Hi all, yeah i'm still alive! ;D
I haven't been on for quite a while as i had a run of bad luck that caused the family and i to have more than a few problems.
A few months ago whilst i was at work, some scumbags broke into our house and took more or less everything of any value that they could carry. They also stole my truck :'(
More or less everything went, cameras, my sons games consoles, pc's, cash, wifes jewelry that had been passed down to her from her mum and grandma. They even took some clothes and aftershave lotion ::)
The police and we think it was gypsies, or pikeys as they are sometimes known on this side of the pond, i have my own names that i call them, guess you can imagine what they are :o
The police spotted them driving along in my truck, and stopped them, but they reversed the truck into the police car, putting it out of action, and got away. The truck was recovered a little while later, and apart from needing a new bumper was otherwise ok.
We were just recovering from the shock of it all, when our insurance company informs us that because of a technicality, we were not insured :o Now this is very complicated, and a very long story, so i won't even go there atm, we are still seeking legal advise, but i'm not hopefull :-\
Anyway, we lost a lot of stuff, and ever since i've been working flat out to try and get us back to somewhere that resembles normal.
If i ever caught the scum responsible, i would probably spend the rest of my life in prison, i will never forget that day coming home seeing my wife standing in disbelief crying her eyes out, and the misery it has caused my two sons.
On top of all that, i lost my wallet last week! :o maybe i should be called lucky? (http://smileys.on-my-web.com/repository/Laughing/lol-049.gif)
Anyway, i'm not the sort of guy that wallows in self pitty, as i know people go through much much worse, and as lot's of people have pointed out nobody got hurt, so we're just trying to put it behind us now and move on (http://smileys.on-my-web.com/repository/Happy/happy-047.gif)
I have my truck back now with a new bumper, and all seems fine, except my insurance has increased by £1000 :o Aren't insurance companies great ::)
Also we're back on line now as you've noticed ;D and we're slowly replacing the stuff that went, i know we'll never replace all of it, but we'll do our best.
At least they never took my BS, i'll be blowing the dust off it real soon, and hopefully some lovely ribs will be back on the menu, and i'm dreaming of a nice pastrami (Habs version of course) (http://i149.photobucket.com/albums/s62/Gitster59/HS.gif)
Anyway, i hope all my friends here are all ok, and to all the new members "pleased to meet you" (http://i149.photobucket.com/albums/s62/Gitster59/Wink.gif)
Sorry for bringing the bad news, but i wanted to explain why i've not been around for so long.
The wife and i are off for a week to the coast tommorow (Cornwall), just want to get away for a little while and recharge the batteries ;D
Hopefully i should be popping in on a more regular basis now, to the best community on the net! (http://smileys.on-my-web.com/repository/Respect/respect-023.gif)
Regards all.............LilSmoker (http://i149.photobucket.com/albums/s62/Gitster59/Tip-Hat.gif)
Lil Smoker
I really feel for you. I sure hope things continue upward for you. Enjoy your vacation and get smoking.
Nathan
Dude,
That sucks. Its good to hear it's not getting you down.
Holy Crap LilSmoker! That sucks! >:(
It is very unfortunate that this type of... scum even exist, or are allowed to exist, regardless of what side of the pond your on. I have a number of better words to descibe them as well, but... It's probably a good thing they don't put me in change of the justice system because it would only happen once.
It's excellent that you still have your sense of humor and are moving on. You can't let these dirt bags get to you any more than they are ready have.
Great to have you back and I hope you have a good time on your little retreat! ;)
Mike
Sorry to hear about your misfortune, but glad to have you back with us. Hope things work out and return to a semblance or normacy soon.
Welcome back LS,
Sorry to hear of your misfortune but you obviously have the character to rise above it.
All the best to you and your family,
KyNola
Dang LS, that's just W-R-O-N-G......we had some guests from your side of the pond last month and they were telling me about the "gypsies" there...that they lived in woods nearby and that NOTHING was safe in their neighborhood. He had his LOCKED truck broken into and everything stolen out of it (he's a gardener/landscaper) during the 10 minutes that he was inside a house getting paid by one of his accounts. They couldn't believe the amount of things: snowmobiles, lawnmower, motorcycle, etc that I had "out in the open" at our place here....he said that stuff wouldn't last 3 minutes in his neighborhood, (Surrey), because of the gypsy/drug culture. They told me that they were prohibited by law from defending themselves and the the local police couldn't even begin to keep up with the "small stuff" like burglaries and that the citizen defending his stuff was more likely to be jailed than would be the burglar?!?!? Sounded like they were pretty earnest/truthful about their experience and smiled a bit when I told them that folks that get caught doing that kinda of thing here have sometimes ended up as "crab bait" when the law didn't do it's job (or didn't get to the suspect(s) in time). Old timers tell us that there's a few skeletons in Kachemak Bay that didn't fall off the boat by accident!?!?!? :o :o Not advocating vigilante law, just relating the stories that "some" do.......hearing your experience, it's not that hard to understand why. :( You are certainly to be admired for your stick-to-it rebuilder attitude!!
Glad to see ya posting again LS. I feel for your lose but am happy you guys are safe. They will get theirs in the end.
Welcome back LilSmoker.
