by Sandy Knauer
Member since:
December 19, 2005

Going, Going, Gone - Foreclosures Up

April 17, 2006 02:37 PM UTC (Updated: January 18, 2009 02:02 PM UTC)
views: 0 | comments: 62

Macy stood beside the door to blow her nose on the remnants of her tissue. There was no stopping the tears but she could at least save herself a bit of humiliation by not sniffing at her guest. Timing couldn't be worse, so she hoped it was an understanding friend.

 

She wiped her eyes on the cuff of her blouse, stuck the tissue in her pocket, and opened the door to a man she had never seen before. Good. He probably had the wrong address. This would end quickly and she could return to her pity party. Sometimes crying it out was the best way to move forward. Forcing a smile, she nodded her greeting.

 

"Richard Zwicker." The stranger extended a business card between his index and middle fingers. "I want to buy your house."

 

A wave of relief washed over Macy as she opened the screen to take the card. How close she had come to ignoring the bell and missing this opportunity. Maybe luck was on her side now.

 

"Who told you? I haven't even called anyone yet," she said, reviewing the information this man wished to share with the world - he paid cash for houses.

 

"Your house is scheduled for auction at the court house. Public information. I can help you keep it out of auction."

 

Wrestling emotions, Macy curbed the disappointment of knowing her private life was on display at the courthouse and let a real smile emerge for the man who had come to help. "That would be nice. Do you want to see inside?"

 

He shook his head. "I'm prepared to make an offer. I'll pay the taxes due and give you fifteen hundred dollars. Keep it out of auction, which you don't want on your record, and give you some cash to relocate."

 

"You must have the wrong information. The house is paid for and I only owe eight thousand in taxes and interest."

 

He scanned the top paper in his stack. "I see that. I'll pay the taxes. You'll be relieved of that debt and walk away free."

 

"Fifteen hundred dollars? What about the other hundred thousand?" The tears returned.

 

"You'd get less than this in auction," he warned. "It's a nasty business."

 

"I'll have to think about it." She held his card up. "I have your number." She closed the door before he witnessed the flood.

 

The house needed work, but was worth at least a hundred thousand even after deducting repairs. Richard Zwicker was a thief. She went to the bathroom to wash her face and opened the medicine cabinet to get something for the headache she felt coming on. More tears rushed forward as she moved the morphine the hospice nurse had missed when flushing what was left of George's medications.

 

She tossed the morphine in the trash and pulled a bottle of generic aspirin off the shelf as the doorbell rang again. If the thief had returned, she would tell him what she thought of him this time. Wiping tears on her cuff, she yanked the door open.

 

"Macy, you okay?" Olivia Franks stood on the porch with a tall blonde. "I brought Jasmine. She's in real estate and might be able to help, or at least answer some questions."

 

Macy let them in and apologized for the state she was in. "I felt bad enough before that man came and insulted me," she explained. "I'm afraid he sent me over the edge."

 

Olivia went to the kitchen to pour tea while Macy told Jasmine her story. "I had to quit work and take care of George in the end. They gave me six weeks, on account of a Disability Act or something, but the company wasn't happy about it. Harassed me constantly about needing me to come back. George hung on for two years, ate up all our savings."

 

Jasmine shook her head. "That must have been very hard for you."

 

"Taking care of George wasn't so hard. It was worrying about money that made me nervous. Ever notice how one bad thing leads to another? Anything that could go wrong during that time did. They canceled my homeowners policy because I was out of work and behind on bills. Said I was high risk, even though I'd never filed a claim in twenty-two years. Then a storm whipped up, blew the neighbor's tree on my roof, and knocked the fence out. I had to fix the fence because of George's dog. He loved that dog and I couldn't let him run out and get hit by a car."

 

Olivia chuckled as she came back in the room. "She fussed over that dog almost as much as she did her husband, and she hated the mangy mutt before George got sick."

 

"I still wasn't fond of him, but he was George's baby. Poor guy was losing enough already." She took a sip of tea. "I'm afraid we're wasting your time," she said to Jasmine. "There's no time to sell the house before the auction. We only have two weeks."

 

Olivia smiled at Jasmine and nodded.

 

"I still might be able to help," Jasmine said. "I have cash. If you're willing, I can buy your house as soon as we can schedule a closing."

 

Macy wiped her eyes with the back of her hand. "I hope you're going to offer more than fifteen hundred."

 

"Fifty thousand," Jasmine offered. "I'll have to pay the taxes you owe, make repairs, and update before I can sell it again. And I have to make some profit for my time and investment."

 

"Sounds better than the last offer," Macy said. "I need to think about it. I can't buy another place for fifty thousand."

 

Olivia moved over to the couch and put an arm around her friend. "Honey, you're gonna lose everything if you don't do something quick. Fifty thousand'll pay a lot of rent. All you need's a small apartment now that it's just you."

 

Macy closed her eyes, not wanting to see her visitors or the house George had worked so hard to provide for his family. Losing him had been enough. It was too soon to face another loss.

 

"Fifty thousand is one year's salary. Even if I'm careful, that isn't going to last the rest of my life," Macy argued, more with herself than the others. "Who's going to hire a broken, sixty-year-old woman and pay her enough to live?"

