OT- A junkie in minitrailer

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Jaybro

Social climber

Wolf City, Wyoming

Nov 20, 2012 - 08:24am PT

Sad story. Reminds me of one of my ex tenants. You did the right thing. I hope she can get the help she needs through incarceration. Sometimes it helps.

justthemaid

climber

Jim Henson's Basement

Nov 20, 2012 - 08:53am PT

It's sad how things go for some folks. Junkies just piss me off these days so good riddance. Hopefully the grasshopper will recover with cleaning and a few therapy sessions.

Our next door neighbor had a nice trailer parked in their driveway that they were seasonally using as an "office", but between the looser teenage daughter+friends and a junkie business manager it just became a party-pad. They finally shut off the power and padlocked it. Within 24 hours the junkies torched it.

After it was determined that my house was still standing... I secretly cheered the arsonist. Happy to see that trouble magnet get slagged.

mrtropy

Trad climber

Nor Cal

Topic Author's Reply - Nov 20, 2012 - 09:19am PT

It really freaked my kids out. Gave my daughter bad dreams. My son can't wait to tell all his friends when he goes back to school next week, He used to use it as a mini play house with his buddies but now he says he is not ready to go back in the Grasshopper. Cleaned it out with a flea fogger, lots of different cleaners and checked very carefully for needles. On a better note here is my kid with Sonya Looney endurance bike racer from a couple of days ago.
My son with his older cousin on a local trail

If I was wearing my Pakistani clothes it would have really freaked the addict out.

justthemaid

climber

Jim Henson's Basement

Nov 20, 2012 - 10:06am PT

When junkie-trailer encounters go bad:

mrtropy

Trad climber

Nor Cal

Topic Author's Reply - Nov 20, 2012 - 10:15am PT

@justthemaid-

Here is a reply that a buddy put on my facebook.

My parents had a camper they'd park behind my mom's work when they weren't camping. We went to clean it out so they could sell it, only to find that some dude had made it into his little jack-off station. There were c-grade, crumpled and damp porn shots taped up to every possible space, with the floor covered with used Kleenex, as you would expect. That was one awkward father and son bonding moment. Not quite as cool as a pee-soaked junkie, I know.

Reilly

Mountain climber

The Other Monrovia- CA

Nov 20, 2012 - 12:11pm PT

When junkies hit the road...

Capt.

climber

some eastside hovel

Nov 20, 2012 - 12:19pm PT

^^^ That shot always reminds me of "Breaking Bad". ^^^

Jaybro

Social climber

Wolf City, Wyoming

Nov 20, 2012 - 12:29pm PT

Wanna sell it?
Is it small enough o pull behind a Saab?

mrtropy

Trad climber

Nor Cal

Topic Author's Reply - Nov 20, 2012 - 12:52pm PT

yes, a Saab could pull it. No way we could sell it. I read that there were only 100-150 of that size ever made. Pulled over dirt roads all over the west

splitter

Trad climber

Cali Hodad, surfing the galactic plane

Nov 20, 2012 - 12:52pm PT

one evening just before closing i took pity on this little old lady that i had pegged at being @80+ years old who was sitting in a local taco bell. just sitting there watching the rain with her two gym/duffle bags with all her worldly belongings. it was last jan/feb and cold out. so when we both got booted out of taco bell at closing (11:00pm) i offered her a ride to wherever. she accepted, then sat in my truck for about 10-15 minutes trying to decide where she wanted me to take her. it became obvious that she had nowhere to go. just great. it was looking like i had just got suckered into an 'adopt a down & out granny' or whatever. so, i let her stay in my camper overnight.

i get up early (6:00am) and take her back to the taco bell & buy her breakfast. she asks if she can leave her two duffle bags in my truck while she takes care of business and finds a place to stay with friends. like an f'n fool i concede. the only smart thing i did was get an emergency phone # in case we don't meet as planned later that afternoon. i had to insist b'cuz her initial response was "why, aren't ya gonna show up?" i said, "i hope so, but sh#t happens!!" good thing i did because she didn't show. it was her daughters #, and all she said when i contacted her was, "Oh gawd, she's on the streets again?"

