Auto Dealer Defrauds Grieving Widow

Posted on April 10, 2012 by

The victim in this story is me. It has taken months to tell because I don’t reveal my business; prefer to keep things private. Still, this is serious and if I can help just one…

After David passed away, the neighbors were so good to me (still look out for me) — I put this sign in the front yard:

The sign was gone when a neighbor approached me in the driveway. “Are you the one who…”

My head dropped, “Yes, I am.” I didn’t know him, yet Dan is friendly with Bob across the street and lives on our block. As we talked, it came out that I was going to sell my ’91 Olds and get a newer car.

“Maybe I can help you,” Dan offered, “I do a lot of work with the local car dealers.” He checked out my Olds, which is in great condition and has low mileage. Dan said he would like to buy it for his wife and agreed to the price.

Within a week Dan brought a ’08 Impala LS to the house. I was hesitant and he had to bring it back a second time. It looked new, had low mileage and once I drove it I loved the car.

Dan and his wife, Mary drove Jeni and me to the car lot. On the way, he slips in that the dealer will lower the price if I use my car as a trade-in, which will be given to him. He brought a paper to the house that Jen and I signed, which confirmed the agreement.

I told everyone at the car lot that I had lost my husband and was not myself, needed help to buy a car. On January 11, 2012 I signed papers, wrote checks and became the owner of this beautiful bronze Impala … for two days.

The Impala was in the middle of the driveway with the doors open when Bob strolled over. He was wearin’ a big grin, so happy for me. Until, he looked at the sticker inside the frame on the driver’s side.

“Do you know this car has been rebuilt?” his eyes flashed.

“Well, no,” I hesitated. “What does that mean?”

Bob was upset. “It means this car has been totaled and has a salvaged title. No one would touch this car if they knew.” He took a deep breath, “Didn’t the dealer tell you?”

My stomach turned, “No one said a word about the car being rebuilt.” I’m not a car person and had no idea this meant trouble.

“This is serious,” Bob flared. “A dealer must disclose that a vehicle has been rebuilt with a salvaged title.” He was very upset as he scuttled back across the street.

I drove the car a couple of times and found it had problems: the trunk wouldn’t open; the gas gauge didn’t work and more. Jen took me to the car lot to have it fixed. They gave it back 4 days later … with the same issues.

We took the bronze Impala back to the dealer and insisted they give me another car; one that is worth the $7, 400 I paid out. This is when the real problems began.

To be continued…

May Your Glass Always Be Half Full
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Can’t Wait to Retire?

Posted on April 5, 2012 by

Once we reached retirement, David and I had a different outlook. He complained of the constant doctor appointments; I love the freedom.

However one feels, ya gotta laugh at these:

Which is your favorite? Read mine in comments.

May Your Glass Always Be Half Full
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Holidays Gone Amok

Posted on April 1, 2012 by

Years ago when I taught Sunday school the church had an Easter event. There were too many children to have an egg hunt so we did something different. We placed the eggs on the grass and the kids had to push them with their nose to the finish line.

A boy about nine pushed the egg with his hand, as the younger children pushed with their nose. The older boy won; no one said a word that he had cheated.

I never took part in the event again.

Jerilee Bennett / Colorado Springs Gazette / AP
In an April 23, 2011 photo, children collect eggs at the Old Colorado City Easter Egg Hunt on in Colorado Springs Colo. Organizers have canceled this year’s event, complaining of parental behavior.

There’s a group in Colorado Springs who feel the same; there will be no Easter egg hunt at Bancroft Park this year because last year was a nightmare.

An area at Bancroft Park was roped off and the eggs were placed in the open. Once the children-only egg hunt began some parents went berserk, jumpin’ the rope to help their kids.

http://denver.cbslocal.com/2012/03/26/aggressive-parents-force-egg-hunt-cancellation/

When I read this story it was the first time I heard the expression “helicopter parents,” those who hover over their kids—involved in every part of their lives. It brings to mind the parent of a famous celebrity and a story I heard him tell.

image/nytimes.com

Earl Woods and son, Tiger were on the way to the golf course. As they talked, it came out that Tiger had forgotten his golf clubs. “Oh well,” dad said, “guess you don’t get to play today.”

“We could go back and get them,” cried Tiger.

“Oh no,” dad shook his head. “Those are your clubs and your responsibility. Maybe next time you won’t forget them.” Tiger was around 4-5yrs old. Go dad, I say.

