News From Guam

Subject: RE: News From Guam
From: John MacKenzie
Date: 29 Sep 04 - 04:18 AM

Can't somebody stop him doing that? Or should we just hope that one day he start acting his age, and not his shoe size?

Subject: RE: News From Guam
From: Paco Rabanne
Date: 29 Sep 04 - 04:21 AM

Take a happy pill and chill you humourless nerk!

Subject: RE: News From Guam
From: John MacKenzie
Date: 29 Sep 04 - 04:25 AM

If it was in the least bit funny I'd laugh, you infantile nerk!

Subject: RE: News From Guam
From: Rt Revd Sir jOhn from Hull
Date: 29 Sep 04 - 04:25 AM

hello, wahts a nerk?

Subject: RE: News From Guam
From: freda underhill
Date: 29 Sep 04 - 04:32 AM

this has been a great thread, a fascinating, amusing, devastating, moving and inspirational thread.

Now where were we...

Subject: RE: News From Guam
From: Jeri
Date: 29 Sep 04 - 11:26 AM

Brett,
Jeez.

Talk to a lawyer.
Talk to the base legal office. They can't represent you, but they should be able to give you advice.
If you got the house through base housing, tell them what's going on so they can keep a record on this guy.
The base newspaper is an option, too. They might do a story, or you can send in a letter. I don't know how far they'd go in pissing off the local authorities, but the facts sans editorialization ought to be reasonable.

You've got proof of the break-in with the police report, and the findings of various investigators. You have the fire dep't calling it 'an accident' and hopefully a description of a pillow on the monitor being the cause. This isn't a normal place one would leave a pillow in my opinion. This all points to the fire not being your fault, which is what the landlord will have to claim in order to sue you.

If you can hire your own investigator, maybe you should. I don't know what could be done with the results of the investigation though. Would you talk to a judge, or perhaps just bring a civil suit against whoever robbed you?

I'd seriously consider how I became a target in the first place. It doesn't sound all that random to me. And your former landlord obviously thinks you're made of money. In any case, it might be nice to mention to him the civil suit may be a GOOD thing, since it may be your only opportunity to bring all this evidence out into the open.

Just out of curiousity, was he supposed to have smoke detectors in place, and did he?

Subject: RE: News From Guam
From: John MacKenzie
Date: 29 Sep 04 - 12:18 PM

Were you insured, and if so did you claim?
The landlords attempt to exact compensation from you is a direct result of the incident, and as such can also be claimed on your insurance, as it is a contingency of the original event. Nobody in their right mind would rent out a property without having insurance cover, tell him to claim on his policy.
Giok

Subject: RE: News From Guam
From: Jeri
Date: 29 Sep 04 - 01:35 PM

...what Giok said. Insurance investigators may dig a bit deeper than the local police and FD, since it's their money at stake. If the landlord didn't have insurance, he was nuts. If he's filed a claim with them, THEY should have paid. If he hasn't, why not? If they paid for the damage, I can't see how he could sue you for the same losses.

Subject: RE: News From Guam
From: curmudgeon
Date: 29 Sep 04 - 01:45 PM

...unless, of course he's doing some double dipping. Based on what you've said about law enforcement in Guam, it may be easier to get away with there.

By the way Brett, I do think it's damned decent of you to be celebrating my birthday by casting off the chains of wage slavery. Happy Retirement!

Looking forward to seeing you in the coming year -- Tom

Subject: RE: News From Guam
From: wysiwyg
Date: 29 Sep 04 - 01:47 PM

If the landlord had insurance, how it usually works is that his insurance pays him and then his insurance company sues yours, whether the landlord wants to do it or not-- his policy would include something called "subrogation," which means his company can try to recover all or part of their costs from you or your insurance.

If you had no insurance, then when they find out how shallow your pockets are they will probably decide to let it go.

When we had a house fire in our rental, our insurance and the landlord's insurance dragged it out for years, and then settled it for next to nothing-- the lawyers just liked collecting their fees to "work" on it.

~Susan

Subject: RE: News From Guam
From: SINSULL
Date: 29 Sep 04 - 02:59 PM

Time to focus on good things, Brett. You have retired - WAHOOOO! You have retired with a beautiful lady who loves you - WAHOOOO! You can pack up and leave Guam, your tormentors, and this idiot landlord tomorrow if you choose - WAHOOOO! You have a thousand friends worldwide ready to put a roof over your heads and feed you - WAHOOOO!

Celebrate! NOW! Let the shoes drop where they may, you have a good life! Damn it! Don't waste it worrying about the what ifs and extraneous crap that really mean nothing.

Mary Sunshine

Subject: RE: News From Guam
From: wysiwyg
Date: 29 Sep 04 - 04:24 PM

His girlfriend's name is Whahoo? I thought it was Whakana?

~S~

Subject: RE: News From Guam
From: SINSULL
Date: 29 Sep 04 - 04:59 PM

Susan,
Are you being a YAHOOOO?
heh heh

Subject: RE: News From Guam
From: Naemanson
Date: 29 Sep 04 - 07:46 PM

Last Day!

Happy Birthday Tom! I am pleased to be able to share this day with you.

Ah, insurance. What a concept. I did not have insurance. I never claimed to be smart. The owner had no insurance. Obviously he and I share the same ability to see into the future.

The owner is a decent enough fellow. He originally wanted to discuss a settlement. But I know two things. The fire is not my fault and I don't have any money to spare. And he and I both know he should have insured the place. Gordon has insurance on the place he's renting to us and has kept that insurance up even though the place was empty.