 

Jasmine wrote some figures on a paper and handed it and her card to Macy. "Think about it. It's a big decision, and one you shouldn't make too quickly. You can call me when you've decided what you want to do."

 

"What about a home equity loan?" Olivia asked after Macy had shown Jasmine out. "You could pay the taxes and fix the roof."

 

"Tried that. I need a job and clean credit first," Macy said.

 

Frustrated, Olivia reached for her purse. "Why'd you let things get this far out of hand, Macy? What were you thinking?"

 

"I was thinking I had to take care of my dying husband," Macy said. "My mind couldn't go beyond that."

 

Olivia headed for the door and stopped to offer her final thoughts. "You don't have much time. Better give Jasmine's offer serious consideration."

 

Macy nodded and closed the door behind Olivia. "Time's all I do have left."

 

** Some consider these 'win-win' deals. I don't believe Macy, or the many like her, are winning anything.

 

US home foreclosures on the rise

Home foreclosure listings surged in March

NATIONAL FORECLOSURES INCREASE IN EVERY QUARTER OF 2005 ACCORDING TO REALTYTRAC™ U.S. FORECLOSURE MARKET REPORT
Nearly 847,000 Properties Enter Foreclosure During The Year; Florida, Colorado and Utah Post Nation's Highest

Comments: 62

Nancy S. Apr 17, 2006, 2:50pm UTC
This brought tears to my eyes. I am so sick of predatory lenders and unscrulous companies. They lend people more than they can afford, and the people get caught in the cycle of always needing to borrow more to keep up.
My first week in Gather, I wrote a piece on credit (for the 2-word challenge), in which I expressed this also.
I realize this does not apply to Macy, but the problem is the same.
In a word, it sucks.
Nancy S. Apr 17, 2006, 2:53pm UTC
(just after i typed that comment, i got a pop-up for a mortgage company! are they reading our minds?)
Richard Frisbie Apr 17, 2006, 2:57pm UTC
Yeah - and the banks are willing to give 110% mortgages, interest only mortgages, and reverse mortgages, PLUS extra credit cards to "consolidate" our debts, until -- we simply can't pay any more. The American way doesn't sound very American when you explain it like that.

I'm sorry for your friend. (I assume this is real - there is so much of it happening you don't have to make it up!) I'm still in the old school - I don't buy what I can't pay for. HOWEVER - I do have a mortgage, and - IF I'm lucky - I'll still be paying on it when I'm 85!
Faith H. Apr 17, 2006, 3:17pm UTC
This is all too true and real to many folks. I see it every day as I work in bankruptcy. That and the new rules the credit card companies engineered have done alot of damage to the folks who can least afford it.
WM H. Apr 17, 2006, 4:10pm UTC
It's only going to get worse.
Carol Voigts Apr 17, 2006, 4:12pm UTC
Give you all while you don't need it, and cut your throat when you're down and out. isn't that the American way? No safety nets.
Bruce ! Apr 17, 2006, 4:20pm UTC
Guys, no one promised us a rose garden.
You spend what you can afford, you live within your means, you work hard, you hope for a little luck and put off buying the plasma TV.
I know there are some real hardship cases and this sounds like it could be one but most of the time in this country of consumers we just all want it big, we want it new and we want it NOW...most only have themselves to blame.
Sandy Knauer Apr 17, 2006, 4:57pm UTC
NANCY – I'm with you – sick of predators. It all applies, including the Instant Cash predators popping up on every corner. They're reading our cookies, not our minds ;-)

RICHARD – ugh.. the interest only mortgages.. another sad situation. The American way is ugly. Glad to hear you live by the old school. When I went on disability, I had no house, car, or credit card payments. I'm not sure I would have survived many years on my savings otherwise. And that can happen to anyone, at any time.

FAITH – yep, and there are plenty of people ready to take advantage of those who can least afford it. Sad commentary on our society.

EDWARD – GMTA – I took those words right out of your mouth in my comment to Faith. Thanks.

WM H – I'm afraid you're right. And it's going to hit some who don't expect it. I think that's when we might see a turn-around, if it isn't too late already.

CAROL – you got it ;-(

LIZ – Exactly, Liz. Things could have been done much better. This administration's idea of 'reform' is heartless, but they've fed their blind-faith followers with appropriate rhetoric and tricked them into selling their souls (and probably a lot more, because I do think WM is correct – it's going to get worse)

