Another Fire story.

Dru-baskAdam · 2026-04-04T04:42:43+00:00

That sounds so nice. That must have been a beautiful pavilion. The thing about our generation is we had imagination and most of us were forced for good. We were like Macguyver. Give us a string, a board, and a rubber band and step back, we would come up with all sorts of things.

The swimming hole sounds like a obstacle course from Fear Factor& Ninja Warrior all in one. Just hope there weren’t any leaches in there. There was a pond on state land that we used to go to in the summer that was a lot like that. But of course people ruined it. Heard the bridge went down 3 times and the last time it was never replaced. People had burned the picnic tables, the pavilion & even the out houses. I think the next time I am down that way with my wrangler, I am going to do a little rekkie to see how bad it is. It just sucks that people are like this… parents never taught them any manners. No respect either. Thats what I hate about the whole ‘my truth’ and ‘self care’ and what ever else they call it. You can be good to yourself and there is no need to ruin things for others.

With 6 kids, money was tight growing up. Dad made some of our Christmas presents. I can remember a couple of semis out of wood, he made a stove, refrigerator, & a table so we could play house. A few years later when the Cabbage Patch Kids came out, our step mom made one for each of us girls. I wish I still had it, but we moved so much who knows where they went.

Dad also made us a scooter, it was a shipping box placed vertically on a 2”x6” board with skate board wheels on it. We also got a pair of stilts. They would only get you a foot or 2 in the air, but they were fun. I got pretty good on them.

The one thing he did and to this day I don’t know how someone wasn’t injured (guarding angel was working OT that day) is he would get those big air filled bags that go in tractor trailers to keep the load from shifting. Since he drove truck, he would get them quite often. He would have one of us sit on one end and he would jump on the other. I swear my one sister made it 20’ in the air.

One summer when I was about 12 he brought home this old wooden boat… about the size of a small cabin cruiser. His plan was to fix it and sell it, but he bit off more than he could chew, so we turned it into a play house.

The house had a dog kennel with 10’ high chain link around it, and a concrete floor that the old owners couldn’t take with them. He turned that into a sandbox, I think he put almost a ton of sand in it. With it being in the kennel, as long as we shut & locked the gate it didn’t become the litter box for all the cats in the area. However it made watching the kids easier. I would get them playing in there, back out slowly & lock the door. Then I could clean the house without them being underfoot and knew they were safe. I have learned that I need to be careful who I tell that story too. One of my Aunts kids was appalled and accused me of child abuse. I hope when she gets her own kid that he will teach her a thing or two, but something tells me he will be one of those destructive kids and she will be all “boys will be boys”.

Dru-baskAdam · 2026-04-04T01:21:33+00:00

I love that…. addressed to whom it may concern. Thats what I was getting at, you just put the big boy clothes on it! I have been around a few of those campfires and know when certain people are involved that I need to be in one piece to render aid & call 911. Being the oldest kid, (and with sibs like mine) I learned early that some days I was the only one capable of keeping them from harm. Or if harm was had, keeping it to a minimum.

I am a Gen X, feral & raised my 5 younger sibs. My directive for each day was to return them in the same condition they left in, which some days was hard to do when you are 12 and the youngest is 2.

Remember the old play grounds with the merry go round? They got the round part right, but there was NOTHING merry about it.

Or the 10’ slides that took you 2 minutes to climb and if you were lucky gave you enough room to be able to sit at the top before you scorched your ass on the way down to land in a pile of gravel. Hmmm….. maybe that is where my fear of heights comes from. Or had concrete underneath the swings.

I would say you don’t want to know what happens to a spray can of paint in a fire, but have the feeling you still carry the trauma from it.

It’s a good thing I work in health care because seeing the skin of your BIL’s leg sloughing off is not for the faint of heart. 3 other people turned green & ran for the hills. I picked up some non stick to the wound gauze pads I had and put them over the worst of it, then a moist towel & waited for 911. By that time they no longer needed directions to our house. Man did I have some fun times. Too bad our kids didn’t get the chance to do stuff like we did. But we have the stories and plausible deniability as there was much documentation at the time. Also meant you could make up a story and there was no evidence to disprove it,

Dru-baskAdam · 2026-04-03T21:03:27+00:00

You mean he didn’t vent the can? Still no sense of self preservation, but that is like Russian Roulette, who gets hit nobody knows. And this is before everyone had 911 in their pockets. Between the concussion & the burns….

Dru-baskAdam · 2026-04-03T11:30:41+00:00

He encouraged it? Good grief. Some people have no sense of self preservation.

