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I have been robbed. Not at gun point or by some thug on the street, but by a person I called friend. My farm is three miles from my home and my youngest son lives in the house on the property. Wednesday night I was at work and my son called my,a very rare thing for him to do. Jon my son told me that a young fella he went through school with stopped at the house and asked him if he could park in the driveway and sleep in his truck for a while because he and his wife were at odds and he needed some time away.
This guy has run a successful lawn care and landscaping business for about five years and I have done a lot of trucking and machine work for him. Always up front with payment, A guy I trusted.
Something about Tom bothered my son, he was dirty, skinny as a rail, and not himself. Jon talked to him and told him to park by the pond and no one would bother him, They had talked for quite a while and Jon had to go to bed for work the next morning. When he went in the house he called me , he asked me to check on Tom on my way home, because he was concerned about him. So at 6 A.M. I stopped at the farm . Tom and his truck were gone.
Also gone were my cordless tools, chainsaw, small portable air compressor, Paslode nailer, and a Dremal tool kit. There may be more, I am not sure yet. It seems that he broke into my shop and stole from me. My first reaction was not to blame Tom, but inside my shop he left the ball cap he was wearing. At no time during his visit was the shop open.
This morning I filed a police report and I will also file an insurance claim, my lose of material things will be minimal. I stand to lose something much more important then a few tools, my faith in my fellow man.
Once I deduced what happened my response was anger and I went on the hunt for him. I do not know just what I would do or say if I had found him today. My search took me to his home and I learned from his ten year old daughter whom I found home alone that daddy was not allowed at the house any more. I spent most of the day running down leads and discovered that Tom tried crack for the first time eight weeks ago and has since drained his bank account, lost all his equipment to the repo man, his family has been evicted, and that his wife is doing about the same. I gained knowledge that the fight was over rocks of crack and he was stabbed by his wife. My visit was at 3 P.M. and I left the house and found a place to watch for when anyone came home. Around 7 P.M. the wife pulled in. I waited until she went in the house then knocked on the door. The little girl answered and the mother pretended to not be home. I yelled into the house that I knew that she was home and that it was in her best interest to come to the door. She was strung out on drugs, a real mess. only a few months ago I had coffee at their house and now I barely recognized this woman. She was screaming at the little girl for answering the door and promised her a beating. As a man I could not allow that to happen as I am sure the child has been tortured more then her share by seeing what she has seen. I went back to my truck and called the chief of police who is a good and fair man and told him the whole story. The mother has been arrested and the child has been taken by protective services. Drugs were found in the house.
I am overwhelmed with sadness, not for anything I lost, but for what I really lost a friend, a little girl who has lost a mother and a father, and a community that feels a little less safe.
This guy has run a successful lawn care and landscaping business for about five years and I have done a lot of trucking and machine work for him. Always up front with payment, A guy I trusted.
Something about Tom bothered my son, he was dirty, skinny as a rail, and not himself. Jon talked to him and told him to park by the pond and no one would bother him, They had talked for quite a while and Jon had to go to bed for work the next morning. When he went in the house he called me , he asked me to check on Tom on my way home, because he was concerned about him. So at 6 A.M. I stopped at the farm . Tom and his truck were gone.
Also gone were my cordless tools, chainsaw, small portable air compressor, Paslode nailer, and a Dremal tool kit. There may be more, I am not sure yet. It seems that he broke into my shop and stole from me. My first reaction was not to blame Tom, but inside my shop he left the ball cap he was wearing. At no time during his visit was the shop open.
This morning I filed a police report and I will also file an insurance claim, my lose of material things will be minimal. I stand to lose something much more important then a few tools, my faith in my fellow man.
Once I deduced what happened my response was anger and I went on the hunt for him. I do not know just what I would do or say if I had found him today. My search took me to his home and I learned from his ten year old daughter whom I found home alone that daddy was not allowed at the house any more. I spent most of the day running down leads and discovered that Tom tried crack for the first time eight weeks ago and has since drained his bank account, lost all his equipment to the repo man, his family has been evicted, and that his wife is doing about the same. I gained knowledge that the fight was over rocks of crack and he was stabbed by his wife. My visit was at 3 P.M. and I left the house and found a place to watch for when anyone came home. Around 7 P.M. the wife pulled in. I waited until she went in the house then knocked on the door. The little girl answered and the mother pretended to not be home. I yelled into the house that I knew that she was home and that it was in her best interest to come to the door. She was strung out on drugs, a real mess. only a few months ago I had coffee at their house and now I barely recognized this woman. She was screaming at the little girl for answering the door and promised her a beating. As a man I could not allow that to happen as I am sure the child has been tortured more then her share by seeing what she has seen. I went back to my truck and called the chief of police who is a good and fair man and told him the whole story. The mother has been arrested and the child has been taken by protective services. Drugs were found in the house.
I am overwhelmed with sadness, not for anything I lost, but for what I really lost a friend, a little girl who has lost a mother and a father, and a community that feels a little less safe.