BRUCE – I'm going to assume you just hit me with a low rating and commented without reading the story. The alternative is just too depressing.
Bruce ! Apr 17, 2006, 5:12pm UTC
Sandy...why is the fact that I read the story, found it well written like a Hallmark pity card and then asked that we fat lazy Americans start to take some responsibility for our ignorant decisions, insatiable consumerism and our poor-poor me attitudes? Most of us (not all) get what we deserve and if you wanna blame the big bad boogeyman and the big bad corporations and the big bad government for all your irresponsible financial shortcomings you are not alone. Only when Americans (individuals and governmental) start taking fiscal responsibility for themselves and educating themselves on the downside of the credit 'game' will we have a healthier economy. And yes I gave the low rating I am bored with the 'it's not now or has it ever been my fault' theme of so many of our Gather writers.
Sandy Knauer Apr 17, 2006, 5:29pm UTC
Bruce, no one ever promised you understanding from those of us who think you're heartless when you read about people who are down and out being taken advantage of - or forgiveness when you mention a plasma TV in a situation like this. If you are a fat, lazy American, than heed your advice and don't project your shortcomings onto others.
Mimi Mieux Apr 17, 2006, 5:30pm UTC
Ouch- Bruce is tough! I didn't see his connection between nursing an ill spouse to the point of near bankruptcy and "insatiable consumerism." Unless the insatiable consumerism applies to the realtor itching to make a killing on the property.
I had a family member suffer a stroke and though he wasn't expected to live, he deteriorated over a 3-year period. If not for the family's 4 adult children's contributions, the surviving spouse would have been homeless- at 85 years old.
Sandy Knauer Apr 17, 2006, 5:31pm UTC
P.S. I couldn't care less what you think of my writing, or how you rate me. I do care about your attitude, and wonder why you'd come read my Hallmark card article if you have no interest in it, or in telling me what about it you found worthy of the low rating.
Sandy Knauer Apr 17, 2006, 5:38pm UTC
Thanks, Mimi. That was my point exactly. The insatiiable consumerism applies to the investors rushing out to take advantage of people like the 84-year-old family member you speak of. They're like heartless vultures, picking apart someone else's life during the worst time. The 'Plasma TV" has replaced the "welfare cadillac" for Bruce's ilk. It's easier for them to drop rhetoric than to think or care. I don't consider that tough. I consider it the lowest for of weakness - chosen.
Faith H. Apr 17, 2006, 7:25pm UTC
What brings people to file bankruptcy, number one: overwhelming medical bills, and this includes the elderly, losing their only home....seen that too many times. Second, divorce, and I don't mean some whiny ass ex husband, I mean the woman, left with the kids and someone who's not feeling in the mood to pay support, so it's catch me if you can city... don't get me started Brucie.
James Moylan Apr 17, 2006, 10:42pm UTC
I don't trust myself to say much at all Sandy
sometimes I feel like screaming
(where is the 'aaaaarrrrrrggggghhhh'h button?)
well done
Sandy Knauer Apr 17, 2006, 11:51pm UTC
FAITH - thank you. I wrote a series of short stories last year on different ways people become homeless, none from buying plasma TVs. If you want to get started, please do. I'm sure there are many ways I haven't even thought about. And these things can happen to any one of us, no matter how carefully we plan or how much we have.

MAUREEN - I'm sorry I made you cry, but I love you for being a person who does cry when others hurt. Hug yourself for me.

JAMES - Maybe one of us should invent the aaaaargggghh button for the keyboard and try out for American Inventor.
Bruce ! Apr 18, 2006, 1:13am UTC
Sandy,
If you hadn't had links to statistical reports on bankruptcies (most of which are due to bad credit decisions) on this valid story you would have a point. But with those links you (and most of your other stories and comments) insinuated that it is someone else's fault. My Mother nursed my aged Father through the most terrible illness till death for 4 years. The fact that they were smart enough to know when they were younger to save for the inevitable and the fact that we kids stepped in as family should to help kept her solvent and her life stable during her ordeal.
It is called personal responsibility. Of course there are exceptions that are sad stories but when talking about the bankruptcy explosion they are the minority.
Sandy Knauer Apr 18, 2006, 1:29am UTC
Bruce, I really don't understand how your mind works (or doesn't as the case may be). The reports I linked to did not state bankruptcies due to bad credit decisions. You made that up. I don't appreciate your misrepresenting what I say, or what I link and I don't care what your parents did. Whatever stroke of good fortune the might have had does not mean they are any smarter, any better, or any more deserving than anyone else on this earth. I wrote a story about someone who fell on hard times, and appealed to those with hearts to care about the many more like her. You have no credibility here.
Bruce ! Apr 18, 2006, 2:02am UTC
oh Sandy you just don't like any other views do you?
I said that most of the bankruptcies can be attributed to bad personal choices. There is a growing percentage that can be attributed to the greed of the medical establishment and really bad luck. There have always been and always will be schmucks, hucksters, con-men and sleezeballs...it is up to an individual to protect themselves from this vermin, again personal responsibility. I never said that my parents were smarter than anyone...I said they were smart enough to understand personal responsibility...a concept that has been lost in the USA over the last 30 or so years. The government is not our savior...don't wait to be saved.

