Thursday, November 11, 2010

Wow, some guys have all the (bad) luck...

I've spoken briefly about one of my neighbors, Darrell the Cop. Now, my attitude toward Darrell the Cop is not entirely based on unreasoning prejudice, though in my four years here DtheC has never actually done anything to harm me. He has threatened to on at least one occasion and has frequently alluded to his ability and willingness to do so - never to my face, but in our neighborhood these stories get around. He's not my favorite person, and I happen to know I'm not his though in person he's polite enough.

That part of me that wades knee-deep in schadenfreude likes to think it's karma, but truly I don't think I've ever met anyone (who isn't into self-destructive lifestyles other than being a cop) with such bad luck. In only the time I've known him, I've witnessed the following disasters:
  • He had something bad happen to his back, which cost him his job as a patrol cop.
  • He lost his job as a desk cop when the town cut the cops' budget.
  • He got re-hired with that Fed money a couple of years ago, then got cut again when the money dried up.
  • His roof fell in.
  • His wind generator got struck by lightning.
  • His well casing collapsed.
  • He hurt his back again.
  • His wife lost her job.
  • He had back surgery which apparently went very badly.
No, I had nothing to do with any of these things.

And a couple of hours ago while out and about I got a phone call from his next-door neighbor J that DtheC has fallen off a ladder about fourteen feet, at a minimum breaking an arm and his pelvis and doing further unspecified damage to his back.  Probably won't know till tomorrow how badly he was hurt, but it's bad.

I guess I should give him credit for a continued willingness to leave his house at all.  I'd be cowering in the farthest corner, were it me.

7 comments:

Anonymous said...

Maybe Darrell could pass some of his luck to a trooper that lives about 5 miles from me. Many in this neck of the woods would be thankful.

Pat H. said...

Anon 3:01, make the trooper obey the law, one way or another.

On to the subject at hand, DtheC became a cop because he thinks the rules shouldn't apply to him, taking a job that granted some semblance of that.

While some of his misfortunes may, that's MAY, not be directly his fault, most of them are.

That's because the rules really do apply to him, just like they apply to us all.

Anonymous said...

Sometimes the difference between a friend and an enemy is mis-communication. I suggest you extend a helping hand to him, offer to help around his place until he is back on his feet. Do something, big or small.

Anonymous said...

Giving him a helping hand will just re enforce his belief that he is better than you and that you are a sucker to be taken advantage of.. These type of people you stay far away from. Some of his "bad luck" might rub off.....

suek said...

Heh. Remember the "Lil Abner" cartoon? Remember the guy who had the black rainy cloud that followed him around and rained on just him??? (Can't remember his name)

I think there are just people like that. Sometimes it's sort of their fault - for example, why did _he_ get cut? maybe other people felt about him like you do? why has he been hurt so often? maybe he doesn't pay attention to what he's doing? My husband is a bit like that - he focuses on something and other things like the low beams in our attic just disappear from his radar. Boy - the knocks on his noggin that he's taken! He just gets completely unaware of his surroundings. He's never been badly hurt, but he's been lucky in that respect. Maybe _some_ glimmer of self protection that just isn't totally adequate.

Joel said...

Well, one law we know he obeys is the one about gravity...

Anonymous said...

suek said...

Heh. Remember the "Lil Abner" cartoon? Remember the guy who had the black rainy cloud that followed him around and rained on just him??? (Can't remember his name)

- - - - - -
JOE BTFSPLK.
http://deniskitchen.com/Merchant2/merchant.mvc?Screen=CTGY&Category_Code=bios.joe.btfsplk

There was also a caricature of an actual Hunkpapa Sioux Chief named "Chief Rain-in-the-face" BUT he was not drawn by Al Capp.
I haven't spent the time to get a link to him [the cartoon character] for you.

While I do realize that Some people join the Police Forces to "Be Helpful" to their communities. It is My Personal Opinion that they are [these days] few and far between. The Majority seem to be power and control freaks. Even those who are Not cannot seem to bring themselves to "cleanse" their profession of the "bad apples". This I do NOT understand.

captgooch

the captcha = incidis which is oddly appropriate isn't it ?