I think this will be my first post requiring cliffs as I usually like to read all of the fun OT topics from everyone else. Unfortunately, it appears now is my time for drama. Of course, like most bad things that happen to me this one started with an act of kindness on my part. You see in the late 90s I was friends with a guy, lets call him Jim. Jim was a good friend however he was many years older then me and never seemed to have his life together. As I was young and didnt have my sh*t together yet we hit it off very well. I continued to move forward in my lot, got married, stable career, house, kids the whole nine yards. Jim was even the best man at my wedding.
So as I moved forward in life Jim moved back with his parents in California and managed to loaf around until both their deaths. He then managed to lose their house, all of their possessions and eventually his job. He drifted from friend to friend in CA for awhile until one day .
I get a phone call, its collect and from Jim. I had spoken with him from time to time over the last 10 years but the last 18 months or so I started ignoring his calls and emails. He however decided that I must have just been busy and it would be a good idea to travel across the country to see me. (i.e. bum things from me). So, of course, I deny the first collect call. I get a second collect call, this time frantic and pleading for help. So I take the call, it turns out that he is some 25 miles away in the heart of the city and wants me to go pick him up. I tell him that I am not driving to pick him up from anywhere and that if he wants to see me then walk or take the train to my suburb. The next day he managed to get himself to a different suburb abut 10 miles away. I let him sit there for most of the day until he finally got someone to lend him a phone which he uses to call me at beg to be picked up.
I gave in and picked his *ss up from the train station in the suburb 10 miles away. At this point I knew I was in for some charity work. My wife and I had already agreed that he could stay for a few days to get situated, we were not happy with him or the circumstances. In those few days I made him scour the country for some other poor soul to take him in. We finally found one guy on the other side of the country that Jim knew but it would cost over $200 to send him there. In light of that fact and the fact that Jim had unemployment checks coming we decided he could stay with us for longer.
We worked out an equitable arrangement for room and board and I lent him my electric bike for transportation. His license was expired so we also helped get his birth certificate ordered, his resumes fixed up, his unemployment transferred and get in touch with Human Services.
Jim appeared to be making a real effort to get his life together. He handed out dozens of resumes and has gone on a couple job interviews. All in all it seemed like things may be getting better for Jim with our assistance.
--Yes here is finally the point of the post---
I have a netbook that I keep in the living room. We use it occasionally for watching movies on the plasma or for web surfing or reference in the living/dining area. The machine probably sees use on average 2-3 times a month. We rarely take this machine out of the house and it never strays further then the main areas of the house in the 2 years I have owned it.
Well the netbook has disappeared. We have searched the house several times over, spoken with all of the kids and Jim and no one has any answers. Now, two of my kids are too young to remove the netbook from the house and I have questioned my eldest son and believe that he has not removed the netbook from the house. It would have been very unusual of any of them to even use the netbook without asking as they usually need some type of assistance. After having separate private conversations with everyone I also noticed something else. Every one's story matches except for Jim. We all have the same recollection as to who, when and where it was last seen. However, Jim's story doesnt match.
So as you might imagine, Jim is our primary suspect but we have no proof. We have checked local pawn shops to no avail. Jim insists that he has never touched the netbook. But we are left with no netbook and a house that was completely searched multiple times. In a last ditch effort I even offered the kids $50 for any information leading to the netbook.
I have been keeping an eye on Jim for any other small lies or discrepancies but everything appears to be kosher. His phone logs match his stories, no odd incoming our outbound numbers. No evidence or proof of any wrong doing. But my wife and I have a strong feeling about this.
So what to do now? I am going to keep searching and keep an eye on Jim but I cant kick him out without evidence especially with the progress and effort he seems to be making with his life. We are going to file a police report as we are almost 100% sure at this point the netbook is not in the house. So what do you guys think?
Cliffs:
* Old friend that I havent seen in 10 years falls on hard times
* We take him in and start helping him get back on his feet
* Netbook disappears, house searched, family questioned.
* Jims story doesnt match, suspicious of him but no proof
* What do we do now?
So as I moved forward in life Jim moved back with his parents in California and managed to loaf around until both their deaths. He then managed to lose their house, all of their possessions and eventually his job. He drifted from friend to friend in CA for awhile until one day .
I get a phone call, its collect and from Jim. I had spoken with him from time to time over the last 10 years but the last 18 months or so I started ignoring his calls and emails. He however decided that I must have just been busy and it would be a good idea to travel across the country to see me. (i.e. bum things from me). So, of course, I deny the first collect call. I get a second collect call, this time frantic and pleading for help. So I take the call, it turns out that he is some 25 miles away in the heart of the city and wants me to go pick him up. I tell him that I am not driving to pick him up from anywhere and that if he wants to see me then walk or take the train to my suburb. The next day he managed to get himself to a different suburb abut 10 miles away. I let him sit there for most of the day until he finally got someone to lend him a phone which he uses to call me at beg to be picked up.
I gave in and picked his *ss up from the train station in the suburb 10 miles away. At this point I knew I was in for some charity work. My wife and I had already agreed that he could stay for a few days to get situated, we were not happy with him or the circumstances. In those few days I made him scour the country for some other poor soul to take him in. We finally found one guy on the other side of the country that Jim knew but it would cost over $200 to send him there. In light of that fact and the fact that Jim had unemployment checks coming we decided he could stay with us for longer.
We worked out an equitable arrangement for room and board and I lent him my electric bike for transportation. His license was expired so we also helped get his birth certificate ordered, his resumes fixed up, his unemployment transferred and get in touch with Human Services.
Jim appeared to be making a real effort to get his life together. He handed out dozens of resumes and has gone on a couple job interviews. All in all it seemed like things may be getting better for Jim with our assistance.
--Yes here is finally the point of the post---
I have a netbook that I keep in the living room. We use it occasionally for watching movies on the plasma or for web surfing or reference in the living/dining area. The machine probably sees use on average 2-3 times a month. We rarely take this machine out of the house and it never strays further then the main areas of the house in the 2 years I have owned it.
Well the netbook has disappeared. We have searched the house several times over, spoken with all of the kids and Jim and no one has any answers. Now, two of my kids are too young to remove the netbook from the house and I have questioned my eldest son and believe that he has not removed the netbook from the house. It would have been very unusual of any of them to even use the netbook without asking as they usually need some type of assistance. After having separate private conversations with everyone I also noticed something else. Every one's story matches except for Jim. We all have the same recollection as to who, when and where it was last seen. However, Jim's story doesnt match.
So as you might imagine, Jim is our primary suspect but we have no proof. We have checked local pawn shops to no avail. Jim insists that he has never touched the netbook. But we are left with no netbook and a house that was completely searched multiple times. In a last ditch effort I even offered the kids $50 for any information leading to the netbook.
I have been keeping an eye on Jim for any other small lies or discrepancies but everything appears to be kosher. His phone logs match his stories, no odd incoming our outbound numbers. No evidence or proof of any wrong doing. But my wife and I have a strong feeling about this.
So what to do now? I am going to keep searching and keep an eye on Jim but I cant kick him out without evidence especially with the progress and effort he seems to be making with his life. We are going to file a police report as we are almost 100% sure at this point the netbook is not in the house. So what do you guys think?
Cliffs:
* Old friend that I havent seen in 10 years falls on hard times
* We take him in and start helping him get back on his feet
* Netbook disappears, house searched, family questioned.
* Jims story doesnt match, suspicious of him but no proof
* What do we do now?