My idiot former neighbors ...

[donna723]

This bunch is reason # 74857 why I am SO glad that I sold my house out in the country and moved to town! They were our closest neighbors, right down the road from us. They fit every stereotype there ever was ... think about the Bumpus family from the "Christmas Story" movie, the ones with all the "smelly hound dogs"! If you listen closely, you can almost her the banjo music ... No offense to southerners - I consider myself to be one. These folks are in a class by themselves and certainly not typical around here. There's the mother and father - she's the nosiest person on the face of the earth, he weighs about 80 pounds and has been on his death bed for over twenty years but still alive and kicking! He only LOOKS dead! Then there were three sons - the oldest was married to a really goofy woman (who was very in to drugs). They had several children ... then he died. Goofy daughter in law then married the second-oldest son, had several more children by him (and a few more who curiously look just like the youngest son!) then SHE died! By this time the older granddaughters all started having babies too and by now, probably even they can't keep it all straight!

So ... Wednesday our little weekly county newspaper came out and I see that the second-oldest granddaughter just made front page news! She's charged with child abuse/neglect and in the county jail under $25,000 bond! She gave birth to (yet another) baby in a birthing center in the next county. She indicated to the staff there that the baby was going up for adoption but refused adoption counseling and left with the 5 pound baby girl. The birthing center staff alerted CPS. They discovered that she had simply handed her baby off to a friend of hers and went home! CPS and a deputy sheriff visited the home of this "friend" who miserably failed an onsite drug test. The baby was taken in to State custody while CPS looked for a reliable family member who was qualified to take the baby - good luck on that one folks! Finding no one in this huge family who was deemed responsible enough to care for a newborn, she is now in a foster home, probably the best thing that could have happened to her. But WTH is wrong with people! Her excuse was that she couldn't afford this baby! Tennessee has the "Safe Haven" law where an unwanted newborn can be left at a hospital, police station, etc., no questions asked. But instead she hands off a fragile 5-pound newborn to a drug-addicted friend and then goes home! And, she's now sitting in the county jail under a $25,000 bond! I can't say I'm really surprised but this was a little much, even for these people!

 

[DDD]

Good Grief, Donna. I'm glad you aren't in their neighborhood anymore. Stories like this make me wonder how so many fall through the cracks. My heart breaks for all the children who are wrongly brought into this world. There just has to be a way that the system can more effectively monitor the loose canons. Guess it's not going to happen in our lifetime. Sigh.

Florida has the safe haven laws also. Recently a young single Mother brought her baby to a Fire Dept. to relinquish her rights. Evidently the "baby" was older than the age allowed for using that law...and now authorities are seeking her out. Of course I don't know a thing about the circumstances but in my humble opinion I don't think the amnesty program should be limited to newborns. I'm glad the local baby was saved. DDD

 

[donna723]

There is an age limit to it but I'm not sure what it is. It may vary by area. The laws were originally meant to prevent people from tossing unwanted newborns in to dumpsters, etc., which still happens sometimes. When the law passed here, it originally had no set age limit. But then they started having visions of hospital lobbies and police stations full of sullen-faced teenagers whose parents were fed up with their antics, so an age limit was set. I'm not sure exactly what it is here but I know it only applies to infants but not necessarily just newborns.

 

[InsaneCdn]

The laws for infanticide (vs. murder) cut off at age 2. So, many places will take a "baby" up to that age. Others will take up to 1 yr...

 

[DDD]

I just looked on the net and Florida stipulates up to seven days old. Personally I think that's to short a time frame. DDD

 

[InsaneCdn]

Seven days is WAY too short.
Six weeks is what is "medically" required to recover from delivery... so that would be rock bottom absolute minimum.

 

[Hound dog]

I think you indicated a large portion of the population of this area in your description of these people, I wish I was joking, but I'm not. Now we have a lot of fine intelligent productive adults......unfortunately they are out numbered. easy child has a huge family of them living right next door, fortunately they're at least tidy people.

