Today at the pawn shop

[timspawn]

So today I had a young lady bring in her 77 year old veteran and former Hwy Patrol grandfather so he could pawn his Colt Detective Special so that she could pay her.......... cell phone bill. He wasn't too happy about doing and there seemed to be a history of him giving her money and not getting it back.

[jcwit]

When I graduated from High School I split everything, EVERYTHING with my folks. Property taxes, property insurance, groceries, utilities, everything, was not asked to do it, did it on my own, even gave mom extra for laundry & cooking.

I expected the same from my kids.

When will older folks make their kids stand on their own 2 feet.

When will youngsters have enough gumpstion & pride to stand on their own 2 feet.

I don't even feel sorry for the old man, nor for the daughter.

[Alexn20]

The things you will do for loved ones.

Its a shame she is not taking responsibility for her life. I do agree that parents should let their kids learn from their mistakes. Too many are given everything on a silver platter.

Lose a Colt for a CELL PHONE BILL! I bet he will be going through the same motions next month.

[kfarm]

Never would have happened at my house. Thank goodness my daughter turned out way better than I would have ever dreamed of.

[Love Life]

He is an enabler, she is a bum. It is what it is and the one is no better than the other.

[jcwit]

Spot on L/L.

[Alexn20]

still feel bad for the guy though.

[runfiverun]

No way, I'd have give her a roll of quarters.

[Hickok]

Sad, sad, sad.

[trapper9260]

Too much of that is going on today.to bad.

[Love Life]

No way, I'd have give her a roll of quarters.

Last payphone I saw was at 29 stumps in the desert.

[scarry scarney]

That is a sad story. BTW, what does it say about my little town. We still have a few payphones....

[1Shirt]

Feel bad for the ole guy! Tough love needed badly!
1Shirt!

[MtGun44]

He needs to tell her NO.

[AkMike]

Please update if it's redeemed or even if the monthly 'vig' is paid and by whom.

[xman777]

My wife and her daughter go through this a lot. At some point you're just out of help to give.

[John Allen]

He is an enabler, she is a bum. It is what it is and the one is no better than the other.

Agreed

[Hardcast416taylor]

I would help her pay the phone bill ONCE! If there was a return request for money to pay it again, SORRY ABOUT THAT! My Sister finally cut the apron strings on her 39 yr. old daughter that never could seem to grasp the concept to putting money aside for bills to be paid. The daughter has turned against her for being a "satan of a person" for not always bailing her out of her debts. It was a sad situation - but had to be done.Robert

[waynem34]

Man I wonder how much of a cell phone bill she racked up? She needs to get a job or a rich boy friend.

[Bohica793]

still feel bad for the guy though.

Sorry, no sympathy for self-inflicted punishment.

[Ramar]

Sorry, no sympathy, she must be ugly or she'd be loaded.
Ramar

[Hogtamer]

A wall between the head and heart is not an easy thing to build. I know more than I'd like about enabling and I'm neither naive nor stupid. And the wall, once built, is even harder to tear down.
This old guy - a vet and retired LEO - is prolly no pushover. James put it in Kingdom terms that's so at odds with the world: "Judgement is without mercy to the one who has shown no mercy. Mercy triumphs over judgement."

Sorry, don't mean to sound preachy, this just strikes a familiar cord with me.

[NavyVet1959]

That is a sad story. BTW, what does it say about my little town. We still have a few payphones....

Uhhh .... That you have really poor cell phone reception?

[Garyshome]

"He is an enabler, she is a bum"
+1

[NavyVet1959]

"He is an enabler, she is a bum"
+1

People like her give trailer trash a bad name...

[Kent Fowler]

Man I wonder how much of a cell phone bill she racked up? She needs to get a job or a rich boy friend.

I think the odds of her finding a rich boy friend are infinitesimal to absolute zero. Rich boys are too busy looking for a rich girlfriend who will sign a pre-nup. Sounds like a job, if she happens to have any skills, would be in her best interests.

