1. Mrs. Timothy and the wedding

I recently heard this story from my mother-in-law. Mrs. Timothy was one of her neighbors when the children were young. Mrs. Timothy�s only son is about my husband�s age, so the two mothers got to know each other and stayed in touch over the many years that have passed since. A week or so ago Mrs. Timothy�s son got married, a long-anticipated and joyous event. The newlyweds said their goodbyes and headed off on a tour of Italy for their honeymoon. A few days into their trip the newlyweds received an overseas call. Mrs. Timothy had died unexpectedly. They cut short their trip and came home in sadness. They arrived with their luggage at the door of their new apartment three days before Mrs. Timothy�s wake. When they opened the door, they discovered Mrs. Timothy�s last gift to her son. She had decorated their apartment with banners and streamers with messages of �congratulations� and �welcome home.�

2. Lower than a worm�s belly

This story came straight from my grandmother, the victim, and I am still seething with rage about it. My grandmother, who is in her late seventies, moved out of her house and into an assisted living center this spring. Things have not gone particularly well and her mental acuity has taken a turn for the worse, whether due to aging, the upheaval in her recent life or to drug interactions, we are still unsure. All of her children and grandchildren live far away, but she thus far has refused to move closer to any of us. My brother, who lives in Jordan at the moment, was in the States on home leave recently with his family and spent a few days visiting with her. One evening after my brother and his family had left to return to their hotel for the night, my grandmother received a phone call from someone purporting to be a policeman. He told her that her grandson had been involved in a hit and run and had been arrested. He told her she needed to post bail. He started asking her all kinds of questions and at first she started to answer them, since the call happened to come when my brother was actually in the area. At some point she realized that hit and run was completely out of character for my brother and that this was a scam and hung up on the guy. But she doesn�t remember exactly what she told him. She doesn�t think she gave him any more information than the spelling of her name, but she�s not certain. So we�ve been trying to help her put fraud alerts on all her credit cards and bank accounts. And now my grandmother, whose only lifeline to the outside world and her family is the telephone, is afraid to answer it. To whomever made that phone call, thanks a lot, asshole. I can only hope that there�s a special place in hell for people like you.

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