Once you post something on social media, you can’t take it back or delete it. It is the same idea when you put a video of someone online. In addition, you don’t know how they would react if they see it online or if they see you taking a video or picture of them.

I heard a sad story recently about a couple who went to see an apartment for rent and it ended in tragedy. On their way back, they were waiting at a crosswalk for a green light to cross the street. When the light changed to green a motorcycle suddenly came out of nowhere, drove through a red light, and almost hit them.

The woman managed to take a picture of the driver driving against the red light. When the driver realized she took a picture of him, he drove back and blocked her path while she was crossing the street. He stopped her and said, “give me the picture.” What he meant was, give me the cell phone. She said to him “it’s OK, I’ll delete the photo.” But the driver insisted she gives him the phone.

Her husband walked towards his wife who was still blocked by the motorcycle. He asked the driver to leave them alone and go on his way. The driver quickly reached into his bag and pulled out something sharp. He suddenly stabbed the man in his chest and drove away. The husband didn’t realize he had been stabbed. He managed to walk a few steps and told his wife he wasn’t feeling well. He then collapsed. He was rushed to the hospital by ambulance where he was pronounced dead.

The driver of the motorcycle was identified shortly afterward and was well-known to the local police as a criminal. He took the life of another person simply because someone took a picture of him. As it turns out, the picture was blurry and unclear. It goes without saying that the wife was in shock after the event.

When she was asked what she would have done with the picture, she said she wasn’t sure, maybe she would have posted it online, or maybe send it to the police. Unfortunately, she didn’t know she was taking a photo of a psychopath. What normal person would behave the way he did?! I get angry just writing about what happened. I hope this scum will sit in jail for the rest of his life……

Here’s another story that recently took place. Lori picked up 3 of her children and was driving home. Her 12 year old daughter was sitting next to her and decided to take a video on her phone of the drive home. But the daughter didn’t think she would be a witness to acts of violence committed against her family while driving home.

While her mother was driving, another driver came out of nowhere and was driving much faster than the speed limit. He cut her off without signaling and was so close to their car that Lori had to slam on the brakes to prevent an accident. The young girl kept taking the video and then the aggressive driver realized he was being recorded. He unexpectedly stopped his car and blocked them.

He then got out of his car with his baseball bat in his hands. He walked towards their car and started hitting it with his bat and was shouting like a crazy person. He kept screaming “how dare you video me.” The kids sitting in the backseat were screaming and crying and their mother was in shock. Lori tried to call the police but her hands were shaking too much and she was unable to make the call. Her daughter kept videoing the guy even though she was also scared and shaking.

Fortunately, another driver who was just passing by was brave enough to stop his car, get out of it, and tried to help them. He asked the violent man to leave the family alone and drive away. At that time, the violent man had already caused thousands of dollars of damage to the car and started hitting the windshield. He cracked the windshield and caused the family to panic.

He suddenly stopped hitting the car and walked towards the other driver. However, the Good Samaritan had a gun in his car which he had a license for. He quickly took it out but didn’t point it at the aggressive driver. When the violent man saw the gun, he got scared, ran back to his car, and drove away.

Lori couldn’t continue driving after the incident. She called the police and reported what happened. She also gave them a description of the vehicle the violent man was driving as well as the license plate number. The police located the man a few hours later and arrested him.

Lori registered a formal complaint against him with the police and the video her daughter took was used as evidence against him. His lawyer said that had the daughter not taken a video of his client, none of this would have happened. He said it was an invasion of his privacy and that what she did was illegal. Nevertheless, there are cameras throughout most cities and on highways too. But in this case, the cameras closest to the scene did not work and weren’t recording at the time.

On the one hand, it’s good that the girl took a video and recorded the entire episode. But on the other hand, had she not taken this random video maybe the whole thing wouldn’t have happened.   However, although the family went through a very traumatic experience, thank God they weren’t physically hurt. Their car can be repaired, which the insurance company will take care of.

In conclusion, you never know for sure who you are dealing with and one needs to be careful………

A large number of people document almost everything that happens to them on a daily basis and post it on social media. Most of the time nobody cares what they write about. But they feel good about themselves so……. who cares. Besides, it is a kind of therapy for them as they are saving money instead of paying for a psychologist……. LOL. Anyway, they frequently criticize a place that they’ve recently been to such as a restaurant or a coffee shop, or any other place that has served them. Sometimes their criticism is correct or justified, but other times it isn’t and this harms other people’s livelihoods.

As well, as everyone today has a cell phone with a camera, they’ve become photographers and videographers. People take pictures of anyone who says or does silly things. Sometimes they take a video of someone they had an argument with just to shame them or invade their privacy. But I have to say that some of those people more than deserve public shaming.