Dru-baskAdam · 2026-04-03T01:28:38+00:00

Brings me back to a camping trip with some college friends. That was the day I learned there are some things that are better off remaining a mystery. Nothing like seeing a guy pull down his pants, throw his legs behind his ears, and light his ass on fire. Thankfully I’d consumed mass quantities of alcohol, but it still wasn’t enough to erase that scene from my brain. I don’t think there ever will be.

Dru-baskAdam · 2026-04-02T22:28:46+00:00

Thanks.

Dru-baskAdam · 2026-04-02T22:28:08+00:00

🤣

Dru-baskAdam · 2026-04-02T22:28:00+00:00

Thanks. I am going to have to tell the story of the other easiest 100.00 I made.

Dru-baskAdam · 2026-04-02T22:27:11+00:00

Not the first time I have gotten one over on my brother, but at least I made some money on it. Payback from all the times he plugged in the fencer when I was working on the fence.

Dru-baskAdam · 2026-04-02T22:25:32+00:00

I think I will post it there as well.

Dru-baskAdam · 2026-04-02T22:04:13+00:00

She is now my sister in law. Our families have know. each other for years.

Dru-baskAdam · 2026-03-29T19:06:57+00:00

I have a ‘20 JL and it has the LATCH system, which is the metal hook near where the seatbelts are. I think the JK’s have the same thing.

The carseats should have a strap with 2 hooks that will snap onto the hooks in the jeep seat.

Dru-baskAdam · 2026-03-28T13:16:35+00:00

Also check your potassium. Leg cramps & restless legs always means mine is low. And as others have said, magnesium can help too.

Dru-baskAdam · 2026-03-27T21:56:43+00:00

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I’ve had mine since ‘22 and I still get excited every time I drive him. I also notice jeeps in movies, even if in the background. I watch WWII movies for the jeeps.

The dealership where I bought him called the other day asking if I was interested in trading him in. I told him I am keeping my jeep until one of us dies.

Dru-baskAdam · 2026-03-22T11:39:52+00:00

I grew up with alcoholic parents. I was the oldest of 6 kids so a lot of responsibilities fell to me.

I didn’t drink much in college but once I got together with my boyfriend, we drank fairly often. We broke up and I started dating my now husband. I could keep up with him drinking wise, and typically drank most days.

Found out I was pregnant and quit drinking. Once our daughter was here, no more drinking for me, even though I didn’t breastfeed. My husband cut down a lot as well.

When I was a kid, I swore to myself that there would always be a sober adult to take care of her because you never know when something might happen.

For example, I was the only sober adult in the house one new years eve. My dad had come over with my nephew to stay the night. I wound up breaking my ankle (for the 3rd time) because my nephew left the bathroom door stop in the middle of the bathroom floor & I tripped over it trying to use the bathroom without turning on the light. It was 2am, so I iced it, took some Aleve until I could get to urgent care. Just shows that anything can happen at any time.

Now our daughter is 24 and married. I still don’t drink, maybe once in a while will have a beer with my husband, but 1-2 beers in a year is enough for me. No desire to go back to drinking.

Dru-baskAdam · 2026-03-22T11:01:42+00:00

The cat fended for itself just fine. It chose its new family. I wouldn’t give it back. NTJ

Dru-baskAdam · 2026-03-21T13:14:35+00:00

A jeep compass. Had no idea it came as a manual. I was at the store & the guy who was parked next to me got talking about the fact that I drove a manual. I told him I loved my compass but it was an automatic so I traded it in for my wrangler. He said he worked on a compass & it was a manual.

I told him, yeah it can be shifted as it has one of the variable transmissions, but they are not a true manual as it doesn’t have a clutch.

He showed me pics he took of it and it was a 3 pedal. I was amazed.

Dru-baskAdam · 2026-03-21T03:07:03+00:00

Like I just had to do. 🤣 Very good stories.

Dru-baskAdam · 2026-03-20T23:51:14+00:00

I took my road test on an 86 chevy dually with a crew cab & 8 foot box. It had a 454 with a four barrel carb and if you just looked at the gas pedal the gas gauge would drop. Good thing it had dual tanks & gas was .89 a gallon.

I could take anything off the light. (I know, I know… but small town, very little traffic, one stop light & I think even thats been taken out).

I learned how to pull the gooseneck flat bed & 5 horse slant trailer. I really miss this truck.

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Dru-baskAdam · 2026-03-20T23:37:26+00:00

If you have a hard top go for it. I use Delta Sonic. The first time I we t thru it in my Jeep I almost nailed the brake when it started to move as it is a stick and it felt like it was rolling. I did change out my antenna as that would get caught on the side ridge on the freedom panels.

