Coffee Shop Forever, It's time to kick bottom and drink coffee! Options

[mirocu]

Good to know you're ok, mr Dogg. Otherwise a good cavator can be useful digging ditches with

[mirocu]

Drinking some coffee as we speak.

I see your coffee and raise you one bowl of ice cream

[mALX]

All good here- no rivers or streams nearby- and we are a good way up a hill. That said, our next door neighbor's yard and driveway were full of water (which was backing up from the runoff ditches) and said water was running across the street to ANOTHER neighbor's yard, and then waterfalling over a brick retaining wall and so on down to the (eventual) floodplain and intermittent stream.

Thank you for thinking of us

Hope you (and anyone else affected by this major storm) are okay- some wild pictures from north and west Knoxville- including the fire truck that tipped over when the edge of the road gave underneath it(!)

Whew! Glad to hear you and yours are doing okay! I live almost at the top of a very steep hill; so we are doing fine (but the streets below our hill are being flooded by what is coming down on them).

[Grits]

Here’s a little bit of creepiness for your Monday morning.

Last fall my daughter found a baby’s plaid flannel shirt buried in the dirt and leaves under our trees next to the driveway. Nearby she found a little plush Piglet, all mud-stained and matted from years of rain. Probably dropped or tossed from a passing stroller and blown there, or forgotten by someone loading their kids into the car in our driveway. She moved the stuffed Piglet to near the front door where it horrifies visitors with its weird stained welcome. The shirt stayed under the tree, since my plan to wash it when I had the hose out and then wash it for real inside before donating it has not yet come to pass.

This morning I noticed something fluttering from a branch way up in the pine tree next to the driveway. The shirt was absent from its spot at the base of the tree. A look through binoculars confirmed the shirt has migrated upward.

Since it seems unlikely that wind blew it forty feet straight up, I have to think that the squirrel who built their nest at the end of that branch decided to decorate with a bit of plaid and either changed their mind on the way or snagged the shirt on their home branch and left it dangling there. Still I can’t shake the image of the shirt silently climbing the tree last night, on its way to our window and back inside.

This post has been edited by Grits: Feb 25 2019, 02:33 PM

[TheCheshireKhajiit]

Here’s a little bit of creepiness for your Monday morning.

Last fall my daughter found a baby’s plaid flannel shirt buried in the dirt and leaves under our trees next to the driveway. Nearby she found a little plush Piglet, all mud-stained and matted from years of rain. Probably dropped or tossed from a passing stroller and blown there, or forgotten by someone loading their kids into the car in our driveway. She moved the stuffed Piglet to near the front door where it horrifies visitors with its weird stained welcome. The shirt stayed under the tree, since my plan to wash it when I had the hose out and then wash it for real inside before donating it has not yet come to pass.

This morning I noticed something fluttering from a branch way up in the pine tree next to the driveway. The shirt was absent from its spot at the base of the tree. A look through binoculars confirmed the shirt has migrated upward.

Since it seems unlikely that wind blew it forty feet straight up, I have to think that the squirrel who built their nest at the end of that branch decided to decorate with a bit of plaid and either changed their mind on the way or snagged the shirt on their home branch and left it dangling there. Still I can’t shake the image of the shirt silently climbing the tree last night, on its way to our window and back inside.

[mALX]

Here’s a little bit of creepiness for your Monday morning.

Last fall my daughter found a baby’s plaid flannel shirt buried in the dirt and leaves under our trees next to the driveway. Nearby she found a little plush Piglet, all mud-stained and matted from years of rain. Probably dropped or tossed from a passing stroller and blown there, or forgotten by someone loading their kids into the car in our driveway. She moved the stuffed Piglet to near the front door where it horrifies visitors with its weird stained welcome. The shirt stayed under the tree, since my plan to wash it when I had the hose out and then wash it for real inside before donating it has not yet come to pass.

This morning I noticed something fluttering from a branch way up in the pine tree next to the driveway. The shirt was absent from its spot at the base of the tree. A look through binoculars confirmed the shirt has migrated upward.

Since it seems unlikely that wind blew it forty feet straight up, I have to think that the squirrel who built their nest at the end of that branch decided to decorate with a bit of plaid and either changed their mind on the way or snagged the shirt on their home branch and left it dangling there. Still I can’t shake the image of the shirt silently climbing the tree last night, on its way to our window and back inside.