Chill Sandy, write nice stories but don't link them to hard news stories and stop blaming someone or something else for everything that seems to go wrong. I know it is the easiest thing to do but it is so unappealing to most.
Bruce ! Apr 18, 2006, 2:06am UTC
BTW:
a quote from your own link:
"Saccacio noted that the number of 2005 foreclosures needed to be kept in context. "Even with almost 850,000 properties entering some stage of foreclosure across the country over the course of the year, this represents less than 1 percent of all U.S. households. "
So I guess there are lots of folks that made 'good' decisions also...like 99%
Bruce ! Apr 18, 2006, 2:14am UTC
another one from your own links (the Socialist one):
"Other policy changes are also contributing to the debt burden of average US households. Under a law that took effect January 1, minimum monthly payment requirements have doubled for many credit card users."
CREDIT CARD USERS...
Yes Sandy it's a mean world, it is up to us to protect ourselves and the truly underprivileged...how many of those CREDIT CARD USERS bought unnecessary consumer goods? You know the answer you just don't like it because then they wouldn't have anyone to blame.
Sandy Knauer Apr 18, 2006, 3:56am UTC
Bruce, maybe you should spend your time trying to write original articles instead of trying to rewrite mine. What part about this isn't always a choice and predators are waiting to take advantage of people don't you get? People use credit cards to by medicine, pay doctors, by food, clothes, gas to get to work, pay the rent when they're laid off. They can't always 'choose' when they'll be sick, when they'll be laid off, when thieir jobs will be outsourced, when they'll be hurt in an accident, when some crook will run away with theiri money, when the interest rates will double, when someone dies and leaves them alone, when the furnace breaks down or the kid breaks an arm while they're laid off. YOU just think someone has to be to BLAME, and can't stand it that it might be the system you support because that means it might be you. Maybe you do have a conscience.
Bruce ! Apr 18, 2006, 5:14am UTC
If that is what it takes to make Sandy feel good so be it.
Bruce ! Apr 18, 2006, 9:57am UTC
Liz,
I respect and agree with your comment.
What upsets me is that about 40 years ago we stopped teaching our kids that hard work and personal responsibility is your duty. We must be good, productive, honest and compassionate citizens that don't blame every bump and scrape on someone else. There is a sickness in the country now. Everyone wants it now, they want the acquisition to be easy and painless, they want big brother to hand it over and they are jealous and resentful of the majority that got it the old fashioned way. Of course there are heart wrenching situations but a family of 4 with an income of 100k, credit card debts of 75k, a leased 4x4, a underwater mortgage that discuss bankruptcy over dinner at Applebees. They are not 'fraudulent' in the true sense they are just DUMB and want to be bailed out so they can start all over. Well guess what I resent it...Sandy says I have no compassion, shes right that for this type of silly and stupid consumer debt I have no compassion. Pay the fiddler. No one promised you a rose garden and gardening is hard work.
Bruce ! Apr 18, 2006, 10:02am UTC
"They were not particularly nice people and missed the mark when it came to sharing their gifts with others."

But they did share a gift with others...they didn't burden others, they didn't obligate others to support them and it appears they raised a really nice daughter.
Stephen Schneider Apr 18, 2006, 10:41am UTC
It amazes me that it is more important to Bruce and his ilk to place blame on those at the lowest levels of society and praise the greed and avarice of those that prey on them. In a sane world he would be ashamed of his lack of compassion and damn the society of indifference.
Bruce ! Apr 18, 2006, 12:37pm UTC
a very reasonable read for people who are worried about this subject
0000-bladegrip-0000 Apr 18, 2006, 1:27pm UTC
I think I am going to quit my job, sit on my ass all day, play the lottery, drink beer, smoke weed, get food stamps, max out all my credit cards, and then, I am not going to pay my mortgage any more. I bet I can count on all you loving caring people to put me up for free when they foreclose on my house. I can depend on you right?
Sandy Knauer Apr 18, 2006, 1:36pm UTC
Liz, thank you. I was also born into privilege. I had more than I wanted, financially, spiritually, and emotionally. I was born above average in intelligence, attractiveness, strength, courage, determination, motivation, and confidence. I used my gifts well and they served me well. My mother didn't work, my father provided well for his family, they loved their family, and stayed happily married until my father died. I never heard them argue, saw them hurt anyone, and knew I could depend on them for everything I needed or wanted. The greatest of my gifts were that my parents taught me to love the world and everyone in it, to be grateful for what I had, and to know the happiness of sharing what I had with others. I knew I could bring anyone I wanted home for dinner any night I wanted, because my mother would have cooked for twenty instead of five, just in case. I never came home to find the utilities had been shut off, but often came home to find others in my house because theirs had been. I've never been homeless, but I've taken in many who were. I've never known a hungry day in my life, and won't let anyone else as long as I have one bite left in my possession, no matter how 'wrong' I think their decisions might have been along the way. Until I have been that other person, I don't know what decisions I would have made in their lives, because each one is different, and our priorities are tailor made to fit us. Bruce still misses the point, because he's too busy pointing at others. And speaking of icons, anybody wonder where Suck got his?
Christina F Apr 18, 2006, 1:36pm UTC
I initially read this a couple of hours ago. I had no comment really on the original posting (though I did quite like the story, Sandy), but the comments that followed have really stuck in my head. So much so, I have been thinking about them all morning. Well, I guess it wasn't necessarily the comments that have stuck with me, as much as the memories of stories I have been told.

One being a friend of mine, who early in her college career suffered from a bit of an adding error in her check book… well, needless to say she bounced several checks that she swore she had money for. Each bounced check resulted in a fee from the bank, as well as several from various establishments where said checks were bounced. Her credit rating of course suffered a nose dive and financial life since has not been easy for her, to say the very least.

