Update for TPYPR's friends

For some reason Roger's thread is gone. I just thought I would share a picture I got from Roger of his new location that he affectionately refers to as "Fort Survival".

http://i202.photobucket.com/albums/a...ics/rogers.jpg

The stacks of boxes are items from his trailer. He has been busy adding more items to the pile from two storage units that he can no longer afford to rent. He got a mower and mowed down some of the thistles in the field around his "camp" and he seems in good humor. He said to say HI to all of you and thank you for your prayers. A few people have sent cards and he wants them to know also he is very grateful for their friendship and words of support and cheer. He said he really misses his computer.

FYI....it has been over 100 degrees most days lately in his field. I'm sure I would be no where near as cheerful has he sounds when I have been able to talk to him. He just celebrated his 61st birthday on July 2nd. :(

Let's hope that something turns up for him really soon that heat must be unbearable with no shade in sight. :( Do you know what happened to his trailer in the end when the chap didn't turn up to move it ?

Gosh, poor Roger. What a mess for him. Please keep telling him we are all sending our best wishes.

Well, good luck to Roger; he certainly desrves it. I still find it disgraceful what has happened to him.

I don't know what happened.

Anyone enlighten me please?

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Do you know what happened to his trailer in the end when the chap didn't turn up to move it ?

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A lawyer for the trailer park is telling him that he will not be able to move the trailer any longer..... that it has been abandoned and belongs to the park now. His neighbors said the park was "washing" it and had it padlocked even though he was suppose to have 15 days to get his remaining items out of it. Roger still wants to move it and had saved money from his Census job to have it professionally moved. Supposedly the guy is still suppose to do that, but he sounds resigned to believing it is not going to happen.

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I still find it disgraceful what has happened to him.

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And I agree with you VF....... someone complained to enforcement about his living in his van, but he has no where else to go and even the man who spoke to him recognizes that. At this point if they throw him in jail at least he'd be cool, fed and clean.

please tell Roger im thinking of him and sending prayers his way..(((Roger)))

Sorry Baggage.....there was a thread in this forum that Roger started but for some reason it has disappeared. Roger started it to let his friends know that he would be off line for awhile. Right now that is beginning to look like for a long while.

He had recently been employed by the Census Bureau and had just reached the max for the area he could take information from. He has been struggling for awhile with money..... trying to get by making and selling fudge out of his trailer.(He had the use of a certified kitchen to prepare the fudge.) He had just about caught up on his back rent everywhere and bills when the trailer park told him they would no longer allow him to stay in their park since he was unemployeed again(census job had ended) so they set an eviction date.

The short of it is that he was evicted, but he owned the trailer and had hoped to move it to a small patch of land he owns from his parents estate. He had that scheduled to happen and the day he had to move the movers didn't show up. Now it looks like he has lost his trailer too..... but he was able to move most of the contents of the trailer to the land and is living there in his van besides his worldly goods.

The story gets worse though because in the meantime he had a storage place sell two large trailer units full of his auto parts from a business he owned before he took to taking care of his dying mother. That should not have happened, but legally getting some recourse is probably a useless excercise. But it means he lost what he owned of value that might have helped him out of this financial problem. There's more woes......but the end result is the same.

Roger is 61...unemployeed and living in his van illegally beside a pile of his possessions in the California foothills near Red Bluff. He still has a P O Box there and for the time being I have been able to get a hold of him on a cell phone after 9PM his time nights or on weekends when he gets free minutes. How much longer he will be able to pay for the phone I don't know. He's trying to get unemployment and is looking for a job, but the area he is in is one of the worst in California with something over 50% unemployeed. He's got some schemes and plans......mostly he is asking his friends for prayers. So that's what has happened.

I added to the thread when I spoke to him after he asked permission to send me some prints he unearthed moving the items in his trailer to the land. I also got his address and offered it to any who wanted to PM me to send him a card with well wishes. I don't understand how he is able to stay in such good spirits, but he is.

I didn't know him at all, but Roger sounds like an inspirational person. I wish him well. I pray his troubles will soon be resolved favourably.

Is there an address where we can contact him?

Just a quick update on Roger. Nothing much has changed for him. He is working on a resume and applying for jobs. It's still hot and dry and he's still living out of his van.

Someone recently told me that they had tried to mail Roger well wishes and the letter was returned. I talked with Roger today and he can't figure out why this happened, but it happened once before to him back last Dec. Please send it again and hopefully it will get through the second time around. Roger also said to thank you all for your thoughts and prayers. Sincerely, Joanie (rainbowseeker)

Just another update on Roger...Tpypr....a little bit of good news. He is still living out of his van, but no one is harrassing him about it as things are really bleak in his area of California. He did manage to secure a temporary job though through a local church that offered him a helping hand and perhaps if the group he is working with gets another contract his job will continue for awhile. Or if not he will be able to get a recommendation at least that could get him another job from this one. It's baby steps, but he was feeling positive tonight when I talked with him.

He also said he had received some cards and letters and will be answering all by snail mail as soon as he can. He asked that I thank you for your prayers and he is hoping to get his computer up and running at the home of a friends soon as well.