Over the years, responsibility has been thrown to the wayside. Everything that happens is someone else’s fault. Seems to me it began when everyone got a trophy. I still can’t grasp the concept.

Kids who don’t earn a prize get one anyway … ‘cause we can’t have any hurt feelings. Those who put in the hard work and sweat lose the recognition they deserve, which can cause a lack of incentive in the future.

Jennifer Rexford has three boys and used to live near Bancroft Park, before they moved to Texas. They love Easter egg hunts but don’t get involved anymore. “Pushy parents” have ruined the fun.

Lenny Watkins lives a block away from the park; he took his friend’s son to the Easter egg hunt in 2009.

“You have all these eggs just lying around and parents helping out. You better believe I’m going to help my kid get one of those eggs.” I promised my kid an Easter egg hunt,” he swears, “and I’d want to give him an edge.”

Parents mean well, only what about the feelings of those who are responsible, work hard for what they want?

If a parent jumps in to bail a child out in every situation, what happens when they have to face the real world?

Last week my granddaughter stayed with me while my daughter recovered from foot surgery. I had to go somewhere on business and she took her coloring book and crayons. We were in the office when Brittany realized she had left them in the car.

I didn’t run out to get them for her, didn’t say anything until we got back to the house. The bag was next to her toy box. “What’s that?” I asked.

“It’s my coloring book and crayons,” she answered.

“Well,” I smiled, “maybe next time you will remember.”

May Your Glass Always Be Half Full
_____________________

These comments jolted me outta my socks:

http://www.nwherald.com/2012/03/30/our-view-helicopter-parents-are-crippling-kids/ag8qyin/

Scott S., McHenry, IL (ScottS) wrote on March 31, 2012 4:33 p.m. Easter egg hunts are just the tip of the iceberg…how about attending college entrance interviews, job interviews and even contacting employers re their child’s employment issues. Yes, I’ve had colleagues that have dealt with them all.

Maureen F., McHenry, IL (Momto4) wrote on March 31, 2012 2:40 p.m.  This was why McHenry high school did away with valedictorians….didn’t want the kids who didn’t win to get disappointed. What a crock….

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Old Barns and Old Folks

Posted on March 26, 2012 by

A friend sent me this the other day; gives new meaning to hard times.

A stranger came by the other day with an offer that set me to thinking. He wanted to buy the old barn that sits out by the highway. I told him right off he was crazy. He was a city type, you could tell by his clothes, his car, his hands; the way he talked. He said he was driving by and saw that beautiful barn sitting out in the tall grass, wanted to know if it was for sale. I told him he had a funny idea of beauty.

It was a handsome building in its day, but there’s been a lot of winters pass with their snow and ice and howling wind. The summer sun beat down on that old barn ’til all the paint’s gone, and the wood has turned silver-gray. Now the old building leans a good deal, looking kind of tired. Yet, that fellow called it beautiful.

 

That set me to thinking. I walked out to the field and stood there gazing at that old barn. The stranger said he planned to use the lumber to line the walls of a den in a new country home he’s building down the road; said you couldn’t get paint that beautiful. Only years of standing in the weather, bearing the storms and scorching sun, only that can produce beautiful barn wood.

It came to me then. We’re a lot like that, you and I. Only it’s on the inside that the beauty grows with us. Sure we turn silver-gray too … and lean a bit more than we did when we were young and full of sap. But the Good Lord knows what He’s doing; as the years pass He’s busy using the hard weather of our lives, the dry spells and the stormy seasons to do a job of beautifying our souls that nothing else can produce. And to think how often folks holler because they want life easy!

They took the old barn down today and hauled it away to beautify a rich man’s house. And I reckon someday you and I’ll be hauled off to Heaven to take on whatever chores the Good Lord has for us on the Great Sky Ranch.

 

And I suspect we’ll be more beautiful then, for the seasons we’ve been through here … and just maybe even add a bit of beauty to our Father’s house.

 

May there be peace within you today. May you trust God that you are exactly where you are meant to be. I believe that friends are quiet angels who lift us to our feet when our wings have trouble remembering how to fly.

 

Blessings – Maxi

 The hard weather of life beautifies the soul … never thought of it that way.

May Your Glass Always Be Half Full
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Spring Cleaning Can Bring Big Bucks

Posted on March 23, 2012 by

This is the season when garage sale signs pop up around the neighborhood. You know, the dreaded “clean house top-to-bottom” time of year. After the work is done though, it can be fun … if you have your ducks in a row.

