Entirely Offtopic: Amazing Facts About and Experiences Of Me!

[Virginia]

Now that's a story! Good for you and dear wife for stopping. I do hope something was done with both the children to keep them safe and help raise them a little better. I don't suppose you ever found out? You are now a hero and wife is a heroin.

[RandomThought]

We are in western MA and do farmers’ markets in Northampton, Amherst and Florence.....just in case your brother is nearby! We used to participate in 6-7 markets a week but, it is such an enormous effort to participate in a market. We are both retired and the farm just kept growing and growing ....a nice way to retire!

I love that picture...it could be our Jeep and cat....a universal and timeless picture. Thanks for posting it.

My brother is definitely east of you, in the Concord area, where he is working for the National Parks these days.

If he were to meet you that might trigger his terrible Willy's/Jeep addiction again, a risk he should not take! I'm just gunna email him and suggest he eat more vegetables (in your honor).

[RandomThought]

Now that's a story! Good for you and dear wife for stopping. I do hope something was done with both the children to keep them safe and help raise them a little better. I don't suppose you ever found out? You are now a hero and wife is a heroin.

Welllll, we heard through the grapevine that the Child Protective Services investigation resulted in a requirement to fence a large pond on the property and attend some parenting classes. Beyond that I doubt we'll ever know. I have come to believe that they did not own the property and since have moved.

You're right, my wife is a heroine. You should have seen her keeping those kids away from "Uncle Billy" until he could answer some serious, pointed questions about who he was and what his relationship to the children was. So freaky...a baby alone in the road...another small child found alone nearby...no answer from the house... We honestly thought we could possibly be at a murder scene guarding the survivors given the eerie, surreal, haunting nature of it all !

[Earth Mother 2 Angels]

((((((Hugs to All)))))) ~

Random Thought ~

I don't believe in coincidences. You and your wife were on that road at that exact time to rescue those precious children. Did you both stay there until the deputy arrived to provide the officer with testimony?

I'm curious as to what Uncle Billy said to convince your wife that he was legitimate and safe to be around the children.

Their penalty sounds pretty insignificant to me compared to their abandonment of their children. Putting a fence around the pond doesn't comport with leaving small children unattended, which caused a toddler to end up in the middle of the road. Parenting classes? I'll bet that really helped. If CPS did their job in following up, I wouldn't be surprised if the children ended up in a foster home.

It's a sad story. I'm so grateful that you and your wife were there to save them, and I hope they have had a better life than that situation revealed.

Love & Light,



Rose

*Virtual Hugs Are Germ-Free!

[RandomThought]

((((((Hugs to All)))))) ~

Random Thought ~

I don't believe in coincidences. You and your wife were on that road at that exact time to rescue those precious children. Did you both stay there until the deputy arrived to provide the officer with testimony?

I'm curious as to what Uncle Billy said to convince your wife that he was legitimate and safe to be around the children.

Their penalty sounds pretty insignificant to me compared to their abandonment of their children. Putting a fence around the pond doesn't comport with leaving small children unattended, which caused a toddler to end up in the middle of the road. Parenting classes? I'll bet that really helped. If CPS did their job in following up, I wouldn't be surprised if the children ended up in a foster home.

It's a sad story. I'm so grateful that you and your wife were there to save them, and I hope they have had a better life than that situation revealed.

Love & Light,



Rose

*Virtual Hugs Are Germ-Free!

While I don't recall the verbatim conversation, my wife question him like a prosecutor ( guess all those crime shows really paid off). Then while he was in the house to find the mother, she sought confirmations of his details from the toddler. Once the mother was out to grouse at us, I called 911 again, got a hold of the original dispatcher and explained to her was was going on. She had me hand over my phone, first to Uncle Billy and then to "Mom". [Edited to add: We kept the children safe in our car until directed to "hand them over".] Once the dispatcher was satisfied as to the children's well-being she assured us we should be on our way.

My youngster showed up late to her soccer match but played distractedly well enough.

But the whole thing didn't sit well with us. My wife contacted child Protective Services the next day. She found out the the sheriffs had never contacted CPS to refer a case. They had cancelled their response based upon the locating of the mother and considered it "case closed". Now a case was opened, my wife provided an extensive affidavit detailing the events. I answered a few questions and then it was out of our hands.