[cbrick]

Grandpa is retired highway patrol so it's safe to assume he has a decent pension. Grandpa is so broke that he has to hock his Colt to pay something as frivolous as her cell phone bill. Kinda makes ya wonder where Grandpa's money goes. Possibly to her and her drug habit. Maybe huh? Most of the people I've known that are that much of a parasite also just happened to be druggies.

I hope Grandpa gets his Colt back and then finds the courage to point her at the door and put a boot in her hieny.

Rick

[Plate plinker]

At 77 she is taking advantage of him. He may not be of a very sound mind anymore.
Florida has a law to apply against people like this.

Cant remember what what it is called but my mom was going to use it against another dirt bag relative who is ripping of moms ain't that raised her. My brother said if he ever sees this Botch he will punch her right in the choppers. I said I would post bail.

[MBTcustom]

No way, I'd have give her a roll of quarters.

Oh I would. Not the way you're talking about, but a roll of quarters can be a powerful teaching aid at times. LOL!

[dakotashooter2]

A cell phone is NOT a necessity therefore I would not pay the bill. A food or electric bill might be another matter............



Actually I would have asked her for the phone...put it on the ground.... and used the pistol to put a bullet through it..... problem solved..............

[lightman]

I feel sorry for the old guy too! We probably will never know the whole story. I'm thankful everyday that my two Sons turned out well.

[shoot-n-lead]

He is an enabler, she is a bum. It is what it is and the one is no better than the other.

BINGO!

I don't feel sorry for him, in the least. He had the option of telling her NO.

[labradigger1]

Bad for him, good for you
Never would have happened at my home, I would have told her to get a job, live within her means and to suck eggs!
Lab

[Cmm_3940]

At that age the old guy could have physical or mental limitations that cause him to be trapped depending on a leech for daily support in some manner. The dependapotomus granddaughter could be blackmailing him, threatening to withdraw support or have him declared incompetent if he stops ponying up cash. It could be a lot of things. It could be nothing more than it appears. I would hesitate to rush to judgement and assume him to be an enabler based on a single encounter, even though it really could be as simple as that.

The granddaughter, on the other hand... That situation sounds to me like it's much more clear cut.

[jeepyj]

It is upsetting to for me to read or see older folks being taken advantage of.
jeepyj

[daniel lawecki]

Hopefully the parents are smarter then grandpa or the gene pool could really be muddy.

[mnkyracer]

Sounds like the same situation that my neighbor dealt with. After his wife passed, his daughters and grandkids starting using him for money. In 6 months he had given them over $13,000 and a like new PT cruiser. Then they started to lay the groundwork for claiming that he was starting to not be able to take care of himself, while he was keeping up with a 1/3 - 1/2 acre garden that he planted FOR THEIR USE OF PRODUCE without any help from them.

Last we talked about it, he was having his PoA changed in his will to a close friend of the family and has cut off all donations.

[TXGunNut]

Another missed opportunity for tough love. Many folks of my generation are horrible with money, I know a woman who could retire soon if it weren't for a pesky student loan, among other things. For the record, I moved out on my own soon after my 18th birthday and supported myself in a manner I deserved ever since, even put myself thru all the college I could stand. I can't imagine depending on someone else for something like a cell phone bill. I'd discontinue service before asking for help with that bill. I guess the little (probably not so little) tramp has a similar aversion to honest work and responsible spending.
Sad, very sad. Hope the old guy gets his Colt out of pawn and this leech out of his life.

[MaryB]

We grew up working hard and saving, at 16 I had $10k set aside from helping mom and dad remodel houses and sell them. I invested it with them to buy a big house they wanted to restore and put on the market and tripled my investment in a year. But my little brother was the always broke one, always borrowing money from mom and dad... I borrowed form them once to finance a car until the house we were building sold. Sold the house I paid them back with an extra $1k interest that they tried to turn down because the truck I bought was to help with working on the house. Last I heard my little brother still owes mom $20k or so that he will never pay back.

He also has an alcohol problem, mean drunk, I pity his wife and kids. Mom should have cut him off long ago and now that dad has died and mom gave my oldest sister power of attorney he is getting no cash from her. I know when mom dies he will try to get more than the rest of us and will tie it up in court even though the will clearly states 5 way split no arguing. If you want some personal items that is fine, any major household items get sold and split like appliances. We put our foot down early to cut him off to protect mom as she gets older.