I am also thinking of my sister who has a very serious disease requiring very expensive medications and per doctors orders can only work X-amount of time per week. Her husband was nearly laid off twice, and the third time was. Fortunately he found a job rather quickly, but what if he hadn't. I still think about that. What if? Can we as the rest of the family support a monthly drug that cost well over one-thousand dollars? I am not sure I could help, as I sit with an insurmountable pile of student loan debt. I am not sure my parents could, as retirement approaches they are increasingly short on money.

Life is full of so many what ifs that if just one was to happen… well? What if?
Sandy Knauer Apr 18, 2006, 1:44pm UTC
Stephen, "sane world" are the key words. Nothing that ilk does amazes me any more. What is it they say about trying to deal rationally with irrational behavior?
Sandy Knauer Apr 18, 2006, 1:54pm UTC
Christina, thanks for pointing out other circumstances. The checkbook error is a great example of how one small thing can tear a life apart. There are many circumstances where it seems as though once a person is down, everyone jumps on to hold them down:

Utility bills doubled this year, assistance was cut back. When the utilities are turned off for non-payment, the utility company charges an additional fee to reinstate, and often asks for a deposit in addition. How likely is the person who couldn't scrape together the money to keep them on in the first place to have the extra fees?

Insurance companies can (and do) cancel paid-in-full home owner policies when a person's credit rating goes down.

Those who have extra cash on hand benefit from sales - those who need a sale price the most usually live check-to-check and have to make do or get by. Taking advantage of a sale with a credit card puts them in a position to be mocked by the Bruce's of the world if they fall on their face later, even if what they stocked up on was toilet paper and school supplies.
0000-bladegrip-0000 Apr 18, 2006, 8:22pm UTC
>>we have a nifty little family-owned bank in town which specializes in giving mortgages to first-time home buyers who don't yet realize they can't afford it. Their clients are making their own mistakes by not fully thinking through what they're about to do. However, the bank's loan officers have learned how to recognize a good 'mark' and manipulate these people into believing that there's nothing more to think about -- just sign here!<<

But at least they are giving the loan in good faith!! If they were denied the loan you would be bitching about discrimination, and profiling...Damned if you do damned if you don't. Typical ignorant view.

>>They make most of their profits through the foreclosure on and resale of the properties they sieze from their customers. Some of those properties have gone through their system repeatedly, with the bank making around 1,000% profit on each turn-over. The realtors who sell and resell the houses are in the same family as the bank's owners. By birth and by marriage, they literally control the City Council. The bank even refers their new mortgage customers to independent insurance offices and title companies which are also in the family.<<

Yea right, THEY as you claim, are just out to screww people right?? Geeeezus!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
0000-bladegrip-0000 Apr 18, 2006, 9:07pm UTC
Sorry Chris if I offended you with my inflammatory ranting. I'm no mamma's boy and call it like I see it. So show me the holes in this personae of mine, please for my sake.....Poke Poke
0000-bladegrip-0000 Apr 18, 2006, 9:29pm UTC
Liz, I am far from angry.....and by the way, Jesus just put a new roof on my house last week. I wrote the check out to Jesus Gonzales. Fine job he and his three wise roofers did on my place. Love ya...
Sandy Knauer Apr 18, 2006, 9:55pm UTC
Liz, I appreciate your attempt at mediation. If Bruce had critized the system that allows people to file bankruptcy and still take site-seeing vacations in Europe, buy new cars for the kids, and replace the wardrobe every season, (which had nothing to do with my article) and suggested the new laws should have protected people like the one in my article and excluded this bunch, I would have agreed with him. But he didn't, he made the plasma tv comment and went on with his "everyone has choices" rhetoric, as though the Macys of this world mean nothing to him. I will not apologize for my anger or my saddness over that attitude, because I believe both are rational and necessary. I would also argue that sometimes people are upside down on the SUVs and BMWs, which might reflect unwise decisions at the time of purchase, so it's important to determine now if trading down and losing more money on a car that will need repairs might not be another unwise decision. Personal posessions are a touchy area with me, because I hear (usually along with the welfare cadillac/plasma tv kinda statement) frequent comments like "well did you see what he was driving" or "I saw someone pay for a steak with a food stamp" or "he wears better clothes than I do" - and the person speaking doesn't know that the car wasn't a gift, or didn't belong to a neighbor, or the steak wasn't to celebrate what might be his mother's last meal, or the clothes didn't come out of a grab bag at church. I own a piece of jewelry that I might be able to sell for a couple of meals, but a hundred meals would never replace the sentimental value of the ring. I can't imagine begrudging anyone else something as meaningful to them as that ring is to mean, especially at a time when their whole life is crumbling. Bruce came in here with a chip on his shoulder, and I doubt he even read my story. If he did, and still rated it lower than anything else on this site, in addition to knowing nothing of writing, he is an ass. Not only did he do that to this article, he went back to each one I've written lately and did the same thing. Did he do this because he wanted to get it off the front page so no one else would see it? Or is he just that damned ugly? I don't care about the ratings. I am a novel writer, with a business background. I came to Gather because I wanted to learn to write short stories, essays, and articles. I give everything I write my best effort, but the ratings on Gather don't make or break my self-esteem. I know when I get tens I don't deserve, and when I get slammed by a jerk and don't deserve it.
Sandy Knauer Apr 18, 2006, 10:12pm UTC
Chris - thank you very much. I saw a program about a number of banks, doing just what you describe. I don't understand why people insist the buyer is responsible, when we are paying for the seller's expertise. When I go to see a doctor, I expect him to have gone to medical school and I will pay for his knowledge, otherwise, I'd treat myself; when I call the plumber, I expect him to know which pipes need to be replaced of plunged and I will pay him for knowing his trade; when I go to a bank or credit union, I expect no less, and believe those who are charging for their 'expertiese' should be even more responsible for making wrong decisions than the average person who makes unwise decisions, often without the knowledge they need.

