The pesky non-neighbors love Facetime calls so they can see and talk to Colette. Several days after our last call, I looked more closely at their expressions. I’m pretty sure the emotion I see is plain old jealousy. While they certainly have the Florida weather in their favor, they don’t get hugs like the one they’re watching me get. 🙂
Ok… so maybe it’s not really jealousy but adoration — because jealousy is ugly.
There was a time I jealous of everything and everyone. So jealous/controlling that I don’t know how anyone could stand to be around me. It took being on the receiving end of the green monster (twice… because I’m a slow learner) for me to realize that being jealous only serves to poke the liar that, for the most part, remains dormant in the majority of us. It makes everyone miserable and it’s good for nothing else.
Romance scammers are almost impossible to track down — they are like phantoms because nothing about them is “real.”
In February, we were contacted by a woman who had sent thousands of dollars to a man she’d met on a dating site. She’d spoken to him on the phone, exchanged multiple daily text messages with him, and he had sent her flowers. Why did she contact our office? Because she used a Google Chrome tool that helped her discover her ‘love interest’ was fake. Her email began:
I thought that you should know that a man, if you want to call him that, is using your photos on a dating website to scam women. He is using the name of Lorenzo DiMatteo…”
My first thought was that this was a phishing message… because how could someone figure out the name of some random human by a photo? After some digging, I found out that sometimes, you can!
Drop the photo in the search bar (where you would usually type a web address or search criteria
Her scammer was using my brother’s photos. When she used this trick with a photo of “Lorenzo DiMatteo” (from Van Buren, Arkansas), Google said the best match was for “suits,” but also displayed where the photo was used on the Internet. This led her to our business website and to the realization that she’d been duped.
Yesterday, we heard a similar story from another wonderful lady. Old Lorenzo is back at it again… this time his name is “Lorenzo Verratti” and he’s from Texas. This woman’s story was similar… she’s a professional woman over 50 who had lost her husband, was lonely, and seeking love on a dating site. Her romantic interest sent 21 photos (all pulled from my brother’s Facebook page) that were not only of my brother, but included shots of him kissing his wife (Lorenzo renamed her Carolyn, said he met her in Italy and she was now deceased) — and even went so far as to go to the Facebook page of Scott’s step-son to pull images and create a “son” for himself (naming him Joe). This woman didn’t lose any money (yay!) but she did indicate that she had invested a lot of time in a budding relationship and cared for Lorenzo as much as she believed he also cared about her.
I’m not saying that dating sites are bad… I know people that have found love in that exact way. But doing a Google search is FREE. Background checks cost less money than what would be spent on a first date for coffee and a snack. You can look at email headers when you receive a message and find the sender’s IP address. Check to make sure it’s sent from where your contact SAYS he/she is. If you provide your phone number (which shouldn’t be done until you’ve performed due-diligence in the first place) and get a call — do a Google search on that too. If you have time to spend communicating with a stranger, you have time to do a little homework on them first, don’t you?
Romance scammers are almost impossible to track down — they are like phantoms because nothing about them is “real” — but you CAN spot one before you’re a victim. And if someone you’ve met on a dating site asks you for money? You have to even think about it? Seriously?
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My name is Bambi. I am French. I lost my mom at a very tender age when I was about four and I was brought up by my grandma who was a philanthropist. She was into crude oil business which she inherited from her parent. They co-owned a small oil block/ refinery in Caracas,Venezuela and the business was passed down to her when they passed. She owned a house in Germany and also in New York back then.
A little more about me: I am an Engineer, An IT PROFESSIONAL dealing with Database, Software Solution, Building Networks, Computer supply, Computer Programming and Data Management. Big firms and organization all over the globe needs people like us to survive. I have a 2016 Ford F-150 and a 2015 Toyota Avalon hybrid which is my baby. I live comfortable here in my 4 beds 4 baths 3,183 sqft home, Not trying to brag but just trying to let you know much about me. I love my Son so much and I allow him to decide on his own and live a free life. I live comfortably and do everything with ease in my life because I have really work hard towards my old age. I only inherited a lake house in Sedona Lakes, Manvel TX but everything else is from my hard earned money.
Tell me more about you! Are you financially secure?
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Here’s a screenshot of the “top hit” page Google displayed when I simply typed in the phone number I was told Lorenzo was using:
Today, I had a funny memory of something that happened when I was in the 5th grade…
I know I was disappointed to learn that I would have Mrs. Hall as my teacher because everyone knew she was tough. (I still wonder if my Mom requested I be placed in her class.) She was round and oh, so grumpy looking. Sort of like a bull dog, Mrs. Hall wore a permanent frown, stomped instead of walking, and she was SCARY!! At some point over the years, she earned the nickname “Pouncy.” The name fit.