David and I had many garage sales over the years. We didn’t make much money on the first sale because we didn’t have a clue. This is what we learned along the way:

  • Check the weather and major events
  • Not necessary to put ad in paper
  • Have sale outside if possible
  • Use same color posters w/large black print-garage sale and arrow
  • Place a poster at nearest highway – others along the way day before sale
  • Have your set-up neat and organized – it gets hectic otherwise
  • Know value of your stuff – price each item – buyers will leave if they have to wait
  • Most things will sell by early afternoon the first day
  •  Expect dealers when signs go up – will come to house – try to get stuff cheap so they can resell

I can’t stress the last one enough. Dealers will knock on your door the night before and expect to get your treasures for nothing … aaand will take all the best items.

How ‘bout you? Do you know tips that will help?

May Your Glass Always Be Half Full
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Tea Can Save a Life

Posted on March 19, 2012 by

(two people stand at the fence of The Gap)

A woman teeters on the edge of a cliff in Sydney, Australia. It’s called “The Gap.” A three-foot-fence is all that separates the jumper from death. Hopeless and helpless, she inches forward, than drops to the ground.

“Why don’t you come and have a cup of tea?” a voice whispers on the wind. Slowly, she turns and connects with the smile of an angel. It is enough to coax her back, to change her mind.

Don Ritchie has saved many lives in his 50 years on the porch. He sits in a favorite green chair to read … and watch. He and wife Moya live across the street from the suicide bluff.

“You can’t just sit there and watch them,” Don sighs. “You gotta try and save them. It’s pretty simple.”

Some people think it’s grim, not Don. He used to sell life insurance, now he sells life. “It’s a gift,” he believes. Every day when he awakes, the elderly man shuffles to the second-story window, prays no one is at the cliff.

 “He’s an angel,” beams Dianne Gaddin. “Most people would be too afraid to do anything, and would probably sooner turn away and run away. But he had the courage, and the charisma, and the care, and the magnetism to reach people who were coming to the end of their tether.”

Dianne likes to believe that Don was there when her daughter jumped from The Gap in 2005. He can’t remember, yet she feels comfort that Tracy felt his warmth at the end. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Gap_%28Sydney%29

There was a time when Don climbed the fence to save a life. No more. He almost went over the cliff with a woman one day. She was hysterical, out of control; Don stood between her and the abyss below. Had she launched herself over the edge, he would have gone also.

Yet, he can’t save them all. The wind was strong on the day a teenager stood at the brink.  As the old man offered tea and solace, the boy glanced up, it wasn’t enough. Just that quick he was gone. Don reached out, the boy’s hat landed in his open hand.

The “suicide angel” discovered the boy had lived next door years ago. His mother brought flowers to Don, grateful that he had tried. “If you couldn’t talk him out of it, no one could,” she sobbed.

There is no regret for those he can’t help, no lingering nightmares. Don does his best, accepts that no more can be done.

In 2006, the government awarded Don Ritchie with a Medal of the Order of Australia, a high civilian honor. It stands out on his living room wall, above a painting of sunshine; someone left it in the mailbox. The honor on the plaque reads: Ritchie “an angel that walks amongst us.”

Remember the woman at the start of this story? The ground beneath her body felt warm as she sat and gazed across the water; her purse was on the other side of the fence. Don convinced her to come to the house for tea; he and Moya dished up breakfast as they listened to her troubles.

The stranger was spent at the end of her tale, but felt much better. She decided to go home.

She returned a few months later with a bottle of champagne. Once a year she makes contact with the Ritchie’s to let them know that she is okay, happy with life.

Don Ritchie is a former Navy seaman, used to be busy, out and about, lunch with friends. His age and a constant battle with cancer have slowed him down.
http://wentworth-courier.whereilive.com.au/news/story/honour-for-angel-of-the-gap/

Still…

The last I read, as of Feb. 2011 Don was still there reading … and watching.

May Your Glass Always Be Half Full

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Irish Wishes

Posted on March 16, 2012 by

The Irish have a unique way to warm the heart, like this…

May there always be work for your hands to do,
May your purse always hold a coin or two.

May the sun always shine on your windowpane,
May a rainbow be certain to follow each rain.


May the hand of a friend always be near,
May God fill your heart with gladness and cheer.

May Your Glass Always Be Half Full

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