I'm innocent of taking the shirt up the tree...but might possibly know who did it:



"Uh...it's squirrel hunting season, but the hunters won't spot me wearing this shirt as camouflage..."


https://images.halloweencostumes.com/produc...uirrel-mask.jpg









This post has been edited by mALX: Feb 25 2019, 03:30 PM

[mALX]

Here is a glimpse of what is going on in Treydoggie and my neck of the woods:



https://www.wvlt.tv/content/news/Aerial-loo...-506291061.html

[mirocu]

Looks serious for sure.

[mALX]

Looks serious for sure.

Yeah, they've declared a good portion of the State as a "state of emergency." Surprisingly in our town = so far there have only been two deaths confirmed to be from the rains (one from the mudslide that happened first; then another's car got submerged in the flash flooding on Sunday; and he couldn't escape the car). I really hope that ends up being the extent of it.

[mALX]

*


Last Saturday night I learned that a friend of mine had been murdered. I'd known this man since he was fifteen years old and I was in my early twenties. He was the absolute kindest and most generous person I've ever known - and the funniest. (though his humor touched on the raw side 73% of the time; I can't even give examples).

He worked like three people all the time; I never saw him still and don't know if or when he ever slept. He started work before daybreak and you could call him anytime of the night and he'd be awake doing something. (and no matter what time it was, he never once showed irritation if a friend called or dropped in on him at any hour).

Bobby didn't know a stranger; he was friendly to everyone he met without any reservations = trusted everyone, because he was trustworthy. Bobby lived with his first love from his teens right up until they separated amicably in 2014; but even after the property division of assets they remained best of friends. They spent every Sunday dinner together and spoke on the phone daily, right till the morning of the day Bobby died.

When Bobby was in his teens, he started going door to door with a push lawn mower and offering to do people's lawns; but very shortly he discovered he had an eye for landscape design and started talking to the homeowners about beautifying their properties instead. He was creative and brilliant; and very quickly built up his own landscape company that was responsible for a good portion of this town's wealthiest resident's properties. His designs were amazing! His Landscape company was quickly bringing in well over a million annually; and before he was thirty he had become extremely wealthy.

When it came to finances, he was brilliant. He sank everything he earned into rental properties in terrible neighborhoods that were in such bad shape they were almost giving them away. He'd fix them up (doing almost all the work himself) till they were really nice; then rented them only to people on Government assistance (because then the Govt. paid their rent every month; he never had to chase down anyone to collect from them). It was in one of these houses he was murdered.

In all the years he lived, and all the money he earned = he never bought himself anything just for himself. He gave to anyone who needed anything; or those he loved he just gave anything they wanted (his X; his mother and brothers, nieces and nephews, etc). He bought and gave away cars to people that needed them as long as I've known him. He was known as a "soft touch" = people knew if they asked him for anything; he would give it. He was so smart in so many ways; but when it came to people he just seemed to believe and trust everyone; and even those he knew were trying to pull something over on them = he even gave to them too; feeling like maybe it would change them for the better. (it was not a religious thing; he was just like that). If they turned to him for any help at all, they were assured of getting it.

Everyone that knew him always said that no one could take more from him than he would give them from his own heart. Nobody had to rob him, all they had to do was ask.

Bobby also donated his time and money to several local charities and churches that specifically cared about feeding and clothing the poor in this local area. Every Thanksgiving he drove hot meals and boxes of groceries in his car to some of the worst neighborhoods; going door to door bringing a hot Thanksgiving meal to anyone who needed or wanted it. Here is a picture of him in 2016 delivering hot meals; he is the driver with the glasses on.

https://scontent-atl3-1.xx.fbcdn.net/v/t1.0...amp;oe=5D16970F


Bobby got paid in cash for a lot of the work he did; and only those he trusted knew what day he would have whopping amounts of cash on him. He trusted the wrong person. The only employee that Bobby let know when the money was coming in had already seen how much Bobby had come in on a previous time a few months prior. The man had been so bowled over by how much cash there was those months back that he had taken a cellphone shot of it and uploaded it to his Facebook.

From that point on, the thought of robbing Bobby must have been in his mind; so when he knew a couple days in advance that another of these windfalls was coming in, the employee/(and Bobby thought "friend") conspired with a friend of his to rob Bobby - that way his friend would do the dirty work; and the employee could look like he had nothing to do with it and stay "friends" with Bobby; and keep his employment with Bobby. (Friends as far as Bobby knew, at least).

The robbery went bad; and Bobby was shot The guy that shot him took all the money and sped off; but the shot drew the attention of the neighbors and they witnessed him leaving Bobby's house. The employee knew right away about the shooting; so he was either hiding in the other man's car, or the other man called him immediately and told him.