You state my point about Bruce, his diabribe had nothing to do with my article and it flat pisses me off to see him come here - and everywhere else he shows up for no reason other than to be a punk. I don't put up with people like him in my real life and I don't intend to do it here.

And Suck is the biggest fraud of all. Rush Limbaugh's face would be a more appropriate icon.
Carol Voigts Apr 18, 2006, 11:57pm UTC
Bruce is obviously somebody who has worked hard, done good planning and most of all, had good luck. What if he became the proverbial Job. Through no fault of his own, he drops into the abyss. i pray he doesn't, but if he does, I hope he meets someone who has compassion, which is what you have, Sandy. The other fellow, he just needs to be igored.
Sandy Knauer Apr 19, 2006, 12:23am UTC
Carol, I hope nothing bad happens in Bruce's life either. But I'm here to fight for the protection he deserves if it does. Many of the things I fight for are things I have no intention of ever needing. I'll never marry a same sex partner - shoot, I'll probably never marry another opposite sex partner. I didn't file bankruptcy the one time I could and should have, because I thought it would be unfair to those I owed. I sold my home instead, worked an extra job until I bailed out, and started over. But I don't assume everyone else can do the same at any given point in their life. I don't drink, but I think others have the right to, etc. And if anything bad happened to Bruce, I'd be right there to pick him up. I don't even ask him to do the same for me, only to understand there are people out there who need and deserve to be picked up, and to wish that for those people.
Madame Donna C. Apr 19, 2006, 12:50am UTC
You are truly a lady. Can I say that and still be politically correct?
Sandy Knauer Apr 19, 2006, 2:19am UTC
DONNA - I don't know about politically correct, but I sure don't mind if you say that ;-) Thank you, Donna.
Bruce ! Apr 19, 2006, 9:46am UTC
Sandy, Sandy, Sandy...

1. This is the only article of yours that I have ever rated...so I am not sure what you are on about.

2. I rated it low not because it wasn't a nice 'story' but because your very sad story had news links to stories about the increase in Bankruptcies. Most of these are not the Macys of the world...read the statistics not just the bold print article title. You own linked articles substantiate what I am saying.

3. I am glad that you don't wish me any harm because I certainly wish you none.

4. I realized what I was jumping into when I commented on your story (is it true?) You and I read and comment on lots of the same stuff. I know that if push came to shove you would probably be proud to be called a Socialist and I am proud to be a true Libertarian. I am not surprised that so many who responded to your story had a nasty response to my comments, you truly play to your audience. That's a good thing but you cant keep the club house door locked, that's just un-American.

4. Unlike you I wasn't born into privilege. When my friends were on dates I was working. I have built and sold 7 business's in 30 years starting with nothing, employed hundreds, lent money to friends when needed. I watched my 12" TV when my employees had big screens and I watched as consumerism and greed have destroyed their financial lives and in 2 instances ended their actual lives. Their children spend hours on a $400.00 PlayStation bought with their maxed out credit card so that the kids would just be out of their hair when they plan their next weekend at Disneyworld.

5. The taxes I have paid I can only hope have improved someone less fortunate than myself but I am afraid they just went to fund some bloated lazy bureaucrats retirement fund.

6. The private charitable contributions I make I know have made a difference to many.

I now live a wonderful life watching my family grow debt free and happy and I resent that so much of our culture expects and demands a free ride...resent is the wrong word...it just makes me sad...for them...it must be so empty.

Someone above said we probably have more in common that we think...I tend to agree that we probably want the same things for the world we just have different beliefs on how to achieve them. I put my trust in the individual self-responsibility camp and I feel you are in the 'it takes a village' camp that I find so damn silly.

How's Macy now by the way?
Sandy Knauer Apr 19, 2006, 4:01pm UTC
Liz, I find your comments interesting. My closest friends are male, always have been. I get along well with men, except the few who are intimidated by my refusal to be intimidated by them. I believe Chris, Stephen, Edward, and Richard are males, and their reactions to this article, and to me, are nothing like Bruce/Suck's (they seem to always show up together, so I lump them together in my mind). In my opinion, people who can't relate to anything they haven't personally experienced are shallow and selfish, and gender has little to do with those traits. I appreciate that you are trying to smooth things over here, but I really don't care what Bruce thinks of me, says to me, or if we ever agree. All I ask is that he not take something I've written and misrepresent it, which I believe he did, purposely. When that happens, I will address it.

I am fifty-two. I have never tried to hide my age, never will. I am an open book, literally. I'll tell everyone here anything they want to know about me, except my real name and address, because that would be dangerous.