I won't put what has been done to many an infant / toddler here. You'd have trouble sleeping nights.

Glad you moved away from that.

 

[donna723]

People like this are definitely in the minority here but there are a few around. This family really stands out from the rest though. Most of the problems in this vicinity are drug related, big-time meth-making area. But even most of those heavily involved in drugs come from decent, hardworking families and just got caught up in it. But then there's those few others ... they find way too many homes where drugs are around where there's children, and houses where meth is being manufactured in homes where small children live.

With the former neighbors, not to be mean spirited or anything but the fact is that none of them are too bright. In fact, the collective IQ of the whole family probably wouldn't equal that of one "normal" person. The mother of all these children probably had mental health issues to start with, then factor in all the drugs to the mix and she was the next thing to being psychotic. Not a good thing for kids to grow up around. And the youngest son is a card-carrying nut job! In jail more than he's out of it. He once shot himself in the leg ... TWICE! No accident, he did it on purpose, for reasons known only to him! I heard it - I was outside doing some yard work and I heard the two gunshots, several seconds apart! Now I can maybe understand being drunk enough to shoot yourself in the leg once, but TWICE? After doing it one time, most people would come to the conclusion that it was a really bad idea and not do it again, but he did!

 

[rejectedmom]

Rule of numbers: Smart people use contraception, Stupid people do not. Smart people have less children. Eventually stupid will inherit the earth.

 

[DDD]

Or, Rejected, the unprotected will rule the earth. Either way...major sad. DDD

 

[skeeter]

A family like this was the reason I first became involved in neighborhood watch, moved on to Citizens on Patrol, and husband doing court watch. The family has, for years, been the "textbook case" for any new officers coming to the district. There were 3 generations involved, but the youngest son was the worst. His juvenile record was a mile long. He eventually was sent to the maximum juvenile facility upstate (because he kept escaping the local one) but could only be held until he turned 18. I happen to know his birthday was in April. July of that same year I had the radio on and the daily "most wanted" was this person - since his release in April he had racked up 17 arrest warrants. I stated when he was 8 he would either be killed or kill someone - I never believed someone could be born evil until I met him.
He did eventually shoot someone, in the rear end. His mother and step brother were charged with intimidation and bribery of the witness and served time, yet when his case came up, the witness was no where to be found and the case was dismissed (I still shake my head over that one). He's currently off the radar (means he's not in jail, probation or has any capias) so I have no idea what's up with him.
The father passes away 3 years ago, so the "cash cow" for bond has dried up. Oh - and he was a "bonded" lock smith.
The mother has served time for drug possession - officers knew she was selling but that was the best they could book her on. She also was a locksmith.
One brother has another long record, but his mostly was because he was with his younger brother and got the by product of it.
Both daughters have had multiple children, the oldest starting at age 13. The oldest finally figured out what was going on and left the family (good for her).

But every now and then (this has been going on for 22 years) one of their names shows up on husband's watch and they are back in court for something or another. Last one was brother driving a motorcycle at least 125 mph with a passenger on it. No license

 

[susiestar]

I think every area has a family like this. When I was little my dad taught a few teens who were brothers or cousins to each other. ALL the men in the family looked EXACTLY alike. They always had the same hairstyle, and if one had a beard then they all had one. WHY? It helped with the family "business". Which was robbing banks. The police could NEVER figure out which one was the robber that time. I have seen pictures and it is scary how they looked so alike. Like X-Files clones alike.

The big regional bank in the area actually closed a branch office because they robbed it so often!!! As an adult I worked for this bank and found some info in the company history files about it that confirmed what my dad told me. For years I thought it was just a story.

They did a lot of other crimes too, because why not? They each had the exact same wardrobe and it was almost impossible to convince any jury that any of them had done anything when the family packed into the courtroom.

 

[TerryJ2]

Arrrgh! How nauseating!
I hope that baby doesn't have Fetal Alcohol Syndrome (FAS), and that she is adopted asap.