If the employee had done nothing; no one would have ever suspected he was connected; he wasn't seen there at all = but the employee called the police with some made up story and asked them to do a "Well Check" on Bobby. The police found Bobby freshly dead on the floor when they arrived; and obviously the gunshot was not self inflicted; so they immediately looked at the Employee as a suspect. There was a short manhunt for him; they found him hiding in a relative's home a few counties away.

The police questioned him; but at that point they didn't even know about the huge stacks of money missing. They heard the description of the unidentified black man leaving; and had no other scenario in front of them to follow up on. So right now they are in a pending status. Without proof of anything, they had to release the employee.

I've spent the last few days trying to gather any information I can on that employee by digging through his Facebook account. (meaning I had to make a Facebook account for myself; and I literally HATE Facebook!)

So far I've found that picture of all that money the employee uploaded a few months before Bobby was killed (that the employee uploaded to his Facebook) and the comment next to it was that the man he was working for (and gave Bobby's full name) was paying him that much (and then called Bobby a "pvssy"). The truth is that Bobby is a powerhouse of pure muscle. He has worked constantly from his teens on in major landscaping = outdoors all the time; and even in the winter time you'll find him wearing shorts and short sleeves because he is constantly doing something physical. So I'm sure when that man came in with a gun, he had a fight on his hands that he didn't expect.

I've found pictures of the employee with Bobby's Mercedes Benz, and that guy was claiming it was his (it showed the tags, so I forwarded that to the investigator handling Bobby's case). I'm not positive, but think he may be wearing Bobby's necklace too. There is also a cellphone snapshot of him standing next to a Fedex box filled with cash; I forwarded that to the Investigator with the date of the pic showing. I also found out where he is living; because he lists himself as being in this County; where he is on probation and isn't allowed to leave (but instead he has been living in a different County, hoping the Police couldn't find him if they finally came up with the proof they need). The police know where he is now; I made sure of that.

What I haven't been able to find at all (digging through his Friends List) is his accomplice = the shooter. The description of him was pretty generic.

This is draining; but truthfully = I think being able to do something toward helping make sure the bastards that did this to Bobby are prosecuted is therapeutic. The Police department doesn't have the manpower to spend digging through Facebook accounts; and I can see why.

It is ridiculous how convoluted Facebook is! I absolutely HATE it! No one speaks, they just post thousands of vids or pics or "thoughts for the day" that someone else wrote! Then the other people get on and comment the stupid platitudes and say stuff like "right on," or "amen." Monosyllables; no conversations!

And I'm digging through his Friends List trying to find the accomplice; and ... some of the "Friends" on his list were false accounts for selling sex; and I spent almost a whole day yesterday deleting porn from my site and deleting the accounts that sent them! And people begging for money from everyone they talk to! It is an AWFUL place; and I can't wait to get away from it!

I just really hope some incriminating evidence is found fast. I don't want to see Bobby's killers walking free and enjoying their lives thinking they have gotten away with it.






*

This post has been edited by mALX: Mar 7 2019, 06:53 PM

[Acadian]

Aww, sorry, mALX.

I hope the investigation goes well and produces some justice.

[Grits]

I am very sorry for your loss, mALX. What a tragedy for Bobby's family and friends, and for the community.

I hope they catch everyone who was involved, and that they get what they deserve.

[mALX]

Thank you both. His X is a complete basket case; Bobby has been a part of their life from the time they were in their teens; they said it feels like a huge chunk of their world is missing without Bobby in it - and really, that is accurate. Bobby was a large part of everywhere he went and everyone he met.

[mirocu]

That is truly a terrible fate for such a nice man. I'm sure that if I met him I would have liked him. First thoght when I saw him in the pic was "that's a proper fella" and by your words, mALX, sounds like he was.


May his killer get what he deserves.

[mALX]

That is truly a terrible fate for such a nice man. I'm sure that if I met him I would have liked him. First thoght when I saw him in the pic was "that's a proper fella" and by your words, mALX, sounds like he was.


May his killer get what he deserves.

Thank you so much; Mirocu. I did always think you were much like him in how hard working you were and the way you could beautify a property single-handedly. He could look at the ugliest raggedy scrap of land and turn it into the most appealing oasis.

Many of the Realtors in our area would call him to make a property look beautiful quickly to sell it, and he would triple the value of the entire property; he was like an artist with a palette = I've seen you do that too; like with that gorgeous broken brick road through the woods a few years ago.

