I don't remember if I made a post about losing my brother on Christmas Eve but here's an interesting story that I will share from the aftermath.
Gary had an immense collection of holiday items and we have them sorted and in some kind of order now.
We lucked up on finding a lady collector / hoarder in the same vein as Gary, meaning crazy, who lives in nearby Cullman. She paid almost $9k for assorted decorations and all the blow mold that weren't cracked. She bought almost 200 blow molds alone!
I sold Gary's 2008 F150 extended cab truck for a $1000. It hadn't been started in 2 to 3 years and a local repair shop told him it had a blown head gasket. I talked with the shop manager and he remembered the truck being in the shop and his diagnosis. I asked him how much would it cost to repair it and he said $2300 to $2500. I asked how much would it be worth if I repaired it and he said maybe $3400 to $3500.
I had to order a replacement title and the guy picked it up last week. He drove Gary's old truck to pick up the title. He said the other motor was shot so he replaced it with a motor he had and now it was running great.
Sorting through Gary's stuff has enlightened me to why he became a hermit. We thought it was because of his "turkey neck" that developed after radiation treatments and I'm sure that was part of it. But I found out he was growing marijuana and selling it. I hired professional movers to move the big stuff out of the house. Here's a conversation I had with one of them during the move.
One of the young movers, probably 18, while his boss was backing the truck to the porch, asked, “ did the guy who lived in this house die?”
I said, “yes on Christmas Eve night. “
“ do you work for him?”
“No, I’m his oldest brother.”
“Are you gonna sell his stuff?” (I thought he meant his furnishing, etc)
“ yes, a few months from now probably. What are you interested in?”
“What happened to the guy that worked for him, the guy that lived in the trailer?”
“When my brother died, he moved out. I don’t know where he went. What of his stuff are you interested in buying when I sell it? “
His boss got the truck in place before he answered and told the three helpers what to unload, where to place the ramp etc. He went in the house and I showed him what I wanted them to move.
I walked back outside and the same guy said, “your brother was a friendly guy to deal with. I hate he died but we knew he had been fighting cancer. “
“Well, the cancer didn’t get him, pneumonia got him. What kind of dealings did you have with him?”
“Man, he sold the best weed around Moulton, he said he grew it in his greenhouse. “
He went back in the house and we never talked anymore. I went to the greenhouse and it was locked. After the move was completed, I called Gary's business partner, landscaping and decorating houses for holidays, and he told me he had a key to the greenhouse door. Said he would be down very soon to remove his flowers stored inside the greenhouse.
Daddy had deeded the place to me right after mom died is 2004. I was busy taking care of things plus during that time we had snow and of course everything shuts down in Lawrence county when we have snow. A couple of weeks passed before I got back over to Gary's place. No one had showed up to unlock the greenhouse. I told my son, an attorney, about the moving guy's conversation and asked if I should cut the lock to the greenhouse. He advised me not to do it and to stay away from the greenhouse. I called the partner again and told him I had unplugged the two extension cords going to the greenhouse. The next morning the greenhouse door was unlocked and the greenhouse empty. Someone had come during the night and emptied the greenhouse.
I found eight 1500 watt, 120 volt heaters placed in various places inside the greenhouse. That explains why the last electric bill was almost $500. He heated the house and water with propane, was fed via a feeding tube so he didn't cook. I sent his business partner a text with a photo of the electric bill and told him I wanted reimbursed for keeping his "flowers" alive.
He hasn't replied. And I have much more but I've wasted enough of your brain cells for now.
Gary had an immense collection of holiday items and we have them sorted and in some kind of order now.
We lucked up on finding a lady collector / hoarder in the same vein as Gary, meaning crazy, who lives in nearby Cullman. She paid almost $9k for assorted decorations and all the blow mold that weren't cracked. She bought almost 200 blow molds alone!
I sold Gary's 2008 F150 extended cab truck for a $1000. It hadn't been started in 2 to 3 years and a local repair shop told him it had a blown head gasket. I talked with the shop manager and he remembered the truck being in the shop and his diagnosis. I asked him how much would it cost to repair it and he said $2300 to $2500. I asked how much would it be worth if I repaired it and he said maybe $3400 to $3500.
I had to order a replacement title and the guy picked it up last week. He drove Gary's old truck to pick up the title. He said the other motor was shot so he replaced it with a motor he had and now it was running great.
Sorting through Gary's stuff has enlightened me to why he became a hermit. We thought it was because of his "turkey neck" that developed after radiation treatments and I'm sure that was part of it. But I found out he was growing marijuana and selling it. I hired professional movers to move the big stuff out of the house. Here's a conversation I had with one of them during the move.
One of the young movers, probably 18, while his boss was backing the truck to the porch, asked, “ did the guy who lived in this house die?”
I said, “yes on Christmas Eve night. “
“ do you work for him?”
“No, I’m his oldest brother.”
“Are you gonna sell his stuff?” (I thought he meant his furnishing, etc)
“ yes, a few months from now probably. What are you interested in?”
“What happened to the guy that worked for him, the guy that lived in the trailer?”
“When my brother died, he moved out. I don’t know where he went. What of his stuff are you interested in buying when I sell it? “
His boss got the truck in place before he answered and told the three helpers what to unload, where to place the ramp etc. He went in the house and I showed him what I wanted them to move.
I walked back outside and the same guy said, “your brother was a friendly guy to deal with. I hate he died but we knew he had been fighting cancer. “
“Well, the cancer didn’t get him, pneumonia got him. What kind of dealings did you have with him?”
“Man, he sold the best weed around Moulton, he said he grew it in his greenhouse. “
He went back in the house and we never talked anymore. I went to the greenhouse and it was locked. After the move was completed, I called Gary's business partner, landscaping and decorating houses for holidays, and he told me he had a key to the greenhouse door. Said he would be down very soon to remove his flowers stored inside the greenhouse.
Daddy had deeded the place to me right after mom died is 2004. I was busy taking care of things plus during that time we had snow and of course everything shuts down in Lawrence county when we have snow. A couple of weeks passed before I got back over to Gary's place. No one had showed up to unlock the greenhouse. I told my son, an attorney, about the moving guy's conversation and asked if I should cut the lock to the greenhouse. He advised me not to do it and to stay away from the greenhouse. I called the partner again and told him I had unplugged the two extension cords going to the greenhouse. The next morning the greenhouse door was unlocked and the greenhouse empty. Someone had come during the night and emptied the greenhouse.
I found eight 1500 watt, 120 volt heaters placed in various places inside the greenhouse. That explains why the last electric bill was almost $500. He heated the house and water with propane, was fed via a feeding tube so he didn't cook. I sent his business partner a text with a photo of the electric bill and told him I wanted reimbursed for keeping his "flowers" alive.
He hasn't replied. And I have much more but I've wasted enough of your brain cells for now.