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Originally Posted by rainbowseeker

Just another update on Roger...Tpypr....a little bit of good news. He is still living out of his van, but no one is harrassing him about it as things are really bleak in his area of California. He did manage to secure a temporary job though through a local church that offered him a helping hand and perhaps if the group he is working with gets another contract his job will continue for awhile. Or if not he will be able to get a recommendation at least that could get him another job from this one. It's baby steps, but he was feeling positive tonight when I talked with him.

He also said he had received some cards and letters and will be answering all by snail mail as soon as he can. He asked that I thank you for your prayers and he is hoping to get his computer up and running at the home of a friends soon as well.

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Awww that's good news glad things seem to be taking a bit of a turn for the better. At least the temporary job is something. Let's hope it leads to more and thanks for keeping us informed about what's happening. I'm off on holiday tomorrow but please send him my best wishes in case he manages to get back on line while I'm away. :)

This is a bit better news, hopefully presaging better to come. Thanks for the up-date. :)

I somehow missed all this, so I am really glad that there is a tiny bit of silver lining on Roger's cloud. Thanks for keeping us up to date

I had been wondering how he was getting along. Thanks for keeping us informed. My best wishes.

Thanks Joanie. I'll try posting to him again. Please let us know how he continues to get on.

This is very sad, and a dreadful sign of the times - particularly of the deficiencies in the legal systems!

Is there nothing we can do collectively to help Roger?

I also must have missed the thread. What an awful situation to be in & i feel so sorry for him. He must be a very strong man, because i know i couldn't cope in a situation like that.
My best wishes go to him also.

Jane

First....thank you all from me and Roger for caring and showing your support. Eventually he will get to read your wishes for him on this thread, because he knows it's here, so keep them coming please.

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Is there nothing we can do collectively to help Roger?

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Is there anything else you can do? Just keep him in your prayers. He needs a job to last a while and jobs are hard to find right now in his area. It is a miracle they are not harrassing him for living out of his van right now, but that too is a sign of the times.

I am hoping he can get his trailer moved to the family land and eventually with a job to help him....get it set up so he can live in it comfortably this fall and winter. His goal is also to get a container moved on the land to hold all his other stuff. And he is trying to get some legal recourse for the illegal auction of his car parts by the storage company. He believes he can clearly show he had paid what they asked for in storage fees and they went ahead with the auction anyway. And apparently he has found other people that they did this to as well so he just may have a case. But this is something that could drag on for years and years.

He needs our prayers. And again thank you all for caring. When I hear more I will update you. :)

Suppose it doesn't help that California is having so much turmoil right now. Even if he was eligible to get help from a state agency or push his case along through the legal system, you can't get anywhere when those offices are closed. Is the family land also in California?

If you could pm me his address when it's handy, I will drop him a line. :)

He has a neighbor to his family land, which is just outside of Red Bluff, that has been harassing him by calling the police and FD reporting him and complaining. Both the police and fire dept. have contacted him and basically told him they will not be bothering him despite advising him that what he is doing is not legal (you can't live in a van, even on your own property). So I guess that would indicate how desperate the times are.........

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Originally Posted by rainbowseeker

.... (you can't live in a van, even on your own property).........

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Be interesting to see what was said if he were to erect a tepee & live in it!
:D

surely that must be legal

I can well imagine it being problematic in California. My suspicion is that they would be concerned about any wastes he may be disposing of; the state of my birth is notorious for strict laws regarding the environment and agriculture. Although he is one guy in one van on private land, they would still take a dim view of him. Having snippy neighbors to alert the law to his presence doesn't help either.

In other states, he would be fine. I can think of at least 4 non-Amish in my tiny corner of Iowa who are doing exactly what he is, and no one minds.

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Originally Posted by meebo1

surely that must be legal

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It wouldn't be here. You'd need planning permission for a dwelling if you were living full-time on the land.

Another short update on Roger. He thanks you all for your concern and says hello. He now has a job with a crew sprucing up a local cemetary that has lasted a few weeks and looks good for next week too. Hopefully it will continue for a while after that and he is grateful to have a steady income again.

He is going to enter his fudge in the fair and a new bakery that is opening has invited him to sell in their store as well. Also a small local restaurant is interested too. So he will be getting some of his fudge made shortly.

He also mentioned he owes someone some fudge from here so expect a package sometime in the near future. He finally has some dollars to afford the postage and the ingredients and he apologizes for being so slow......:o

I know he has been getting his mail so I hope no one has had anything returned to them lately. He asked if anyone has had a return to please let me know so I can let him know......and again please resend. :o The post office swears they have it straightened out for him now.

Thank you all again....... while Roger is doing okay right now he can still use our prayers. He has a long way to go. Much of the money he had saved to move his trailer has gone to eat and drive on..... but he is hoping to replace it and make arrangements for the move again. I hope it happens for him..... but even then I guess he now needs some kind of sprinkler system installed before they will let him occupy the trailer that will cost him $3000 to put in. So he will continue to live in his van for the forseeable future. Makes no sense to me.....but that's the law...... which of course he is already violating by living in his van. Go figure. :( For all that he was his cheerful self tonight when I talked to him. Hope everyone has a great Sunday.

Thank you for the update. I am glad he has some work. It can be so demoralising without it.

Great to hear Roger is doing better. Hope everything goes his way now. Tell him I miss his jokes. He was such an "up" person. Will keep him in my prayers.


Love to all
Poppa

That's a step in the right direction thanks for letting us know. Send him our best when you next speak to him. :)