down; it will not leave soon. Suddenly, on the other side of the street, I see another bus, and a long line of people ready to board. I am going to make this bus. I am going to make this bus and pay my twenty francs and avoid walking three miles instead of just one. I run. Leaping across the curb railing, it is too dark to see the chain hanging low. It catches my foot and I fall flat on my face. Later, I catch a taxi. |
Juju2bigdog | Tuesday, January 30, 2001 - 08:53 pm  That's why they have park benches, O.
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Juju2bigdog | Wednesday, January 31, 2001 - 09:13 am  Merlin is going to ask me this one any minute now, so I will go ahead and answer now. He is going to ask what made us move from San Francisco to Washington state. Part of the answer is that Bigdog had just had enough of San Francisco sfter five years. I was not quite ready to leave, but he had followed me to so many places around the country, it was time for me to be flexible. And, as a preface to the following account, let me explain that when we were in South Padre Island, TX, last year we bought a condo on the way out of town, with no time to check it out beforehand. Turns out the seller had unpaid liens on the place and the deal fell through, just as we were packing the U-Haul in San Francisco to take a load of household goods to South Padre. After that, we took a spur of the moment trip to Alaska, stopping along the way in Bellingham, WA, to visit friends. After we returned to SF, we decided to make an offer on a condo we saw in Bellingham, and here was my explanation for that, sometime in July 2000: We are moving to Bellingham, WA around the first part of August. This time we are really moving, so if we get underway and the deal falls apart, like the one in South Padre did, we are moving anyway. We are buying a one bedroom one bath condo in an area of Bellingham where we think we would like to live, close to Bellingham Bay. Probably will be a temporary residence until we find a bigger place we like. Or, unless we get used to living in that small a space and like it. Why Bellingham? Here's what I told Tom T. this morning: >Bellingham... what was the attraction for you guys? 1) it ain't hot 2) no state income tax 3) on the water 4) got friends there 5) one-third share in a Grand Banks motor yacht 6) no traffic 7) close to two major cities, Vancouver and Seattle 8) it's pretty country 9) people don't honk their horns except to say hi. 10) it's as good as anywhere else 11) everybody's gotta be someplace Ted is packing, and I reserved a Ryder truck this morning. Adios, Frisco! |
Elitist | Wednesday, January 31, 2001 - 09:34 am  Bellingham is really a beautiful place to live, and I think at one time was picked by some mag or survey to be the #1 place to live in the U.S. I took a couple of trips up there to visit some clients at one time and really loved the place. There is a restaurant on a cliff overlooking the bay that serves some pretty good salmon, but I can't remember the name of it. And with Mt. Baker visible when it isn't too misty, it definitely has some views. Isn't there a bay around close, perhaps at Cherry Point, that is shallow enough that the water actually gets warm enough to swim in? |
Juju2bigdog | Wednesday, January 31, 2001 - 12:22 pm  Yes, Elite, it is actually a pretty nice little town. Well about 65,000, small compared to where we have been. It also has a four year University and a community college. Restaurant you are thinking of is the Cliff House. We haven't been there yet. Locals recommend it for a drink for the view. We are considering buying a condo next to that restaurant, at the aptly named cliff house condominiums. Where we are now is close to that location, lower on the hill and closer to the water. Yes, Bellingham often makes the list of best small towns in america and best places to retire, so the place will probably get overrun once the baby boomers start retiring. We are baby boomers too, but we just managed to get a little bit ahead of the coming tidal wave. We did not find anything swimmable in the little time we were there, but there is a state park south of us that has a shallow cove. And there is a place near there called Teddy Bear cove that also might have a swimming beach. Bellingham also has a pretty nice aquatic center that I am intending to check out when we return. And yes, on those days when Mount Baker is visible, it is enough to take your breath away. There is a small town called Ferndale about eight miles northwest of Bellingham that has spectacular views of the mountain. It would be kind of nice to live there too. Haven't found a place yet that has both mountain and bay views. |
Elitist | Wednesday, January 31, 2001 - 12:35 pm  Yes Ferndale is where one of my clients is. I remember one morning going to their site out in the middle of nowhere, close to the coast, spending most of the day with them, then taking the drive back to Bellingham. We were traveling east on a two lane road, topped a hill and saw this most incredible snow-topped mountain centered in the roadway ahead of us. It took my breath away - especially since I am a Houston boy raised on the saltgrass plains. Yes it was the Cliff House restaurant - nice view with an outside patio with glass walls to keep the wind down. And the food wasn't too bad either - I don't remember the prices because the company was paying for it As I remember there was also something about Canadian tax or inheritance laws that was making it a real haven for Canadians coming down to shelter their money. A real booming area. |
Juju2bigdog | Thursday, February 01, 2001 - 09:32 am  Found the prelude to yesterday's story. Here is the one about not buying the Texas condo: 3-24-00 So Ted had just arrived home with the U-Haul and I had just arrived from going to the bank and wiring $25,000 to the Title company in Texas and getting a haircut that would last the four weeks we would be gone. I was sending Ted downstairs to con the guy next door into helping Ted load the couch onto the U-Haul so I would not have to do it, when Ted noticed the message light on the phone flashing. First call was from the girl at the bank saying I needed to call her about the wire transfer. Second call was from the realtor in Texas saying hold off on that wire transfer. We called the realtor first. It appears our seller might be crazy. We knew there had been liens on the condo from when the seller sold it before and had to foreclose on that buyer, and he did not pay his condo fees. The seller told the title company she had paid the liens but it turns out she did not. She now apparently says she is not paying them. We have not yet completely backed out of the deal, but probably will. There are just too many screwy things going on, starting with the listing agent giving ZERO cooperation to our agent, and it taking a month to even figure out whether the land is leasehold or fee simple, and then the president of the condo association died. And now the liens. The cumulative picture is bad news. Wonder if the Peppi place (one we almost bought) is still for sale? So after that, I called the girl at the bank, and she said I forgot to sign the wire transfer but it had gone out. I explained to her it looked like we are not buying a condo, and she said she would try to recall the wire transfer. Then the mortgage broker called, and she was real hot about the whole snafu and the liens and attorneys and whatnot. We told her we were thinking about backing out completely and calling our buddies (also her buddies) at the Bridgeview condominiums in Laguna Vista to see if there is anything for sale in there now. She said that's probably a real good idea, except they are in Missouri right now. Then the bank girl called back and said she was able to stop the wire transfer. Then we returned the U-Haul and got charged for one day, plus the dolly and pads we rented. So now we do not have a garage because there is a couch and a bunch of boxes in it. Oh, retirement is so exciting. |