Sorry to hear about your situation, and what you and your family are going through. I hope those people get caught, most important I hope you get the insurance problem worked out in your favor.
Great to see ya lilsmoker. Sucks about what you've been through, but it sounds like you're handling it well.
Nice to see you back posting LS, you really have had some sh*t to deal with!
Have a great time in Cornwall, you and your wife deserve a good break. :)
Wow Lil smoker...while my step daughter and son-in-law were here (from North Hampton) somebody stole everything they had too. Doesn't matter where you're from...where you live...it just plain old sucks...glad to hear you're both getting away. Let us know if they catch the trash that robbed you. And that's what they are...garbage...
LS,
Sorry to hear about all this. Also sorry that you probably had to wade through 31,245,635 posts on the board to catch up! :D :D :D
Glad to have you back...
Arcs_n_Sparks
Great to have you back on the board Lil, :D Good luck with all the hastle ahead. >:(
Quote from: LilSmoker on September 19, 2008, 09:36:49 AM
Hi all, yeah i'm still alive! ;D
Glad to hear you are alive and safe Lil, Certainly have missed you around here.
I hope your fortune changes to the better.
Lilsmoker , They always say ....what doesn't kill you , will only make you stronger .
..........I bet that guy didn't have some scumbag steal all his stuff ! >:( Don't you hate it when people like that try to
blow sunshine up your @%#!
My thoughts are with you friend.
Coyote
LS: just read your post and haven't had the benefit of other comments in this thread yet. All I can say is: (a) glad you and your family are okay and we're only talking about "stuff;" (b) don't give up on the insurance bs, work yourself up the chain of command (the younger people think they're doing the company a favor by denying claims). The more senior people may see things through more responsible eyes. I know nothing about British law, but out here we call this type of thing a "first party claim." Out here, the insurance companies owe the highest duty of care when dealing in first party claims so be polite, but persistant; get their positions in writing; and double check their reasoning with your legal counsel.
Sorry to hear the bad news, but glad to hear you all are safe and healthy.
Cheers.
LS,
So sorry to hear about all of this. If there is a "silver lining" it is that none of your family got physically hurt. What comes around goes around. I can tell by your post you will work harder than ever to "normalize" your family life. Your resilience will be seen by your family and will hopefully be carried on by your sons! God bless you and your family.
Chrispy
LilSmoker,
Friend so sorry for your loss. I know how it feel to have stuff you work your butt off stolen. It is a knot in the guts that just does not go away quickly.
What Iam about to say may give you a little satisfaction. I don't allow smoking in the house. So Mother smokes in the garage. Well last year around 2:30 am I was about to go to bed when Skyway started to woof (he has a very low weak woof) so I went to the door between the main part of the house and the garage. I heard movement. I knew right then that Mother had left the side door open.
I grabbed my pistol grip 12 ga and into the garage I went . There were three of them. Two males and one female. One was armed with a pistol. I told them that they were leaving my garage one of two ways. Walking or being carried out.
Short story-- I made them all drop their pants to their feet. Then had them kneel down. Then had them pull up their shirts over their heads. Then I had them lay face down. (The female had no bra or under pants on... but she was a nasty looking b i t c h anyway...LOL~~!)
I came within a heart beat of shooting the one with the pistol. He is real glad today that he did exactly what I said to do.
Anyway they caught some prison time. I know this does not help your loss, but maybe it might put a small smile on your face.
Olds
Between Kummok's comment and Olds comment it reminded me of a situation with a friend of mine. This guy lives on a local lake. One day he's sitting in the yard with a neighbour having a beer and some scum bag steels the neighbour's boat with them sitting a couple hundred yards away. So they jump in my friend's boat and chase him down. The neighbour drove his boat back to his dock and they put the scum bag in my friends boat. On the way back my friend stopped in the middle of the lake and said "Get The F*#@ Out"! When the scum bag realized he was serious he broke down crying. My buddy never did turf him into the lake. Instead he turned him over to the RCMP but he sure scared the crap out of him.
Mike
Thank you all so much for your kind words and concern (http://smileys.on-my-web.com/repository/Respect/respect-023.gif)
I must say that reading the posts of Kummok, Olds and Mr Walleye did indeed make me smile, it's nice to know that sometimes the scum get theirs (http://smileys.on-my-web.com/repository/Happy/happy-047.gif)
Trouble with the u.k. nowdays is that crime is increasing by the week, the story from LQ rings very true over here, and the police say they don't have the man power to deal with it. What really annoys me is on the day we were burgled the police took three and a half hours to turn up at our place, but the night before, one of my sons was driving just up to the village, and he forgot to fasten his seatbelt, well he said a policeman almost jumped out in front of him, he got a fine, and three points on his licence ::) easy money i guess :-\
Whenever real crime is commited our police are usually nowhere in sight, or otherwise engaged. I really think the way things are going over this side of the water, that licenced firearms are not too far away, in order for people to lead a normal life, but feel secure.
Many people in certain cities nowdays are too afraid to go out after dark, don't know what it's coming to? :-\
Anyway, i better get off my soap box now and go finish packing ;D
Once again, thank you all, and have a great weekend (http://i149.photobucket.com/albums/s62/Gitster59/Tip-Hat.gif)