Well, I become kind of concerned at that point and ask her just how old her mother is, and what is she doing on the streets at her age anyway? and she says she is 56 y.o.!! WTF, 56?? she was five years younger than myself for crying out loud. I am not kidding you, I was shocked. She was a total wreck. No teeth, deeply wrinkled, hunched over, skinny as a rail, etc!

I work in rehab hospitals and nursing homes so i am fairly proficient at determining/guessing someones age. I thought 81-82 years old minimum. That was the whole reason I was so concerned for her. It turns out she is/was a long term meth addict & alcoholic. what a waste of a life.

happiegrrrl

Trad climber

www.climbaddictdesigns.com

Nov 20, 2012 - 01:15pm PT

This is a pretty strange thread.

I can certainly understand being freaked out to find a homeless person had taken shelter in a camper that I owned, but posting pictures of the arrest?

And:

If I was wearing my Pakistani clothes it would have really freaked the addict out.

Why would that be?

tradmanclimbs

Ice climber

Pomfert VT

Nov 20, 2012 - 02:00pm PT

Interesting how when an alcoholic druggie gets Tooled for bootleg camping in the park you guys get all bent out of shape yet you cheer when an alcoholic druggie gets tooled for bootleg camping in town?

mrtropy

Trad climber

Nor Cal

Topic Author's Reply - Nov 20, 2012 - 02:42pm PT

If she was just homeless, without the stolen property they would not have arrested her. BTW the cops were very respectful to her. For some reason I do not think my wife would let me keep a hooker in the trailer when we can afford our house payments. My son and daughter would not be to happy either.

splitter

Trad climber

Cali Hodad, surfing the galactic plane

Nov 20, 2012 - 03:48pm PT

like i said, i work in rehab. when i first started in the business about 20 years ago i went to work for a temp agency and they sent me to a state run nursing home in san diego (edgemore geriatric hospital). i was working with stroke patients facilitating their adl's (activities of daily living). i was treating about 1-2 patients per hour. i started noticing that the average age of the patient was in their early 30's with a few in their 20's. and some of the older ones in their 40's had been there for a decade or more.

it turns out they were the ones who had survived a blown artery, major brain hemorrhages, etc., secondary to ingesting crystal meth/speed & crack!

i can still picture 3 faces and their stories. a gal who was in her early 30's with slurred speech and in a wheel chair whose young daughter and husband faithfully came to her rehab session each day. she was a victim of speed.

a guy in his 40's who had been there many years, who was one of the higher level/functioning individuals whom i was working with on his standing and sitting balance, bed mobility, transfers from wheelchair to toilet to wheelchair and a few other things. he was also a speed statistic. who, after all that time, was getting the opportunity to have/give it one more shot at being semi independent and getting the hell out of there.

a young guy in his late 20's who was also in a wheelchair and paralyzed from the neck down but had some use of his right shoulder and wrist and we were working on getting a fork up to his mouth so he could have the pleasure of feeding himself (not be dependent on someone spoon feeding him/the humility of it). he had been shot through the neck in a deal gone bad. he told me the story, and many others about his life as a drug dealer. he was (i suspect he is no longer with us/nor are the other two) a great guy, and i eventually came to consider him as one of my friends. as i did with many of the others!!

i really wish they would bring all kids, sometime during their early development, (elementary, middle school, high school, ??) to one of these places! and perhaps also a visit to the local morgue to check out the equally young but even less fortunate individuals who didn't survive "dope"!

BTW, my nephew (Bobby) will be getting out of county jail soon. he was sentenced to a year for possession of crystal meth. he has had a problem with it off and on for close to 20 years or more (since he was 16). He was a fireman at one time, worked full time for the fire dept in Redding, California. I and his mother (my sister) are praying that he stays clean,

They did let him out for a couple months while they were trying to find/fit him into a drug rehab program and he stayed clean all that time. They couldn't find an opening (they are all VERY crowded/unless you have a LOT of money) so he finally decided to simply do his time and just get it over with (rather then not have to go to jail and go to rehab facility instead for 6-12 months). That way he would be off scot free (no parole/don't have to report/no drug testing)!!! Oh well...we will see how that goes/works, eh?

Cali & the US in general is a mess. drugs are a scourge on our country, upon our youth!!!!!

Toker Villian - "15B vs 3B" -- Sheeeeesh! Ya think they wud figure it out sooner or later, eh?

