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Campfire 'Bwana
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Campfire 'Bwana
Joined: Feb 2004
Posts: 46,745 |
He gave an explanation to what motivated him to steal the firewood. If it is true, I could see why he was desperate. His young wife died in a car accident just three weeks after he got out of the army, leaving him with two kids under the age of five. Couldn't find a job, medical bills took all their savings, forced air furnace broke down and could not afford a replacement, but someone gave him an old wood stove. He needed firewood immediately, but no money to buy any.
This guy was in a streak of bad luck. My wife wanted to adopt the whole bunch.
For me what saved his arse was he addressed me as "Sir" and my wife "Maam." Was X military and had a Bush/Cheney bumper sticker on his old pickup.
I am not going take his dignity... I am putting him to work tomorrow and let him decide what his time is worth to work off two pickup loads of firewood. Hell, if that's the case...the man defended our country and had run of bad luck. I'd have the rest of that firewood to his place by night fall and have me an my kids in the bushes cutting him some more. That's probably the least I could do.
Last edited by tzone; 02/21/13.
Camp is where you make it.
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Campfire Kahuna
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Campfire Kahuna
Joined: Jan 2001
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He gave an explanation to what motivated him to steal the firewood. If it is true, I could see why he was desperate. His young wife died in a car accident just three weeks after he got out of the army, leaving him with two kids under the age of five. Couldn't find a job, medical bills took all their savings, forced air furnace broke down and could not afford a replacement, but someone gave him an old wood stove. He needed firewood immediately, but no money to buy any.
This guy was in a streak of bad luck. My wife wanted to adopt the whole bunch.
For me what saved his arse was he addressed me as "Sir" and my wife "Maam." Was X military and had a Bush/Cheney bumper sticker on his old pickup.
I am not going take his dignity... I am putting him to work tomorrow and let him decide what his time is worth to work off two pickup loads of firewood. Hell, if that's the case...the man defended our country and had run of bad luck. I'd have the rest of that firewood to his place by night fall and have me an my kids in the bushes cutting him some more. That's probably the least I could do. And that'd be mighty cool of ya.. Kudos.
Ex- USN (SS) '66-'69
Pro-Constitution.
LET'S GO BRANDON!!!
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Campfire 'Bwana
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Campfire 'Bwana
Joined: Feb 2004
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Well, we all have a bad run from time to time.
Camp is where you make it.
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Posts: 13,234
Campfire Outfitter
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Campfire Outfitter
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roundoak:
I hope you pointed out to that unhappy young man that if he ever does something like that again, he might not be so lucky with his choice of landowner.
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Campfire 'Bwana
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Campfire 'Bwana
Joined: Dec 2000
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damn proud to hang out with the rest of you guys in this forum... "Freak Show or NOT"...
This is the best "Freak Show" anywhere. I am proud to be a small part of this group of "Freaks".
The first time I shot myself in the head...
Meniere's Sucks Big Time!!!
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Campfire Regular
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Like many on here, keep us posted and If his story check's out, PM me , cause I will help out too $$
J Simoneaud
Supper's ready!! you have 2 choices, Eat or Don't eat.
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Joined: Mar 2005
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Campfire Tracker
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Campfire Tracker
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He gave an explanation to what motivated him to steal the firewood. If it is true, I could see why he was desperate. His young wife died in a car accident just three weeks after he got out of the army, leaving him with two kids under the age of five. Couldn't find a job, medical bills took all their savings, forced air furnace broke down and could not afford a replacement, but someone gave him an old wood stove. He needed firewood immediately, but no money to buy any.
This guy was in a streak of bad luck. My wife wanted to adopt the whole bunch.
For me what saved his arse was he addressed me as "Sir" and my wife "Maam." Was X military and had a Bush/Cheney bumper sticker on his old pickup.
I am not going take his dignity... I am putting him to work tomorrow and let him decide what his time is worth to work off two pickup loads of firewood. We all make mistakes in judgement, and he sounds like a good man.
"Far better it is to dare mighty things, to win glorious triumphs, even though checkered by failure, than to take rank with those poor spirits who neither enjoy much nor suffer much" Teddy Roosevelt
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Campfire Member
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Like many on here, keep us posted and If his story check's out, PM me , cause I will help out too $$ Ditto! As a new father, I couldn't fathom my wife passing and me not being able to provide for my kid. I know pride and embarressment makes us as humans take actions we normally wouldn't take. I don't condone the guy stealing from you, but I can't say as though I don't understand it either if his situation turns out to be true. I'd also have to say I respect the guy showing up to make it right even though he didn't go about it the right way. I've never been in the military, but I have a great deal of respect for the people who defend my freedoms. Again, if his story checks out I'd love to put some food on the table for those kids.