[nvbirdman]

My daughter was leeching off me for a while. "I need help with my cell phone bill, my gas bill has to be paid or they will turn off my gas, I pawned some things and if I don't get them out today I will lose them."
I got tired of it and said "No more", and stuck to it. Somehow she seems to be getting along without my money.

[Bazoo]

Without knowing any other details 2 things comes to mind.

First, maybe grandpa is now paying for some misdeeds committed during his "duty" as a highway patrolman.

Second, maybe hes lonely and has nobody else, or has no choice but to live with this granddaughter and is choosing the lesser of two evils.

[mold maker]

The lesser of both evils is, Not a dime !!!!!!!
Sooner or later it will have to happen, hopefully not because there is no more to give.
Having to pawn says it's almost at that point.

[Petrol & Powder]

He is an enabler, she is a bum. It is what it is and the one is no better than the other.
/\ Yep !

[bikerbeans]

Another possibility is this could be a case of elder abuse. One doesn't know how the grand daughter treats her grand father when no one is watching.

BB

[Blacksmith]

The best thing grandpa could do is teach her to stand on her own two feet. He should have handed her a box of condoms and said go earn the money.

[historicfirearms]

She needs one of them Obama phones. That way gramps gets to keep his Colt and the rest of us get to pay for her phone. Scum!

[leeggen]

I would have given her $1.00 and told her to call someone that cares about her cellphone bill.
Tough love is hard to do but sometimes it works.
CD

[starmac]

seems to me that gramps didn't want to keep his colt very bad at all. If he had pawned it for food, I would feel sorry for him, as it is, he is part of the problem this world is facing.

[ZmanWakeForest]

He is an enabler, she is a bum. It is what it is and the one is no better than the other.

Absolutely!

[Doggonekid]

I work in a pawn shop. 80% of the people in my shop come back for their stuff. Maybe Grandpa loves his granddaughter and wants to help, or she is a crack addict and grandpa wasted his money on her. I hope grandpa goes back for his colt. Maybe he should redeem his colt and default on his granddaughter. I try to never cast judgment on people that pawn their stuff because it always gives me a paycheck. I believe most people now days spend more that they make. Poor people pawn cheep things and rich people pawn expensive things. Most people don't want to loose there stuff they just want a loan. People on the juice have a tendency to pawn other peoples stuff and they don't get it back. Those are the people I have a lousy attitude for they are all turds and make it tough on all the hard working people and the LEO's. (I like the comment of put a boolit through the cell phone. Problem solved. People use to be able to get along with out a cell phone.)

[timspawn]

He picked up the gun today. She was not with him.

[MtGun44]

Boy, that is good news. Thanks for the progress report.

[Rhou45]

That is great news for him.

Hopefully you do not see him there anymore pawning his possesions for frivolous things like a cell phone bill. How sad our world is when things like that are valued over long hheld cherished items that should become family heirlooms. As a nation we're loosing our identity.

[Plate plinker]

Good to hear, hope she is in jail.

[jcwit]

Good to hear, hope she is in jail.

What a statement.

The man pawned a handgun. Gave the cash to his daughter. The man got his handgun out of pawn.

None of us know any further details, or the reasons this was done.

[DougGuy]

We've ALL had hard times, I can no more point a finger or cast a stone than be the one getting pointed at!

Just glad the old fella got his Colt back!

[country gent]

Until youve been there with a child using you and trying to determine the issues its hard to fully understand. Mu oldest the only time I hearfrom her is when she needs money or help. Its hard to say no but its even harder to know if its for the gas bill drugs alchlol or what. I once considered paying the gas bill directly when she called but then thought where did the gas money go for. SHes been thru first call for help here once and is back in the same basic shape as before. I have cut her off now. I have recieved calls for money at all hours of the day and night. But what ever you do they are still your child and the issues and pain are very real

[jcwit]

We've ALL had hard times, I can no more point a finger or cast a stone than be the one getting pointed at!

Just glad the old fella got his Colt back!

Well put, correct!