a sad story
in [Grief]
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From: donna on 15 Jan 2008 10:08 dear group, many of you know i travel for a living; gone for 6 days at a time and then the third week home for 6 days. i read every post on this newsgroup but can only hope to write, at best, sporadically. i don't ever mean to ignore anyone, it's just the schedule. this is what i saw this past week. i stoppped for a cup of coffee in eastern washington at a small quickie-mart/gas station. at the cash register i noticed a clear plastic jar with a lid taped to the top. on the side of the jar was a homemade poster of an infant. she was wearing a pink stocking cap and it said: 'selena'. written on the side of the poster were the words: 'we lost our angel on christmas day.' the family had put the jar in the store, trying to raise money to help pay for the funeral costs. selena was two months old when she died. i began chatting with the cashier ... we both spoke of how heartbreaking it was. then the girl behind the counter said: 'but it gets even worse! this is the second jar. last week a man came in and said he was the father and was collecting the money and took the first jar. when selena's father came back he told us that the man had gone all over town and taken all the money. now, we have the family's name and phone number here and we'll call them when this jar is full.' so. some person stole money from a dead baby girl. i can't say i'm shocked; there seems to be no limit what human beings will do to one another ... but i am so sickened. there are many deeply caring, wonderful people but this story shows the other side of the coin. sadly, donna
From: Liliana on 15 Jan 2008 21:05 On Jan 15, 10:08 am, donna <donnac...(a)hotmail.com> wrote: > dear group, > > many of you know i travel for a living; gone for 6 days at a time and > then the third week home for 6 days. i read every post on this > newsgroup but can only hope to write, at best, sporadically. i don't > ever mean to ignore anyone, it's just the schedule. > > this is what i saw this past week. > > i stoppped for a cup of coffee in eastern washington at a small > quickie-mart/gas station. at the cash register i noticed a clear > plastic jar with a lid taped to the top. on the side of the jar was a > homemade poster of an infant. she was wearing a pink stocking cap and > it said: 'selena'. written on the side of the poster were the words: > 'we lost our angel on christmas day.' the family had put the jar in > the store, trying to raise money to help pay for the funeral costs. > selena was two months old when she died. > > i began chatting with the cashier ... we both spoke of how > heartbreaking it was. then the girl behind the counter said: 'but it > gets even worse! this is the second jar. last week a man came in and > said he was the father and was collecting the money and took the first > jar. when selena's father came back he told us that the man had gone > all over town and taken all the money. now, we have the family's name > and phone number here and we'll call them when this jar is full.' > > so. some person stole money from a dead baby girl. > > i can't say i'm shocked; there seems to be no limit what human beings > will do to one another ... but i am so sickened. > > there are many deeply caring, wonderful people but this story shows > the other side of the coin. > > sadly, > > donna It is indeed sad that anyone would steal money being raised for the funeral of a baby. I am not surprised however. It is not the same, but my husband and I hired a contractor who my husband had known for over 20 years to add an addition onto our home. It was a lot of money. He took off with most of our money and did not complete the job. We told him from the beginning that we had enough grief in our life and did not want anymore. I have come to distrust so many people now. Another friend asked for a loan, and never paid us back. Perhaps people pick up on vulnerable weak people and simply don't care as long as they can get something.
From: daisy on 18 Jan 2008 08:57 donna wrote: > dear group, > > many of you know i travel for a living; gone for 6 days at a time and > then the third week home for 6 days. i read every post on this > newsgroup but can only hope to write, at best, sporadically. i don't > ever mean to ignore anyone, it's just the schedule. > > this is what i saw this past week. > > i stoppped for a cup of coffee in eastern washington at a small > quickie-mart/gas station. at the cash register i noticed a clear > plastic jar with a lid taped to the top. on the side of the jar was a > homemade poster of an infant. she was wearing a pink stocking cap and > it said: 'selena'. written on the side of the poster were the words: > 'we lost our angel on christmas day.' the family had put the jar in > the store, trying to raise money to help pay for the funeral costs. > selena was two months old when she died. > > i began chatting with the cashier ... we both spoke of how > heartbreaking it was. then the girl behind the counter said: 'but it > gets even worse! this is the second jar. last week a man came in and > said he was the father and was collecting the money and took the first > jar. when selena's father came back he told us that the man had gone > all over town and taken all the money. now, we have the family's name > and phone number here and we'll call them when this jar is full.' > > so. some person stole money from a dead baby girl. > > i can't say i'm shocked; there seems to be no limit what human beings > will do to one another ... but i am so sickened. > > there are many deeply caring, wonderful people but this story shows > the other side of the coin. > > sadly, > > donna > I don't condone it..but thinking maybe on the lines that it was someone that might have been hungry themselves helps me get past what some people can do sometimes. It's sad.... Daisy
From: donna on 22 Jan 2008 20:46 dear liliana and daisy, i think i was able to turn this experience into something positive. this past week was the second anniversary of savannah's death. like last year, i was planning on staying home ... just me and the memories. but after hearing how the little girl's money was stolen i decided to take action. even though i was only home for 1 1/2 days, i contacted my family and the friends who loved my daughter. they all dropped by the house and each brought a cash donation. so two years to the day that savannah left me, i was able to take a check to the family of the sweet baby who'd died on christmas day. it wasn't a huge amount, my time at home was so limited for collecting, but it did come to over $350.00. i know that isn't enough to really change a person's life but it will assure them that not everyone on earth is like the monster that stole the cash. i think i might do this each year .... save a little money each week and then find a family going through a tragedy and in need. it made me feel as if i have a purpose by still being alive. best to you both, donna
From: PatrickMullin on 22 Jan 2008 20:55
"donna" <donnac406(a)hotmail.com> wrote in message news:b1f6c426-eba4-4212-afe3-a19595272f81(a)d4g2000prg.googlegroups.com... > > dear liliana and daisy, > > i think i was able to turn this experience into something positive. > this past week was the second anniversary of savannah's death. like > last year, i was planning on staying home ... just me and the > memories. but after hearing how the little girl's money was stolen i > decided to take action. > > even though i was only home for 1 1/2 days, i contacted my family and > the friends who loved my daughter. they all dropped by the house and > each brought a cash donation. > > so two years to the day that savannah left me, i was able to take a > check to the family of the sweet baby who'd died on christmas day. it > wasn't a huge amount, my time at home was so limited for collecting, > but it did come to over $350.00. i know that isn't enough to really > change a person's life but it will assure them that not everyone on > earth is like the monster that stole the cash. > > i think i might do this each year .... save a little money each week > and then find a family going through a tragedy and in need. it made > me feel as if i have a purpose by still being alive. > > best to you both, > > donna > > Donna, It is so wonderful to hear of you doing such a thoughtful thing for others, especially on such an occasion. I hope that you manage to keep this special tradition up, and so honour Savannah's memory even more. Patrick |