NRA Life Member
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roundoak
please PM all of us an address. His or yours.
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Campfire Ranger
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Campfire Ranger
Joined: Nov 2003
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Sounds legit to me. Why would a chitbag leave a note AND come back to work as promised? Sounds like an honorable man in a big pinch! kinda what im thinking....[bleep] just steal and dont leave a note.....if they left a note AND showed back up like they said they would than they needed it more than me for sure and ild just tell him ask next time ive got no qualms bout helping someone down on their luck especially a vet and single father....
A serious student of the "Armchair Safari" always looking for Africa/Asia hunting books
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Campfire Regular
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My father told me of an incident back during the depression in the early 30's.
My grandfather had eight kids to feed, shelter and clothe. He rented a small farm, was a carpenter, gravedigger, sold and delivered firewood, anything to make a dollar. A big garden, milk cow, chickens, a pig or two. Sugar? That was a special treat, grandpa made cane molasses for sweetener. Lots of hard work, the kids had to pitch in, too.
Grandpa had put up ear corn in a crib to feed the critters that winter. Thought it was disappearing somehow, he caught a neighbor filling a gunny sack at 2:00 am. Grandpa didn't say a word, just stood there and watched him fill his sack, tears streaming down the neighbor's face. Not a word was exchanged. The neighbor walked off into the night, crying, with his sack.
Grandpa could of knuckled his head, but he knew that it wasn't animal feed being stolen. The neighbor had a houseful of kids to feed, too. He was taking it to feed his family.
Always drink upstream from the herd...cowdoc...
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Campfire Regular
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Campfire Regular
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Like many on here, keep us posted and If his story check's out, PM me , cause I will help out too $$ Ditto! As a new father, I couldn't fathom my wife passing and me not being able to provide for my kid. I know pride and embarressment makes us as humans take actions we normally wouldn't take. I don't condone the guy stealing from you, but I can't say as though I don't understand it either if his situation turns out to be true. I'd also have to say I respect the guy showing up to make it right even though he didn't go about it the right way. I've never been in the military, but I have a great deal of respect for the people who defend my freedoms. Again, if his story checks out I'd love to put some food on the table for those kids. YEP, thats the part that got me, losing your wife and having young children as a single parent in these times!!! wow. I always thought I could never make it without my wife, then she left me and the kids stayed with me, then I was a single parent - GOD got me thru it!! and only GOD!
J Simoneaud
Supper's ready!! you have 2 choices, Eat or Don't eat.
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Campfire Outfitter
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Campfire Outfitter
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I guess I have the 'bad habits' of my granddad...
way back in the 50s, he had a guy walk into his store and gas station to buy a soda and some crackers...
he had been dropped off, and was hitchhiking back home to St Louis... he was black and a WW 2 vet...
the US route in front of my grand dad's store was not well traveled and mainly by local traffic...
that poor guy was there for 3 days trying to thumb a ride...
each evening, my grand dad had him come in to the house there and fed him dinner and gave him a bed to sleep in a place to take a shower...
guy had no money and wanted to work off my Grand Dad's generosity...
he fed the guy and gave him a place to sleep for 3 days, as he was trying to get a ride...
a hitch hiking black guy didn't have much luck in Southern WVa in the 1950s..
on the fourth morning after breakfast, my grand dad went into the store's cash register, threw the guy's bag in the back of his truck...
when he got back my grandmother asked him where he had gone....
he took the black Vet to the bus station in Bluefield, and gave him $50 for expenses to get back home...
couple of years later, a check showed up in the mail, covering my grand dad's expenses, plus for the room and board he had extended.. it took him a week or so to even figure out who the money was from...
That left an impact on me, that I have always carried with me...
Fantastic story. Thanks for sharing, John.
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Campfire Tracker
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roundoak
please PM all of us an address. His or yours. + 1 As a former resident of Wisconsin I would like to help a vet that far down on his luck also.
Larry *********** "Speed is fine but accuracy is final" - Bill Jordan "We do not exaggerate when we state positively that the remodelled Springfield is the best and most suitable "all 'round" rifle".......Seymour Griffin, GRIFFIN & HOWE, Inc. 
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Campfire Ranger
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Campfire Ranger
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My father told me of an incident back during the depression in the early 30's.
My grandfather had eight kids to feed, shelter and clothe. He rented a small farm, was a carpenter, gravedigger, sold and delivered firewood, anything to make a dollar. A big garden, milk cow, chickens, a pig or two. Sugar? That was a special treat, grandpa made cane molasses for sweetener. Lots of hard work, the kids had to pitch in, too.