BRUCE - I don't know how Macy is today. If you cared, you wouldn't have to ask me. Maybe you can walk out on the street in any American city and find a couple of Macys to ask.
Sandy Knauer Apr 19, 2006, 4:05pm UTC
Sorry, WM. H. and James - two more respectful males - didn't mean to leave you out.
Sandy Knauer Apr 19, 2006, 4:33pm UTC
Liz - received this in my email shortly after I was here - seems to fit well with your last comments, so I thought I'd bring it back here.

Everybody sees the world through the idea he has of himself.
As you think yourself to be, so you think the world to be.
If you imagine yourself as separate from the world,
the world will appear as separate from you and you will
experience desire and fear. I do not see the world as
separate from me and so there is nothing for me to desire, or fear.

Nisargadatta Maharaj
Sandy Knauer Apr 19, 2006, 10:30pm UTC
LIz, thanks for the compliment. I've had a bit of a self-image problem the last few years - for the first time in my life. My appearance changed quickly over the past few years, and it was hard for me to 'keep up'. Sometimes, I'm still surprised when I look in the mirror and don't see what I expect to see. Intellectually, I know 135 pounds at 5-7 is not big, but it feels big because it's fifteen pounds more than I'm used to being. I looked ridiculously young for my age until at least 45, so when the lines, gray hairs, extra weight, and loss of muscle all hit at once, it wasn't easy to 'digest'. This has been a humbling and growing experience, because I don't feel like me, more than because I feel unattractive.

I apologize if I didn't express myself well. I didn't think you were so much standing up for me as trying to make peace. I wasn't at all offended. I appreciated your effort and your wisdom. I know I have this tendency to write novel-length comments, so in trying to control myself, often I cut my thoughts too short and don't express myself well.

I also apologize for now acknowledging your revelation. I know what a wonderful experience that 'aha' moment is, and wish I hadn't been too self-absorbed to enjoy that with/for you. I understand what you are saying, I'm just not sure I see it as a male/female thing. But I have friends who tell me I think like a man, and I've also been told the men I know aren't typical. So my view might be very tainted.
Christina F Apr 19, 2006, 10:31pm UTC
There was a fantastic radio documentary on this subject on today... I think it is worth following the link and giving it a listen to.

http://americanradioworks.publicradio.org/features/bankruptcy/index.html

Just thought I would pop on and mention this - have a good night ya'll.
Sandy Knauer Apr 19, 2006, 10:32pm UTC
CHRIS - I totally agree! I keep seeing pleas to ignore him, but sometimes I don't think ignoring the elephant in the kitche (or the rattlesnake in the basement) as a good thing.
Sandy Knauer Apr 19, 2006, 10:33pm UTC
CHRISTINA - thank you! I'm going to listen now!
Bruce ! Apr 20, 2006, 2:07am UTC
You still didn't answer my question...Is Macy real or made up? If real how is she?
Who are you to say I don't care?
Or have you now placed me in your big bad man category and you couldn't imagine why I would care to ask?
Sandy Knauer Apr 20, 2006, 2:13am UTC
Christina, I read the transcript. Sounds a lot like the panel I heard on the program I mentioned earlier. It's sad that 90% of the bankruptcies are due to medical problems, job losses, or divorce. And that check-in-advance situation with the 391% annual percentage rate is criminal IMO. I agree that the bankruptcy cases where people have simply over-extended because they're greedy are a huge problem. My objection to the recent changes in laws is that they don't only pull the net out from under those people, they also hurt people who've truly fallen on hard times.

This story was about foreclosure and the vultures who swoop in to take advantage of people who are faced with unavoidable, horrible situations. I wrote it as a story, because often people skip over news articles but will think about the human side when an issue is addressed through as a story.
Sandy Knauer Apr 20, 2006, 2:17am UTC
Bruce, if you can't find a list of foreclosures in your city, Iet me know where you live and I'll get the list for you. Then, you get in line behind the vultures waiting to sweep in and offer someone a fraction of what their home is worth and turn it into investment property, and ask the real live Macy's how they're doing. I will gladly help you find the answer if you're serious. The reason I say you don't care is you said you didn't care --waaay back there.
Bruce ! Apr 20, 2006, 3:08am UTC
Well, Well...show me where I said I 'didn't care' about the MACY's...the real hardships (even though there are much, much more devastating circumstances. She had a house and then 50k it's hard but there are much harder).

You have proven to me now that you just don't like anyone that questions you or might have another view or soloution to a problem. I think that your privileged upbringing might have given you so much that you lost your ability to allow yourself the ability to even allow questions of your beliefs. Maybe like a Socialist Taliban.

Read my comments, show me where I have said Damn the Macy's...if you can, maybe I did but I cant find it and it just isn't my way.

Why would you say 'get in line with the vultures'? What ever gave you the idea I was one of them? If you only knew...

Sandy, I feel so very sorry for folks that are so blinded by their need to feel they are nice and doing good that they actually discount the folks that are really helping. How much in the last decade have you contributed...I would sure go one-on-one with you and I am pretty sure that I made more of a difference to the improvement of actual lives. Teach a man to fish etc etc.

