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I was thinking this would be a nightmare! WOW!~ sam
posted by sam444 on February 21, 2009 at 11:43 AM | | reply
I feel like a little kid when Mum used to read to us More please please ple
posted by Kabu on February 20, 2009 at 8:38 PM | | reply
I am so glad you are writing this. It is awesome.
posted by Justi on February 20, 2009 at 7:18 PM | | reply
anxious for more...xxoo
posted by hazel_st_cricket on February 20, 2009 at 1:01 PM | | reply
HAHAHA, Nautikos--"The Horror, The Horror!" LOL
posted by TAPS. on February 20, 2009 at 12:45 PM | | reply
TAPS
Oh boy, I know what's comin'...Why am I reminded of
Heart of Darkness? 'The horror, the horror'...
posted by Nautikos on February 20, 2009 at 11:54 AM | | reply
I am following along TAPS. Your first post prompted me to look up some information on people who hoard. Oh my goodness.. it is just amazing. I saw a clip from an Oprah show where she tried to help a woman who "hoarded".
I look forward to the rest of this story.
posted by OTA. on February 20, 2009 at 10:42 AM | | reply
Taps
Engaging story (and, of course, you tell it so well).
posted by Troosha on February 20, 2009 at 9:38 AM | | reply
The suspense is building up very nicely; I look forward to the next installment.
posted by elinjo on February 20, 2009 at 7:52 AM | | reply
posted by
TAPS.
on
August 23, 2009
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8:03 PM
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Oh my! A lifetime of newspapers is all I can see right now! sam
posted by sam444 on February 24, 2009 at 12:30 AM | | reply
I thought so what on earth did you do?
posted by Kabu on February 22, 2009 at 9:28 PM | | reply
Oh, what a job! No wonder she moved from one flat to another in that house. I wait impatiently for the next installment.
posted by elinjo on February 22, 2009 at 2:38 AM | | reply
oh my.. here we go..
posted by OTA. on February 21, 2009 at 8:13 PM | | reply
TAPS
What sad and interesting story, and as always, so very well told...
posted by Nautikos on February 21, 2009 at 7:39 PM | | reply
posted by
TAPS.
on
August 23, 2009
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8:02 PM
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It is amazing what some people never learn.
Life is for Learning!
posted by _Decshak on August 8, 2009 at 5:44 PM | | reply
only child
I am an only child. Mother was an only child, Father was 14 when only other sibling born. Thank goodness my Mother was a clean freak and a task master. I still feel the need to clean something after this though. :)
I love the tone of the story and the transitions. You showed her dignity and worth in the midst of it all. Exceptional.
posted by texture on May 9, 2009 at 2:38 PM | | reply
What a sad epitaph to leave mounds of papers and garbage. This is a sad story but very plausible. Leaves me thinking and shaking my head!
posted by merkie on March 10, 2009 at 7:43 PM | | reply
That was such a courageous thing you did. It was a gift to God.
posted by Justi on March 7, 2009 at 3:36 AM | | reply
I live next door to a bunch of people like that
BUT they are on drugs and their yard both front and back has to be seen to be believed.
Yes there are people like that and she must have been awfully depressed. Poor old thing.
posted by Norwood on February 26, 2009 at 5:30 PM | | reply
Re: What a timely story in my reality...
FYS, I think there must be a lot of people like that. But it is a shock to find out it is someone we know. Thanks for commenting.
posted by TAPS. on February 25, 2009 at 2:27 PM | | reply
What a timely story in my reality...
A neighbor two nights ago set his kitchen on fire. It took three crews six hours to put the fire out and to inspect the rest of the house. They would break a window to get in, but virtual mountains of junk kept them out.
It took three crews six hours to get through the whole house. Today the house is boarded up per city code. He is living with family now.
posted by FineYoungSinger on February 25, 2009 at 12:38 PM | | reply
Taps
What a remarkable story – sad but a reminder that we don’t really know what goes on behind closed doors. Poor Bea and what an undertaking it must have been for you to clear away the many, many remnants of her life.
posted by Troosha on February 24, 2009 at 8:58 AM | | reply
My goodness, to be functional yet so utterly helpless! Wow! sam
posted by sam444 on February 24, 2009 at 12:34 AM | | reply
It has to be a sickness. I know of a couple of terrible stories in Sydney
similiar. How lucky she was to die with some decencey thanks to you. She could have been dead there for months just like her poor tenant. She did know everything was wrong on one level because She wouldn't let anyone see how she lived. You're a saint to see it through.
posted by Kabu on February 23, 2009 at 7:18 PM | | reply
Nautikos, I've often wondered that myself in retrospect. I've wondered many things. It wouldn't surprise me if she checked in once a week for a Saturday-night bath at a motel on her walking route. She wasn't the most fastidious person ever, but she certainly was acceptable.
posted by TAPS. on February 23, 2009 at 6:30 AM | | reply
TAPS
What a terribly sad story, but also intriguing. One would want to delve into her mind...There must have been more to it than not having 'learned' to keep house...One of the most immediate questions would be this one: apparently she was always well-dressed, clean and
not 'malodorous' when she appeared in public - how the hell did she mange
that?
posted by Nautikos on February 23, 2009 at 4:37 AM | | reply
What an absolutely amazing story........
Have you published this anywhere........it's a guaranteed sale......reader's digest would hop on it......my, oh ,my....
Thank you so much for sharing this series with us!
posted by Corbin_Dallas on February 23, 2009 at 3:52 AM | | reply
How terrible and sad...
She must have been a person who lived different lives, was a different person when she was out of her house, but utterly trapped when she was inside it, with her hoarding disease and loneliness.
posted by Ciel on February 23, 2009 at 2:39 AM | | reply
What a sad waste of a life! How many seemingly merely eccentric people have similar fates? Thank you Taps, for giving us a chance to read about your friend. One good thing in her last years seems to have been her friendship with you.
posted by elinjo on February 22, 2009 at 11:17 PM | | reply
Just keep your newspapers picked up, OTA. LOL
posted by TAPS. on February 22, 2009 at 10:57 PM | | reply
Wow.. TAPS. Such a life.. I am amazed at this. Thank you for telling us about this. I dont know what to say..
posted by OTA. on February 22, 2009 at 10:50 PM | | reply
posted by
TAPS.
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August 23, 2009
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7:58 PM
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TAPS
Fascinating! And I'll be back...
posted by
Nautikos
on
February 19, 2009
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2:06 PM
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Sounds as though it's going to be a fascinating story.
posted by
elinjo
on
February 19, 2009
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11:31 AM
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