Grandpa had put up ear corn in a crib to feed the critters that winter. Thought it was disappearing somehow, he caught a neighbor filling a gunny sack at 2:00 am. Grandpa didn't say a word, just stood there and watched him fill his sack, tears streaming down the neighbor's face. Not a word was exchanged. The neighbor walked off into the night, crying, with his sack.
Grandpa could of knuckled his head, but he knew that it wasn't animal feed being stolen. The neighbor had a houseful of kids to feed, too. He was taking it to feed his family. Your Grandfather was a man.
These are my opinions, feel free to disagree.
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Campfire Tracker
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Campfire Tracker
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I haven't read all the responses here on the wood stealing, but the guy left a note and came back to make it right and I can respect that despite the fact we all stealing is wrong. We've had wood stolen over the years and nobody ever left anything but tire tracks leaving the scene.
Good on you for letting him pay off the debt and retain his dignity because if his story is true, he has had a rough road lately. Actually he sounds like a guy of good character.
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Campfire Tracker
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Campfire Tracker
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so did the kid come back to work it off then? i thoguht he was supposed to show up this morn, hopefully he did. roundoak, lookin for an update !
I kill chit. "The Heathens nest"
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Campfire Kahuna
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Campfire Kahuna
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Posts: 59,052 |
damn proud to hang out with the rest of you guys in this forum... "Freak Show or NOT"...
This is the best "Freak Show" anywhere. I am proud to be a small part of this group of "Freaks". As I am too!
Paul
"I'd rather see a sermon than hear a sermon".... D.A.D.
Trump Won!, Sandmann Won!, Rittenhouse Won!, Suck it Liberal Fuuktards.
molɔ̀ːn labé skýla
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Campfire Kahuna
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Campfire Kahuna
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I had a kinda similar situation a few years back Roundoak, was up late one evening reading when I noticed a light flicker in one of the shop buildings out back.
Grabbed my 45 and 12 gauge and cut a counterclockwise 180 around the yard to check it out, was crouched at the ready when the front storm door of the shop began to move, a young man appeared with some plastix wal-mart bags filled with frozen meat.
I lit him up with my sure-fire and hollered, he dropped the bags and froze, I saw a light reflection, [tears] in his eyes, he said Sir, I have hungry children, please dont kill me.
I said, if yer [bleep] with me, I'll kill you here, he said please, my family is down by the road in my pickup, I said, how'd you know about this freezer, he says, I was up here helping a neighbor cut hay on your place a few years back and saw the freezer through the window as I drove by on the tractor, I knew it was here.
I said, take these bags and wait out by the light, I went and woke Wifey and she loaded him up several more sacks of dry goods and such from the kitchen pantry and cabinets.
I've seen that young man a couple times about town since then, he always removes his hat and smiles and waves.
Sometimes folks will do wrong to feed/keep warm hungry kids and I can understand that.
Gunner You're a good man Gunner.......
Paul
"I'd rather see a sermon than hear a sermon".... D.A.D.
Trump Won!, Sandmann Won!, Rittenhouse Won!, Suck it Liberal Fuuktards.
molɔ̀ːn labé skýla
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Campfire Outfitter
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OP
Campfire Outfitter
Joined: Dec 2009
Posts: 10,653 |
I am absolutely just blown away, first by the young man in this thread and second, all the fire members that showed concern and offers to ease some of the burden from this young man.
The young man is for real. He showed up this morning at 6:45 AM and he worked with me all day. There were two cutters downing trees over at a neighbors and I started him on applying the choke cable from my log skidder. When we caught up to the cutters I had him cut the saw logs to length.
My wife and I had a chance to visit with him at lunch and he respectively declined the assistance that my wife and I offered. He advised that he has a full time job now and an elderly Aunt is helping him out with the kids.
This is a very proud man and he told me he wanted to make it right with me about the firewood and continue to move forward with his life. I have every reason to believe he will make it.
At the end of the day we shook hands and called it even. No lectures from me.
12344mag, gopherhunter, huntsonora, BangPop, mjbgalt, ScottF, okok, AcesNeights, Mallard Addict, rrroae, idoret, headhunter130, fgold767, Seafire, Simoneaud, SandMan, tdd4370, Idared. I am at a loss of words for your acts of kindness. You are welcome at my fire anytime.
One of you, I believe it was 12344mag, that PM'd me and said. "I guess this a lesson that stealing isn't always for selfish reasons..."
Wayne
You're Welcome At My Fire Anytime
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