Mrs. Hall wielded a ruler… a wooden one, and she wasn’t afraid to use it, you guys. Unlike now, she was allowed to. And that’s not all she used. I had this one classmate who was always a bit of a trouble-maker. We all had one of those, right? He was a great guy but was known for pushing the limits of about every authority figure with his smart mouth and burly attitude.
This kid also had a nervous twitch. Everyone that knew him was aware that oftentimes his eyes would squint causing the corners of his mouth to curl just a bit.
No one told ole’ Pouncy Hall about the twitch because just as she was reprimanding him for some little infraction, that nervous twitch thing happened. She open-handed slapped him across the face and said (in what my 5th grade mind sounded exactly like a big, hairy monster), “Don’t you smile like a o’possum at me, young man.”
I was… I was… TERRIFIED.
Funny, the kid she slapped stopped misbehaving in her class — and I learned a lot in the 5th grade because I listened very attentively to every single word that came from that woman’s mouth. I’m not saying I condone my teacher’s actions from so long ago — I would be the first to admit there better not be ANYONE slap my kid in the face — but someplace in the middle between then and now might be an improvement.
Here’s something from the way… WAY back machine — Crothersville High School in 1931:
Seems like everyone has an opinion on the transgender bathroom issue and I’m no different. I don’t share my opinions on Facebook when it comes to anything pretty much… but I can say what I think here. It’s not that I won’t take a stand if it’s an issue that I strongly support or am against — it’s that I stay away from politics and religion on social media. Period. The transgender bathroom issue ticks both boxes.
I don’t care what a person’s sexual preference is. I know as a person that believes in God I probably should care… I’ve been told by a pastor/friend that I should be ministering to those who choose this lifestyle of sin — and I’ve been reminded by gay friends who worship the same God as me that it’s not for me to judge others. Knowing I sin… I’m not going to throw one single stone. I create relationships with people I like, not for who they choose to partner with.
Having said that, I do have a little problem with the whole bathroom thing. Sorry! I can’t help it. Maybe it’s because I’m old, but I don’t like the idea of the willy nilly ‘go into whatever bathroom you want’ thing. It’s not that I think transgender people are out there to rape children… it’s more that the world is full of a whole bunch of sick people that will use any loophole available to prey on others. That’s why I’m with Kroger.
Here’s Kroger’s position…
We have a UNISEX bathroom because sometimes gender specific toilets put others into uncomfortable situations. And since we have a lot of our friends coming to see us, we want to provide a place for our friends who are:
Dads with daughters
Moms with sons
Parents with disabled children
Those in the LGBTQ community
Adults with aging parents who may be mentally or physically disabled
THANK YOU for helping us to provide a safe environment for EVERYONE!”
I like that… I can identify with that… I’ve BEEN a Mom with a son, and have a son with a daughter. I feel like Kroger cares about providing a safe place for everyone and AT THE SAME TIME can make sure EVERYONE feels like they belong.
Here’s Target’s position…
[W]e welcome transgender team members and guests to use the restroom or fitting room facility that corresponds with their gender identity. …Everyone deserves to feel like they belong.”
Obviously, this policy doesn’t really make EVERYONE feel like they belong. It makes some think that Target doesn’t care about how a whole bunch of the people spending money with them feel. 550k have signed the pledge to boycott Target stores already: https://www.afa.net/action-alerts/sign-the-boycott-target-pledge/ I’m pretty sure that Target already has UNISEX bathrooms — they just don’t want transgenders to feel as if they don’t belong by requiring them to choose that option.
We have a UNISEX yard here… but only females have used it so far.
The last two visits I’ve made to the Schneck Medical Center in Seymour, those I accompanied saw a nurse practitioner rather than a doctor. Both times we were told a physician was “on call” but not in the facility. Just this past weekend, my Mom experienced the same exact thing. I guess I’m old fashioned enough to feel that if you go to an emergency room, you should see a doctor.
I understand there is a shortage of primary care physicians and that NPs (Nurse Practitioners) and PAs (Physician Assistants) are trained to provide excellent care. If I need to visit urgent care I don’t mind seeing a PA or a NP, but if I go to the emergency room — I WANT TO SEE A DOCTOR. Just as I understand a paralegal can answer my questions at my favorite attorney’s office, I expect my attorney would represent me in court. Isn’t my health more important?
That office or ER visit costs the same in our state no matter who sees you, and I don’t really agree with that either. I figure if the average salary is around $45 bucks an hour for a PA or NP, my cost should be adjusted accordingly if I don’t physically see the doctor or if consultation between the physician and PA/NP isn’t required. And, I wonder how this impacts the overall cost of insurance rates and more.
So tell me… am I just old fashioned or do you feel the same?
I guess these thoughts were spurred by the fact that I had a birthday last week and feel older than dirt. Because I am. But birthdays generate flowers and gifts and certainly beat the alternative…
