Scammed

People who trust can sometimes get scammed. I admit it. We were too trusting, and we were scammed. What makes it even worse is that we have all heard stories about this exact kind of thing.

We have a lot of cracks in our driveway.

Yesterday Jane and I both happened to be home when a very nice looking, very polite, man came to our door. He said he had completed a driveway installation and had some materials left over which he didn’t want to have to dispose of. He offered to “spray seal” our driveway for $300. I told him we couldn’t afford that. Then he said if we would put one of his signs in our yard to help him get business, he would do it for $250. Jane and I discussed it, and since we are getting a tax refund, it sounded like a good deal, so we agreed.

He made a phone call and a second truck soon appeared with his “son” (?) and a third man, and they began busily sweeping and cleaning the driveway. He said this was a spray procedure and would not take long to complete.

Later he came to the door to get his check, and gave me a receipt that had a phone number on it to call him if there were any problems. He said he had to get a sign from one of his other jobs, and would bring it back and set it up. He said the cracks were still showing, but the sealer would expand over night to fill the cracks.

When he left we went out to look at the driveway and it looked like someone had just sprayed oil on it. So, too late, we began to realize this must have been a scam.

I went to the internet to look up his name, figuring he probably used a fake one, and this would be a dead end. Lo and behold, there he was – GLEN STAMPER – two articles about him scamming people in West Virginia, Kentucky, Tennessee and Pennsylvania.

We immediately called the police. While waiting for the police, I looked at my checking account on the internet and the $250 check had been cashed within 20 minutes!

The police officer found his picture and info about him on his computer. He said the man was wanted in several states, and if we ever saw him again, we should call 911 and report him as a fugitive. The officer also called the number that was written on the receipt, and it was a disconnected number.

This is where it gets even more interesting. And very frustrating, as though we were being screwed a second time!

There is a Motel 6 behind a Mexican restaurant where we sometimes eat. Some friends whom we had told about the incident happened to notice his two trucks parked at that motel! The friends called us, and we called 911 while our friends watched from a distance.

Police came. They looked at the trucks. They went to the office. They came back and knocked on a door. No answer. They went to the office again.

Our friends decided to talk to one of the police officers to tell them they knew about the situation and see what was going on. The police actually saw that the man was walking around right there in the parking lot, but said they could find no Tennessee warrants, so they couldn’t do anything! This, after the investigating officer had taken our complaint and said there were warrants in several states!!

I called the police station and asked to speak to our investigating officer. They said he was not on duty and they could not take a message unless he was on duty. I looked up his name in the phone book and found three listings. Two were not the right number and I left a message at the third number.

We called the warrants department. They told us they couldn’t find anything. They told us to call the main police headquarters. The police department said to call the Warrants Department! After we explained that we had done that and were now going in circles, they said we should talk to the Desk Sergeant at our local precinct. After figuring out the correct precinct, they said they would call the dispatcher, who would call the desk sergeant, and the desk sergeant would call me back. That was over an hour ago. We’re still waiting.

Being scammed by the crook was bad enough. But after finding him, calling 911 as were told to do by the investigating officer, and then being told they couldn’t do anything….I can’t begin to tell you how that feels!!

Bottom line, we are out $250 due to our trusting (yes, and our gullibility). We found the scammers for the police, who said they couldn’t do anything. And, most certainly, the scammers will be on to a different area tomorrow, if they’ve not left already.

We still want to be able to trust people, and 99 times out of 100 that works out fine. But a lesson learned is that we will never again buy anything from any stranger who knocks at our door. If it’s something we need, we’ll make a call to a person or business of our choosing.

In the meantime, watch out for Glen Stamper and his two white pickup trucks. He might be coming soon to a neighborhood near you!

It just ain't nice to do to old people!

---Joe

Reunited With a Most Special Friend

Today I was able to acquire a piece of art that will always hold a special place in my heart. It is a Boehm porcelain figurine of an old friend – and one of the world’s most famous bassos – the legendary Jerome Hines. Incredibly, there were only 12 of these figures ever made, and this bears the mark of #1.

Jerry, as he liked us to call him, was asked to leave his high school choir because he “couldn’t carry a tune.” But his love for music, and subsequent training, made him the leading basso at the Metropolitan Opera for 41 years. His most famous role was the lead in Boris Godunov, which he sang at opera houses worldwide, including a performance at the Bolshoi in Moscow for Soviet Premier Nikita Khruschev on the eve of the Cuban Missile Crisis. In fact, he carried a message directly from Khruschev to President Kennedy that affirmed Russia would not go to war over Cuba.

A born-again Christian, Jerry composed I Am the Way, an opera on the life of Christ. He sang the role at the Met in 1968 and performed the role many times around the world. I can never forget when I first met him at a dress rehearsal for I Am the Way in Columbus, Ohio, in the 1970’s. He was in full dress for the role of Jesus, and this imposing 6’6” frame “Jesus” staring down at me with his hand on my shoulder left a most indelible impression!

When I was a pastor in Dayton, I had Jerry do a sacred and secular concert as a benefit for the church, which drew about 1,000 people. He spent three days and two nights in my home, and preached for an overflow crowd at my church on Sunday morning. Every time he was in the area, I would call him, or he would call me, and we managed to spend time together.