Talk and stories are cheap. Real actions truly help.
Christina F Apr 20, 2006, 8:50am UTC
I have a hard time understanding business where their sole existence is based on the idea of taking advantage of those who are all ready in a bad situation. I guess I shouldn't say I can't understand, but I think you know what I mean.

Every time I hear the stats about healthcare I am amazed that we have yet to do anything productive to solve the problem in this country. What we are good at, it seems, is pointing fingers and creating diversions. I wish that stop. If we could work to create solutions instead of band-aid fixes and blaming people for their misfortunes I think we could cut down on the need for foreclosures, bankruptcy, homelessness, etc., etc., etc.

Oh, and Sandy, I agree - I too believe people skip over the human face of stories. That is one reason I appreciate your stories.
Summer Foovay Apr 21, 2006, 9:13am UTC
Emotions clearly run high on either side of this issue! I have to say, I come down firmly on Sandy's side and can relate many stories of people I have known who worked all their lives, did all the "right" things, didn't live extravagantly, took care of business, and ended up with nothing because of a single catastrophic illness, or disability, or other unavoidable catastrophy. Working hard and spending responsibly is no guarentee that you have any security in today's America. I guess what infuriates me is they will devastate someone's life to get the money for medical bills so Dr. and the Hospital Admin can drive their Mercedez Benz around. And then if the victim cries, they are in the wrong for being irresponsible. Yes, how terribly irresponsible of us to get ill or injured. What about the Dr. or Hospitals responsibility to heal and to have compassion?

When my husbands pay got cut overnight by 1/3 because the company went bankrupt, and the repo man showed up for our car, he snarled at me "you had an obligation, a contract, to pay this amount" and I snarled back, "and my husbands company had an obligation, a contract, to pay him a certain amount. I am no more in the wrong than they are, but I'm the one you are trying to put down. We didn't tell that CEO to be irresponsible with company funds, and I'll bet you money he isn't losing his car."

Today's America is set up to keep the poor poorer, and shove the middle class nearer to poverty every day. People like Bruce and Sucks won't get it until it happens to them or someone close to them, because they just don't want to.
America has always been setup that way... what we have seen is a 'golden age'.. sad but true.

I liked the 'fifty thousand is one years salary' not in my neighborhood it ain't lady....

the fault lies with Madison avenue and generations of greedy suckers who encouraged, yes encouraged, advertising to the lowest common denominator and paper stock dividends as companies, not product manufacture. It's no longer the 'bottom line' it's this quarters dividend. Companies used to be run so the customers buy product to make a profit, currently they are run to jockey paper to add another ten CENTS to the shares dividend.
Also the fact is that like many of the generation that is described here (quite well Sandy, I'd like to add), responsibility was always some one else's job. It's not.

downsizing during the deathwatch (and before anybody starts in on me I'm IN one myself), would have covered all the bases, left her in a better spot, and been far more responsible.
so it goes, sadly.

L.
Sandy Knauer Apr 21, 2006, 1:43pm UTC
CHRISTINA - thank you. Understanding why people do what they do and accepting that it's okay to do those things are two different things. I understand exactly why - and absolutely do not approve of taking advantage of others to make money.

LIZ - 'generally' is the key word. I agree, generally. I've also seen many instances of insincere concern. (addressed through another of my stories - God Love Her) I don't want to make this a choosing sides issue. Everyone here should have a personal relationship with Bruce (and me), and hopefully not allow the relationship Bruce and I have to affect any others.

SUMMER - I'm sad to hear the situation with your husband's job. This is happening all over, and the more we just say 'that's the way it is', the more it is going to happen. I agree with you "Today's America is set up to keep the poor poorer, and shove the middle class nearer to poverty every day." Some people seem to think if they reject this idea, it makes others believe they are above the cut and earns them some clout, or maybe they really do believe they're safe. I don't think anyone who hasn't been invited to the ranch for a cook-out in the last year is safe. When the big drop comes, I think it'll be hardest for those who defended the system that destroyed them. None of this will matter to me, personally. I have nothing to lose.

LLOYD - I used fifty thousand because it was a reasonable number in most places. I agree witih all you've said - why it happened, who's at fault, and it's sad.
Bruce ! Apr 21, 2006, 2:16pm UTC
Sandy,
I didn't think you liked me or my 'ilk' and now you want yo have a relationship...COOL...we are the same age and...oh that's right I cant I'm married.
Have we beat this horse dead yet? Lets have a drink and talk about that relationship now.
Sandy Knauer Apr 21, 2006, 2:42pm UTC
lol... Bruce, I see you didn't like my suggestion! I voted to keep the other picture. This one scared me!

We DO have a relationship.. we relate to one another often these days. I don't see why your being married should interfere with the relationship we have, or even a friendship should we ever come to understand each other enough to consider it that. I have a coke in hand, and would like to change the subject to one that we can agree on. I always get excited when that happens.
Mr. Vinuzzo Jul 1, 2006, 11:12pm UTC
Hey Bruce who are you kidding? You don't work hard.

I made $970,000 last year.
Sandy Knauer Jul 1, 2006, 11:18pm UTC
Blake, I'm honored. You finally read one of my articles.

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