Oh, and another shoe dropped yesterday, a little one. Wakana has to go back to Japan next week. This is after all a mnior thing. She is here on a stuudent visa and she is no longer a student. She will go home, get a 3 month visitor's visa and come back to me. She is upset about leaving me with the lawsuit hanging over my head but I need her here to testify so nothing can happen till she gets back anyway.

Jeri, the smoke detectors worked very well. In fact, two days after the fire I had to smash the melted remains of the one in the stairwell to make it shut up. There is no fault on either my part or the owner in this. It all falls at the feet of the thief who did this to me.

And I know why I was the target. Back last fall someone stole my check card from my mailbox and used it for a while till we stopped the card and closed the account. I duly reported it to the police and the postal inspectors. Of course, they did nothing, the guy got away with it so he decided to go for more. When he found out I was moving he decided to take it all and run.

Good things and fun things. These have been too few and far between in this thread recently. Last night at the grocery store I got quite a shock. I came around a corner and there, sitting in a grocery cart, was my younger daughter! Well, it was the spitting image of her at the age of 6 or 7. This kid had the same hair, eyes, turned up nose, silly grin, and habits. I just stared! I couldn't believe it. I hope I didn't worry her mother.

And, of course, this is my last day. I came through the door this morning and walked up the corridor singing "Leave Her, Johnnie". The office had a big breakfast pot luck for the 2 of us who are retiring today. They gave us photos of the retirement luncheon from the other day.

From this day forward I am retired and if that isn't a good thing I don't know what is.

Subject: RE: News From Guam
From: wysiwyg
Date: 29 Sep 04 - 09:14 PM

Sins, Brett's retired now, so I'm a-Yay!!!-hoo!

~S~

Subject: RE: News From Guam
From: bbc
Date: 29 Sep 04 - 09:58 PM

Hearty congratulations on your retirement! Have some fun for me. I need to work another 11 years or so, unless I want to content myself w/ living in a cardboard box on a street corner. I hope things start looking up soon.

love,

Barbara

Subject: RE: News From Guam
From: Amos
Date: 29 Sep 04 - 10:25 PM

Brett:

Sorry you got tangled up in that asshole's mess but, hey -- lawsuits are like colds, eventually they pass. Now retirement--that is a MAJOR gain!! So keep the perspective straight and celebrate the delights of self-designed days!!

Congratulations, dude!


A

Subject: RE: News From Guam
From: Naemanson
Date: 29 Sep 04 - 10:55 PM

Ah, self designed days! What a concept. Life is worth living if you aren't living it at the behest of some half deranged boss.

Subject: RE: News From Guam
From: katlaughing
Date: 29 Sep 04 - 11:52 PM

Congratulations, Brett. I wish my Rog could retire now.

Ya know, there's nothing says that fellow might NOT change his mind and NOT serve you.:-)

Think of all the songs you can learn, the canoes you can help refinish, the pictures you can paint in words, as you've already done for we lucky 'catters...the new love you have to share and explore....it's going to get better.

luvyakat

Subject: RE: News From Guam
From: freda underhill
Date: 30 Sep 04 - 03:00 AM

brett, all my friends who have retired look sooo good. relaxed, 10 yrs younger, and they're DOing things, creative things. mind you, it seems to take a while for the shock to wear off!

good luck with it all

freda

Subject: RE: News From Guam
From: Sandra in Sydney
Date: 30 Sep 04 - 09:31 AM

keep painting those word pictures! We're awiting for them (she sez. speaking for everyone)

sandra

Subject: RE: News From Guam
From: Roger the Skiffler
Date: 30 Sep 04 - 09:50 AM

Amen to that, Sandra. Perhaps start a new "post work" thread as this one is now so long?
Certainly seems someone has targeted you, Brett. I'm surprised in a small community that the cops are ignorant of likely suspects. Is it an anti-American thing, or are they afraid to indict someone who might have influence? Your local politician may be able to kick some ass to get them started.
Hope you invest in a fireproof safe for your vital documente etc in your new house.

RtS

Subject: RE: News From Guam
From: GUEST,ClaireBear
Date: 30 Sep 04 - 10:31 AM

Congratulations, Brett, and clear sailing from now on. How did the office respond to "Oh the rats have left and we, the crew..."?

Now, don't wait too long to get to work on that book. It will be wonderful, and all of us will buy as many copies as we can afford!

Claire

Subject: RE: News From Guam
From: CarolC
Date: 30 Sep 04 - 11:47 AM

Congratulations on your retirement, Brett! Good luck with the other stuff.

Subject: RE: News From Guam
From: GUEST,winterbright
Date: 30 Sep 04 - 04:55 PM

Hang on to what is beautiful, and let the rest go.
I have no idea where that came from, but it doesn't matter.
Just do it.

Subject: RE: News From Guam
From: SINSULL
Date: 30 Sep 04 - 05:50 PM

Brett,
Time to start a new thread? Post retirement in Guam?
SINS

Subject: RE: News From Guam
From: Naemanson
Date: 06 Oct 04 - 08:50 PM

This closes out my News From Guam Thread. Look for more news in my Springtime In Guam thread.

Subject: RE: News From Guam
From: Pasttense
Date: 17 Feb 05 - 08:36 PM

Hello, revered nephew. I've been enjoying your posts..got the Mudcat data from your mother this morning. All is well....Regards, G.

Subject: RE: News From Guam
From: Charley Noble
Date: 17 Feb 05 - 09:38 PM

Brett-

Now the whole family is after you!

I suppose I should redirect them to your current "Springtime in Guam Thread."

Charley Noble