[mirocu]

Well, I would certainly not place myself on the same level as him but thank you all the same


I'm glad you are helping the cops to find the killer and his accomplice.

[mALX]

Well, I would certainly not place myself on the same level as him but thank you all the same


I'm glad you are helping the cops to find the killer and his accomplice.

Well, he did have a gift with it that not many could match. But he never used man-made materials in his designs. You would never see a cement sidewalk; he would hand select natural river stones and bed them in ground or with pea gravel to make natural pathways. He only used natural materials like rock; wood; etc. = even his retaining walls were formed naturally with rocks so it looked like they had always been there.

This isn't his work, but could be: it is a natural retaining wall made of placed stones; and the water feature is actually the runoff = a beautiful way to keep the land from eroding on a steep hill. We have a lot of hills around here; and he would make natural tiers like this with gardens, water drainage that looked like this; etc.

https://encrypted-tbn0.gstatic.com/images?q...fyZmxQt3-mMnz0W


Another similar retaining wall and water drainage example the way he did his landscapes:



https://i1.wp.com/stuartrow.com/wp-content/...2C920&ssl=1



And the type of natural pathways and stone walls like the ones he made:


https://encrypted-tbn0.gstatic.com/images?q...3ugiYKM_11X0f2I



(he would have repaired the hole by the path on the right; and possibly placed a small wood or stone border to that path on the right; but the rest of it looks like something he would have done).


None of his work was overly busy; it looked more like nature did it than man made.









This post has been edited by mALX: Mar 7 2019, 08:17 PM

[Decrepit]

I too am sorry for your loss, mALX. The gentleman, as you describe him, sounds the polar opposite of me, which can't be a bad thing.

[Grits]

I went to the dermatologist today for a scar follow-up (I had my horns removed), and the nurse tells me “And also a full-body skin check.”

WHAT

“Ug, I didn’t, aren’t we just looking at where..?” I gesture vaguely at my head.

She checks the laptop screen. “Yes, it says here three month follow-up and annual scan.” (or something like that)

“Dear god, I wasn’t expecting this! What underwear am I wearing? Oh I hope they’re not too ragged.” Did I say that out loud? OK good, these aren’t horrifying, but they are very very purple. I’ll be the one in the purple underpants. GREAT.

She grins.

The doc agrees to zap a few little spots on my face, which I have to pay for because they aren’t potentially going to kill me. He gives me the price scale and I tell him, “Good, let’s keep it under five.” (Spots. There was a price break at five.)

Bzzt bzzt bzzt bzzt bzzt

“While we’re here I’ll just get these other ones I see, no charge, OK?” says the doc.

“Sweet, thanks.”

Bzzt bzzt bzzt bzzt bzzt bzzt bzzt bzzt bzzt bzzt bzzzzzzzzzzzt

WHAT THE HECK either he’s a perfectionist or I must have looked like a strawberry patch. Maybe both.

I don’t know what time it is, but it’s cocktail hour at the Grits house!

This post has been edited by Grits: Apr 23 2019, 09:20 PM

[TheCheshireKhajiit]

I went to the dermatologist today for a scar follow-up (I had my horns removed), and the nurse tells me “And also a full-body skin check.”

WHAT

“Ug, I didn’t, aren’t we just looking at where..?” I gesture vaguely at my head.

She checks the laptop screen. “Yes, it says here three month follow-up and annual scan.” (or something like that)

“Dear god, I wasn’t expecting this! What underwear am I wearing? Oh I hope they’re not too ragged.” Did I say that out loud? OK good, these aren’t horrifying, but they are very very purple. I’ll be the one in the purple underpants. GREAT.

She grins.

The doc agrees to zap a few little spots on my face, which I have to pay for because they aren’t potentially going to kill me. He gives me the price scale and I tell him, “Good, let’s keep it under five.” (Spots. There was a price break at five.)

Bzzt bzzt bzzt bzzt bzzt

“While we’re here I’ll just get these other ones I see, no charge, OK?” says the doc.

“Sweet, thanks.”

Bzzt bzzt bzzt bzzt bzzt bzzt bzzt bzzt bzzt bzzt bzzzzzzzzzzzt

WHAT THE HECK either he’s a perfectionist or I must have looked like a strawberry patch. Maybe both.

I don’t know what time it is, but it’s cocktail hour at the Grits house!

Here’s my problem with that: if they aren’t malignant, why bother treating them at all? The answer is: to get more of them dollar bills.

This post has been edited by TheCheshireKhajiit: Apr 23 2019, 09:50 PM