Jerome Hines was undoubtedly one of the most committed and sincere Christians I have ever known. He touched thousands of lives well beyond his monumental operatic repertoire. He was active with the Salvation Army, and often could be found singing at rescue missions in the Bowery area of New York City and witnessing to drunks, addicts and homeless people.

Jerry battled cancer for a number of years, and literally thanked God for the disease, because it was another opportunity for him to teach others that, for a true believer, nothing can overcome the power and blessings of God.

Jerry believed that death was God’s “perfect healing,” where pain and sorrow are no more, and where we can finally live perfectly with Him in eternity.

My life will never be the same because of him. Jerry died peacefully in 2003 at 81 years of age, two years after his final operatic performance.

So you see, it’s much more than a porcelain figurine. He’s come to stay with us again, as a reminder of his powerful love for Jesus Christ - a shared faith and a shared friendship.

---Joe

The Difference Between Methodists and Baptists

We had two large tour groups of Methodists and Baptists at the boats today. Each group had too many people to fit on one boat. The extra Methodists stayed dry by waiting for a second boat. The extra Baptists nearly drowned from trying to walk behind on the water.

---Joe

Random Thoughts

Water and music are two of the most powerful forces in the universe.....If you like boogers, they are better the farther north you go.....If you close your eyes and hold your breath at the same time, you can't see or breathe.....People who hurt animals are the same people who tend to hurt children, women and old people.....BOSTON LEGAL was one of the best TV shows ever made.....I still miss my dad after 40 years.....The best cake is chocolate with white icing. to be continued

---Joe

The Meaning and Purpose of Life

I have figured it out! I am convinced that the meaning and purpose of life is to love and serve God and make Him laugh.

The End

---Joe

Dean Brody

This is the artist my son Clark is managing. Check him out! Then search to hear his first hit single, "Brothers."

---Joe

Make Every Day Count

Wendy (L) and Log (R)

Ever since I was a kid I've loved horses. I watched Fury on TV and I watched old timey westerns mainly because they rode horses. I read Flicka and Black Beauty, always imagining that one day I would own a horse of my own. I rode imaginary horses with friends to and from school. After years of living I had given up on the dream. But about 3-4 years ago an opportunity came to me to finally be able to own a horse.

Actually to be part owner in a horse, and his name is Log. A spunky, Tennessee Walking horse he is and a lover of people. Stephanie and Mike had a house and six acres about 40 minutes east of Nashville. Well, we realized in a short time that Log didn't do very well alone so we searched for a second horse. Another TN Walking horse and the price was pretty good so we brought him home to share the pasture with Log. Not a good idea!!! They eventually hated each other and Cash (as he came to be called) was a biter. I started looking for a different horse and thought perhaps a mare would be a better choice since Cash and Log were both boys.....gelded boys...but boys just the same. My pastor's wife, Laura, said she had an appendix mare she would be willing to trade for my walking horse and we'd try it out and if either one of us didn't like the arrangement we would switch them back. Well, I had no idea what an appendix was other than an often disposed of body part so I said we'd give her a try. An appendix horse, by the way, is 1/2 quarter horse and 1/2 thoroughbred. She was sassy from the git-go. She let Log know that she was in charge but he liked her a lot and was quite willing to put up with her disposition as long as she'd hang out with him.

As time went on Log and Wendy became the best of friends. Wendy is a curvaceous sorrel mare and I guess Log just couldn't help himself. They were always together. They ate together, walked together, grazed together....you get the picture and they were the perfect pair. But unfortunately things often change. It became apparent that Stephanie and Mike were not able to keep living there mainly because the gas prices were soaring, and their house payment had done the same. Decisions had to be made to find the animals all new homes. We were all blessed because the miniature horses, the potbellied pig and Sam, the goat, all found homes quickly. We thought a lady was going to purchase Log but that fell through and Log went to a home nearby Steph's home in Smith County. I tried boarding Wendy in a boarding stable but I wasn't satisfied so I looked for another and found Butterbean Hill Boarding stables and it was near our house. I was thrilled. Wendy could be nearby and I could see her often. She would live in a pasture with several other horses and live out her life with occasional visits from me. Debbie, the lady who owns Butterbean, is a true lover of horses and I knew Wendy would be watched over by her.

This is where making every day count comes in. About two months ago Stephanie and I were visiting Wendy and everyone was joking and laughing about how fat she was. Several horse experts who come to the barn there were saying...."She's pregnant." I said no way....she hasn't been exposed to a stallion at any point in time. "No," they insisted, "she's got to be pregnant." Well, my friends, she is not pregnant. I just wish she was. It is now two months later, and she has lost a lot of weight and has been tentatively diagnosed with a tumor in her head. We're just waiting for the final prognosis from the University of Tennessee. So you see how important it is to make each day count. I will be there almost every day spending time with the dream that came true; before she has to go away. It's always strange when you get bad news...part of you is sad to be losing a loved one and part of you is glad for having had the experience.

Please pray for our Wendy.

---Jane