Guruchaz | Thursday, February 01, 2001 - 02:51 pm  <Merlin's topic teleport is open> |
Elitist | Thursday, February 08, 2001 - 07:51 pm  I expect each of you to add a personal story here in my memory before you leave. |
Guruchaz | Friday, February 09, 2001 - 02:29 pm  There's probably been some speculation on my personal relationship with my dad. I know I've spoken of some of the negative circumstances between us, but I do love my dad despite certain blank spots in our relationship throughout the years. It wasn't until the first week of last October that we had a family scare in which we could have lost my dad. Early one morning about 4:30AM, my mom gave me a call and she was very upset. She said that dad had tried to get up in the middle of the night to go to the bathroom and when he sat up on the bed, he had a dizzy feeling. I told mom that he probably got up too fast and to just sit there with him until he was ok. She told me that he HAD been sitting there for 15 minutes and was still dizzy. He couldn't even walk straight and almost fell over and mom didn't understand what was going on. Dad told her that something was wrong and that he couldn't think clearly. I told mom to calmly help him get dressed and to call my older sister who is a registered nurse to come to the house and check him over and to call me back. About 30 min later, my sister called and said they were taking dad out to the emergency room at the hospital because it sounded like his heartbeat was extremely irregular. I threw on some clothes, packed a few things, and headed home. When I got there, there was a note telling me they checked dad into a room at the hospital. When I got to the hospital, they said that dad's heart seemed to be skipping a beat more than they've ever seen before and was beating rather fast. His blood pressure had dropped very low. He had experienced what was called a mild TIA (Transient Ischemic Attack). (A transient ischemic attack (TIA) is just like a stroke, except that it lasts only a few minutes. It occurs when the blood supply to part of the brain is briefly interrupted. TIA symptoms, which usually occur suddenly, are similar to those of stroke but do not last as long. Most symptoms of a TIA disappear within an hour, although they may persist for up to 24 hours. Symptoms can include: numbness or weakness in the face, arm, or leg, especially on one side of the body; confusion or difficulty in talking or understanding speech; trouble seeing in one or both eyes; and difficulty with walking, dizziness, or loss of balance and coordination.) As he was laying in the hospital bed, I was scared that I was going to lose my dad but I certainly didn't let him know that. Everyone seemed to be confused on what had provoked the attack. Dad has always been the one to work really hard outside. I believe that I mentioned that even until this day, he prefers to mow his own lawn and such tasks. Mom said he would sometimes come in and rest, dripping with perspiration, about 2 or 3 times while just mowing the backyard. He was tiring out quickly. I had remembered in some of my readings that lack of water replacement can cause heart problems. Dad enjoys his coffee and occassional beer (which are mainly diuretics and dry out the system). He wasn't drinking much water during the day and my belief was this was what sparked the problem. I filled a large hospital mug with fresh and ice and cold water and I asked him to please drink it all. I then filled it again and he sipped on that until it was gone. About 4 or 5 hours later, his signs were improving. They kept him all the next day and then released him on the 3rd day. He now makes it a point to drink enough water during the day and he hasn't had any similar problems since. I still worry about my dad, but I'm glad to have helped with the information I had obtained from reading and just from knowing my dad's work habits and what mom had told me before. If this information helps any of you out there, like it did my dad, this post has more than served its purpose. I hope I never have to go through that again anytime soon, but I would always be there for any family member or close friend under the same circumstances. Just be sure to drink plenty of water during the day whether you like it or not. My dad said he didn't like the bland taste of water, but he certainly does now considering the above circumstances.  |
Azriel | Friday, February 09, 2001 - 04:16 pm  When you are a child you think that your dad is so big and strong, that nothing could ever happen to him. When I was 15, my daddy had a heart attack. He was only 43 years old. We had just attended a meeting at my dad's lodge and were having refreshments after. I was getting my mom some coffee and I slipped and fell right in front of my father. He didn't even help me up. He just looked at me with a strange look on his face. After I got up, I went straight to my mom and told her something was wrong with daddy. He kept rubbing his arm and his face was very pale. Walking out to our car, daddy put his arm over my shoulders and I realized that it was not an affectionate gesture, he needed me to help him just walk to the car. My mom was totally freaking out so I drove home. By the time we got home, dad was in unbearable pain. My brother was home and he drove him to the hospital. That was one of the longest nights I've ever been through. Daddy made it there in time and a spent a week in ICU and another week in the hospital recovering. Daddy had been having 'heartburn' for several days prior to the attack. He had been downing Tums like they were going out of style. The day of the attack his arm had gone numb. He thought that he had just strained it somehow. He had all the classic signs of a heart attack, but ignored them. You should never think that you are too young or in too good of shape to have a heart attack. If you see the signs in yourself or someone else, get to the hospital fast. |
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