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Please don't remind me that I'm poor; I'm having too much fun pretending I'm simply "living green" like everyone else these days.


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Thursday, August 25, 2011

About the phone call

Let me tell you a little history first. 

On more than one occasion I've gotten a phone call telling me that my child has passed away.  To get one phone call that one child is taken from me was very hard.  To get a second call that a child has died is devastating.  To get a phone call that a third child has died is like you'll never catch your breath again.  Each time it happens it's like your heart is ripped right out of your chest and you don't want to live anymore.  Unless you are a very uncaring mother, the death of a child is something you never get over.  You learn to live but you never, ever get over it.

Flash forward to last Monday.  My daughter calls me while she and Ladybug are going down the road on the expressway.  My daughter tells me she is feeling very drowsy from new medication she's on.  We don't talk long because she wants to concentrate on her driving.  Like any mother would be.... I'm worried.  I tell her to call me as soon as she get there so I know she's alright.  I say a prayer that both of them will get there safe.

A while later; the next phone call I get I'm expecting my daughter to tell me she and Ladybug arrived just fine.  Instead it's someone claiming to be an operator with a collect phone call from my daughter.  The woman gives my daughter's name.  The woman says my daughter has been in a bad accident and is in the hospital.   The woman says that since I don't have long distance on my phone she needs a credit card to accept the charges.  My mind is going numb as I start praying..... God, please don't do this again.  I can't loose another child.  The woman on the phone has other personal information as well and doesn't hesitate telling it to me. 

I know something is just not right when the woman asks for a credit card.  Yet, I don't want to take the chance that my daughter could be taken from me without a last chance to talk to her.  I don't hesitate for a second giving the woman my credit card number.  If you were in my circumstances.... would you hesitate?  A credit card is only money and it can be replaced.  A child can not be replaced.

When I heard the dial tone on the phone I knew I had been had.  I call my daughter to verify she and Ladybug are fine.  Then, I break down to cry with relief.  I say a prayer to God thanking him.  Now I'm angry!  How dare that woman be so cruel?  There is only one place she could have gotten all the information that she had and that's from my blogs.  If she took the time to get all that scattered information then she would have known about my deceased children too.  That's what she used to get me to give her my credit card number.

I know that the banks are not going to pursue a credit card theft but an individual CAN.  I won't go into details about that until after the woman is arrested.  I don't want to give her information that could help her in any way to get away with it.  There is only one way to stop me from pursuing criminal charges against this woman and I'm sure she will figure it out eventually.  Maybe before she is arrested and maybe not.

I've lived a great many years in the ghetto.  Life around gangs and prostitution and drugs and gun toting children will teach a person many things.  The first thing you learn is that life can take one of two paths.   For good or for evil.  I choose to live for good.  Even among all the bad things that happen around me.

I have hopes of seeing my deceased children again someday when it's my turn to leave this world.  I started doing all the good deeds I could to build up what I called "angel points".  My blogs were just another way of helping others because I had things to share that would be helpful in these economic times.  As the saying goes.... no good deed goes unpunished. 

Will I ever blog again?  Right now I'm not sure if I will.  I've already blogged more additional posts than I intened to.  I'm simply answering remaining questions.  I made no money from my blogs.  It actually cost me quite a lot to keep blogging.  I paid for photo storage.  I paid for internet.  I took time away from quilting to write.  I took time away from friends and family to write.  It cost me a lot to be helpful. 

I can still write my journal for my decendants.  I don't have to make it public knowledge through a blog.  At different times through the day I find myself thinking..... this would make a great blog article.... then I realize it might bite me in the butt later.  I'm keeping my blog for now.  I may change my mind later IF I figure out how to make it better.  Right now it's a clean slate just like a clean new paper journal.  All the posts are gone.  An opportunity for starting over.  BUT...... do I want to?


7 comments:

Anonymous said...

Anita, I'm so sorry you have had this happen to you. How cruel to use such tactics.

I understand why you would want to stop blogging but I for one will miss you.

Isn't there a way for you to limit who could see the blog? I know of one person who blogs that limits access only to those she chose.

I hope things look up for you and you find that evil person.

Judy in MO

lw said...

I wonder if there's maybe a book or website with advice on what not to say in blogs? On how to keep yourself safe by only sharing a certain amount?

I am adding my prayers for you and for the caller. May God put her in a situation exactly like the one she caused you so she can learn compassion and repent her evil ways.

Caron at Michigan Quilts said...

Don't quit blogging. It gives you pleasure! Use this space to help others and yourself. Include information on how to prevent identity and credit card theft. One good way to start is to implement a "family phrase;" kind of like a code. Don't write it down anywhere, but have an understanding with your family that the word is ONLY to be used as an official verification of fact when in doubt. Make it something you can all remember, but that means nothing to anyone else. Example: Suppose in your family you argued at some point in time about painting the fence blue. Your "family phrase" might be "ugly blue fence."

Caron at Michigan Quilts said...

Don't quit blogging. It gives you pleasure! Use this space to help others and yourself. Include information on how to prevent identity and credit card theft. One good way to start is to implement a "family phrase;" kind of like a code. Don't write it down anywhere, but have an understanding with your family that the word is ONLY to be used as an official verification of fact when in doubt. Make it something you can all remember, but that means nothing to anyone else. Example: Suppose in your family you argued at some point in time about painting the fence blue. Your "family phrase" might be "ugly blue fence."

QuiltinLibraryLady said...

The woman who did that to you is cruel and heartless. I sure do hope she gets what's coming to her.

There's a similar scam where someone calls elderly folks and claims to be their grandchild who desperately needs money for something and would the grandparents wire it to them. Again, cruel.

I got a call once asking if I'd accept a collect call from the County Jail. Now, I always told my kids that if they were doing wrong and caught & taken to jail they should use their one phone call to order a pizza because I wasn't rushing down there in the middle of the night to get them out, so I said "no" and hung up. I had also just talked to both kids and they were at home in their own houses and my only grandchild at the time was to young to be out and about. Why do people do things like this?

Anonymous said...

Anita, I am so sad to hear all of this but please do not give up.
There are more people out here who really appreciate all that you give. I have learned so much from you and recommend you to many. I hope that you can heal some from this. Cindy N. UT

Anonymous said...

Anita,

If I could give you angel points I'd send you a thousand! You write in such a touching way. How horrible to have that happen to you. Good luck in whatever you decide to do
x