One of today’s International Top Stories took place in Jennings, MO, a Saint Louis suburb.
Evidently, an elderly woman moved to Jennings in ’93, during The Flood. She went to stay with her daughter, who was a hoarder. After a while, the elderly woman died, and the daughter hoarded her. Wrapped her up in a shower curtain and some fabric. No one knew until the daughter died years later and relatives were cleaning out the home.
THAT is the feel-good version of the story. Mom is lovingly wrapped up because of her sentimental value. Can’t throw away Mom. Or this Velveeta wrapper.
It could be that the reality is far darker. Mom could have been murdered by the daughter who still wanted to cash the Social Security checks. Or, Mom could have burrowed under some newspapers and just gotten lost.
Wouldn’t you hate to be the relative cleaning up the house, you unroll a shower curtain and not only is there a mummy in there, you think it might be your great great aunt?
11 responses to “And Now, on a Very Special Hoarders …”
It’s turning out that legends of the wonderful longevity of Japanese are due to families not reporting deaths and continuing to collect benefits in the dearly beloved’s name.
The words “and the daughter hoarded her” will haunt me forever. I’m not capable of coping with that thought.
I can sort of understand the thinking. I’ve got a dead printer sitting on the kitchen counter right now. Garbage collection won’t take it, the recycle center won’t take it, I don’t know how to get rid of it without a lot of fuss, so it just sits there.
I imagine that the problem of getting rid of a dead body would be similar, especially if you can’t face dealing with people and officials and red (or any color) tape. It’s easier to ignore the problem, and as time passes, ignoring gets easier.
yeah. see. i’m gonna be cremated and dang if my familia isn’t carry around my urn. no way will i be separated, it’ll be me and the knick knacks I tells ya!
@Silk – You have a Goodwill nearby, I believe.
Hattie – Well that’s disheartening.What about those Russians they said routinely lived over 110? I bet they’re in on the same scam. Tami – I guess it depends on your relationship with your Mom.~~Silk – Yes, plus you know they charge you for death certificates. Mrs hall – They’ll put you in the garden like I did Mom and Dad.Becs – I make a giant haul to Goodwill about every seven years. Never thought to give them a printer.
No, they eat yogurt and walk up and down mountains, so they live forever.
How wise you are to get a property manager. We got one for my late MIL’s house, which is right next door, after hassling with two renters. Now we’re on our second renter since we switched over to property management, but we have not had to do any work involving the place. All the renters have been nice people, but they come and go. That is the nature of rentals and a major major pain in the butt that we are happy to pass on to someone else and pay for.
It’s a DEAD printer! The parts aren’t worth salvage. I’d be ashamed to give it to Goodwill. I don’t consider it good will to sneak my problem onto someone else. (I hate when people consider Goodwill and the like to be just easy garbage dumps.)
@Silk Check your local schools and colleges- sometimes they have collection days for old electronics. Our county has special “hazardous waste” collecting events every once in a while- you county’s website should have info if they do the same.
Hattie – 1. Hah! I was going to mention they were yogurt-eaters, but then I thought I was the only one who remembered that ccommercial. 2. Thank you! That’s encouraging news. ~~Silk – It’s not like organ donors, the parts inside are still useful though it’s been dead a while.Elisabeth – I know I gave Best Buy $10 and they took my tv…