Bobby is trying hard & definitely desired to seek help (rehab)... so, I wish they would have got him into a rehab facility (very dissapointing)!!!!

Toker Villain

Big Wall climber

Toquerville, Utah

Nov 20, 2012 - 04:49pm PT

We spent over $15B on enforcement and only $3B on education and rehab.

That should be reversed.

Bargainhunter

climber

Nov 20, 2012 - 10:58pm PT

Get ready for some thread drift here...

Splitter, your story doesn't surprise me (about the young age of people in some rehab nursing homes due to the side effects of their own lifestyle choice).

[Edit: To clarify, the following isn't directed toward Splitter, but to the general audience following the post. The use of the word "you" isn't directed toward Splitter or anyone in particular. It's an anonymous "you" in the same way that one uses the word "one" as I just did in this sentence. Splitter got offended (see a few posts below) thinking the following was directed toward him, which it wasn't.]

What is sad to me is the cost that society (e.g the tax payer, their families) pays to support them. You think any of these people even think for a second about long term disability insurance or the cost of their incarceration or the stress and financial burden they place on family members? Not only are they selfish about about their own personal choices in the process of ruining their own lives, they are more than eager to drain plenty of other's resources on the way down with impunity, and complain when they don't get their entitled financial support from the government/family/friends etc. What do you think the monthly cost per patient in that state run facility was? I'd guess that it was much more than dozens of hardworking supertopian's salaries combined.

Sometimes, as Twight says, the burned hand teaches best. The choices you make determine the choices you have.

For an interesting, personal perspective on addiction from a climber, read about Matt Samet's (former editor at Climbing Mag) own experience being addicted to benzos. What is telling to me from the get go in his article is that instead of placing responsibility on himself and admitting to his own weakness (of having anxiety disorder to begin with, and abusing drugs/alcohol), he immediately places blame on doctors who prescribed him the medications that are used to treat anxiety. Many who have panic attacks or generalized anxiety disorder can use benzos safely without becoming addicted, unfortunately this was not the case with Samet. His underlying drug abuse certainly played a role here as well. Fortunately, he eventually gained some insight and learned how to cope with his stress using lifestyle modification (avoiding stressors, doing things that relax him, etc.).

The fact that he appears ignorant to the concept of "cognitive behavioral therapy" until deep into his disease is ridiculous. I, as a healthcare provider, mention it to drug seeking patients in the Emergency Department within minutes of speaking to them. Most have zero interest in gaining insight into the fact that they are taking addictive medications that can lead to dependence and escalating doses. They expect that they can show up in an Emergency Department and demand refills of whatever narcotic they want. Wrong. But they sure as hell will complaint about it, verbally (and sometimes physically) assaulting myself and my staff in the process.

Unfortunately for responsible healthcare providers, hospital and government imposed patient satisfaction surveys are used to gauge quality of care, and in my case are linked to my salary and compensation. Since the majority of my patients are either on a prescribed controlled substance, or arrive in my Emergency Department due to the direct effect of recreation drugs (car accidents due to drunk driving, falls from being over medicated, assault, drug related gang shootings, jail clearances for drug arrests, psych disorders exacerbated by "medical marijuana", asthma attacks or respiratory distress worsened by smoking, etc.), many of these patients are dissatisfied with their care when they are appropriately confronted instead of being enabled. How do you think they fill out their patient satisfaction surveys? Why do you think doctors are retiring early? Why do you think there will be a severe physician shortage in the future? Who do you think pays taxes for these patients' Medicaid charity insurance, disability, food stamps, section 8 housing vouchers, prescriptions, ambulances rides, social workers, case managers, etc.

This is a huge societal problem. Next time you are in the ditch cracking a cobra or an old E and burning one down, think about those, just like Samet, you are enabling.

The link: http://www.outsideonline.com/outdoor-adventure/climbing/rock-climbing/Beauty-in-the-Breakdown.html

zBrown

Ice climber

chingadero de chula vista

Nov 20, 2012 - 11:17pm PT

kinda off topic, but how long had the woman been living there?

kinda further off topic, but was she in anyway involved in the 1977 plane crash?

back on topic:

more $$ for rehab, less $$ for enforcement

some of my (I'll borrow from Walmart here) associates died or committed suicide, while some others turned their lives around