I find the story quite sad having fleshed out the details. I had forgotten how sad it all seemed.

Brian

[RandomThought]

A happier, for me, topic !

A few years ago I won a 50 inch Vizio 4K TV in a sweepstakes !

I often watch tv in bed. Being partially blind I couldn't read stuff or quite make everything out on our smaller bedroom set.

Vizio corporation to the rescue !

They gave away one tv a day for a week in a promotion having to do with football, which I do not watch. I entered the sweepstakes once online and promptly forgot about it.

By golly ! I was emailed by a nice lady representing the company. Printed out some forms. Signed them, scanned them, emailed them back and about 6 weeks later, grinning like a fool, I accepted delivery of my fabulous new set !

She gave me a link to review the equipment if I wanted and made clear that I was under no obligation to do so.

It has a great picture! Lots of HDMI port and other inputs. Is a "smart tv" also with built in chrome cast !!!

I am so excited thinking about it I am headed right to bed to watch it right now !

see ya later

Brian

[Virginia]

I don't take time to fill out all those things about winning stuff that I see. This story has changed my mind. I will try to find the time now.

I worked with a lady who was listening to the radio at work one morning and they said the first person who called answering a question they were asking would win a new Toyota. She, staying on either the phone or the internet most of the time, had no problem being the first person to call in. I asked if she took the car or money for the car. She took the car and gave it to her step father who needed a car. I tried to stop thinking bad thoughts about all the time she wasted after that.

[Lazarus]

So, I am reading the new book by George Saunders (Lincoln in the Bardo author). This new book ( A Swim in a Pond in the Rain) this new book is very exciting to me. He is explaining how he teaches a course in creative writing.

Anyway, I was just reading a review of the book and wanted to share this quote by Saunders. He is describing himself but...oh! He knows me so well! Here is the quote:

There’s no charge I’ve made here that Saunders hasn’t made himself. “I’m kind of a knee-jerk Pollyanna-ish person,” he has said. “I like to find hope, sometimes irritatingly: ‘Oh, there’s a nail in my head. It’s great, I’ll hang a coat on it, that’ll be good.’”

[RandomThought]

Amazing Fact...not about me!

My older brother, always a bit of a show off if you ask me, was while serving in the United States Air Force awarded a medal for "Heroic actions above and beyond the call of duty".

He and a friend were off duty and came across the scene of a major train derailment and fire in Montana. In his retelling of the story they smashed out the windows of a hardware store to gather tools with which to fight the fire. They diverted flowing streams of burning fuel away from buildings and even chained a car to a large propane tank and dragged it away from the flames.

In the days following the catastrophe the Mayor of the small town contacted the Air Force to identify the helpful airmen and the story came out.

To this day he has the scorched clothing he wore that day, burned and spattered with melted asphalt.

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*mutters, he always was the favorite*

[agate]

Yes, that would definitely be a tough act to follow. But stories of his heroism may have been greatly exaggerated...

[Virginia]

Just looking at the photo, I am not so sure he was exaggerating. Looks pretty bad to me. Maybe he was a real hero.

By the way, I have a older brother who has always been a little bit of a show off also. They always get the attention. But then I am a middle child, so I guess I would feel that way. We kind of get left out

[RandomThought]

I enjoyed the comment about perhaps he exaggerated... fun for me...

But, no.

I expect that his actions were selfless and heroic...that bastard !

*mutters about first borns getting all the breaks*

[RandomThought]

What I saw on TV...

I saw President Kennedy's funeral (live on TV).

I saw men land on and walk upon the moon (live on TV).

I saw a president resign (live on TV).

I saw the Space Shuttle Challenger lift-off and subsequently explode (live on TV). Terrible, just terrible.

I saw the September 11 attacks unfold (live on TV). Awful, just awful.

I saw a president impeached (live on TV).

I saw a global pandemic spread (live on TV).

I saw the US Capital breached by insurrectionist (live on TV). Shocking ,horrific and mortifying.

I saw a president impeached again (live on TV).

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Bet you saw all these things too... (live on TV).

[Virginia]

That's a lot and I saw everything you did!

[Ikoiko]

I saw all those things, also.