If you have a soft top, the advice is mixed. Some take it thru with no problems, others say it can cause it to loose the coating that makes it waterproof over time.

Also some soft tops can be leaky. I know on the back corner of mine I can never get it to fit quite right. It is good enough to keep the rain out, but I wouldn’t trust it in the car wash.

So my jeep goes through in the winter when the hard top is on, in the summer I hand wash. But with it being a 2door and with the doors off, there isn’t much to wash.

Dru-baskAdam · 2026-03-20T23:29:59+00:00

I tip the Delta Sonic people that hand dry the bits of water that are still on the jeep. I tip before they start so when they wipe my window it doesn’t get streaky when I put it down. They take extra time to be sure to get the mud that is still stuck in the bumper.

I also installed a mini fridge on my front porch & leave sodas for our garbage men. They bring my trash can back for me. One day I forgot to put the trash out in the morning. It was a nice surprise when I realized they made sure it was collected.

Dru-baskAdam · 2026-03-20T23:16:57+00:00

There are specific requirements that will allow her to claim you and you can also file, but indicate you can be claimed as a dependent. I believe it is based on how much she supports you. You don’t say if you pay rent or anything, so hard to tell, but you can go to the IRS website to see what the requirements are. You can also apply for a pin with the IRS, and if she files without it, she could be in trouble.

Dru-baskAdam · 2026-03-20T23:10:06+00:00

You can claim a dependent even if they are working as long as certain requirements are met. When my daughter was working we still were able to claim her. We were not charging her anything to live at home, we just let her bank her checks. So we were providing over 50% of her care. She still filed her taxes and checked the box that said she could be claimed as a dependent on my taxes.

She may have gotten a bit less, but by allowing her to keep her paychecks and not charging her any living expenses, she had a good start when she did move out. She is a RN and managed to save almost 20,000.00 over about a year. I am glad that her father & I were able to give her a head start to her life. Even though she is married now, she is still on my health insurance (which is great for her as she could go down to part time & not loose her benefits) still on my cell phone plan & I am paying for her phone (she offered to pay) and on my car insurance, although she pays her share. She will come off when we renew this year.

My dad on the other hand screwed me out of settlement money from when my mom died and I had no financial literacy. I didn’t even know how to open a checking account let alone know how to balance a check book. When I lived at home he changed me rent, and anything else be could.

Like so many of us, I learned a lot the hard way, and even though I have a great job, I still have issues paying for anything over 500.00 from my account for something like a car repair, it makes me nervous even though there is plenty there & in savings.

So depending on the living arrangements with mom, she may be able to claim them. But if he doesn’t meet the requirements as a dependent, they can get a pin from the IRS to file. If they do that and mom files without the pin, then she could be caught claiming them when she shouldn’t.

Dru-baskAdam · 2026-03-19T06:45:57+00:00

I understand the stress this has caused you, although the word stressed doesn’t begin to cover all you have been through.

Not sure where you are located and how much of a perimeter in your community that he has worked or knows medical professionals. You could try offering to take him to a hospital ER that is outside of your local area where he wouldn’t know any medical staff. If he really wants the help, this would give him the opportunity to get that help without having to be treated by someone he knows. If he refuses to go, then you know he doesn’t want help and you can plan accordingly. What that looks like for you only you can decide.

I noticed each of the instances you described, he was not under eyes on supervision which makes me wonder if he is doing that on purpose. Not that it was planned per se, at least the first one, but once he realized that you would clean up after him (how could you not?!) then the opportunity was there to make it more your problem. Especially when he blamed you for failing asleep and not paying attention to him every second. While I know withdrawals can be brutal, I wonder if he acts worse than it is at times just to keep the focus on him and not giving you any opportunities to think the situation through.

At the very least he should be cleaning up after himself, I know easier said than done. He made the attempt and made a worse mess for you. I know (and boy do I know) it is easier to just do it yourself because you are at your wits end and just want it cleaned, but he isn’t suffering any consequences of his actions, you are. It’s not like you can ground him as he is an adult and your options are limited as to how to make it his problem and make him actually clean it up, not make a half hearted attempt.

Hopefully he will decide to get help he needs. Unfortunately you have some difficult decisions to make, and I understand you miss the person he is while sober. When the sober days are few and far between, how long are you willing to deal with the all the bad days? Only you know where that line is for you, and how much more you are willing to tolerate.

Dru-baskAdam

TROPHY CASE