Here are a few examples. Ruby lives in a small village. One afternoon she decided to bake a cake for her daughter’s birthday. Since she didn’t have everything she needed she went to the neighborhood mini market to buy a few ingredients. The owner of the store was working at the cash register when she came to pay. They chatted a little bit while she paid the bill and then went on her way.

But when she got home and looked at the bill, she realized she received much less change than she should have. She went back to the store and told the owner she paid with a $100 bill but he only gave her change for a $50 bill. The owner said he didn’t remember her giving him a $100 bill. In addition, as it was the middle of the day, he wouldn’t be able to check all his transactions until they closed. However, he told Ruby he would check everything at the end of the day and would let her know.  He promised that if he found she was short changed, he would gladly pay her back.

Later that evening, he called her and said he didn’t find any extra change in the till. Ruby, who was frustrated by his answer, posted a warning on Facebook about shopping at the store. She wrote about what took place that day and said this situation frequently happens and customers need to pay attention when getting change from the cashiers. She added that customers are purposely engaged in small talk with the cashiers and are distracted, instead of being focused on counting their change and making sure the amount they receive is correct.

I must draw your attention to the fact that this is a small town and everyone living there knows everyone else. However, several people responded to her post. She was engaged in many conversations with people online. The supermarket owner was furious when he saw she was publically questioning his honesty and integrity. He decided to sue her for libel as he claimed her false accusations were harming his livelihood.

The court asked Ruby for proof that this situation has happened to others as she claimed. She admitted she had no proof of it and mentioned she never meant to harm the store owner. She also admitted she couldn’t prove she paid the cashier with a $100 bill either. Mind you, the store owner didn’t get all that he asked for from the court. But the judge ruled Ruby must pay the owner a sizeable sum of money as compensation as well as pay all of his legal fees.

There is no way to know for sure if she is right or wrong. But one thing is for sure. She should have checked the change she received before she left the store…..

Adam and Vanessa were married for approximately 15 years and have 2 children. They didn’t agree on almost anything during the course of their marriage, which caused a lot of stress and instability in their relationship. But it turned into a war when they decided to get divorced. They were constantly fighting about the division of property, their children, child support, etc. They were unable to compromise on anything. As a result, they paid their lawyers a lot of money in legal fees, which made the lawyers very happy.

Nevertheless, after an exhausting 3 years, they finally came to an agreement and finalized their divorce. Adam felt he had to compromise on a number of issues with Vanessa in order to be released from their miserable marriage. He was bitter a few days after the divorce was concluded. Therefore he decided to let off some steam and publish some posts on social media.

He cursed and humiliated his ex-wife and called her a tramp and a psycho. He said had he not married her, nobody would have and he did her a big favor. In short, he dragged her name through the mud. Vanessa decided to sue his ass and said she was publically humiliated in front of her family, friends, and business clients.

The court said that Facebook and other social media can be platforms to deeply hurt people. He ruled unequivocally that what Adam said was evil and ugly and constituted defamation of character. He ordered Adam to pay Vanessa $50,000 in damages plus her legal fees.

In conclusion, I have a feeling that next time Ruby and Adam will think twice before releasing steam on social media………..

When Mike decided to build luxury condos in Victoria, he asked Mark to be on site a few days a week. Mark didn’t like the idea at first. He liked being in Vancouver where he had friends, and the city had a lot to offer. In contrast, Victoria is a much smaller city where a lot of retired seniors live and he didn’t think it was the right place for him. Anyway, after giving it some thought, he realized he could make a lot of money by spending a few days a week in Victoria.

When he arrived there, he was determined to explore the city and the surrounding area to learn what the city had to offer. His head started to work overtime once he found out Victoria had an exclusive club for singles only. Mark was a very likable person and he had a very good rapport with others. He made friends easily wherever he went and also gained the trust of others quickly.

Nevertheless, he created a fake profile before he joined the club. He presented himself as divorced and gave the names of two colleagues at work as references. They gave him glowing references when the club called to verify the information Mark gave them.

His colleagues were in fact working with him to steal money from the company they were working for. They were more than happy to back him up whenever he needed it. The three of them worked together like a well oiled machine. They didn’t care who they hurt along the way, all they were interested in was getting their hands on more money.

When Mark arrived at the club for the first time and saw Mary Anne, he immediately recognized her from the TV and newspapers. She was well known as her story was extensively covered by the media. Everyone knew about her fight against the insurance company that didn’t want to pay her claim when her husband died. Mark knew that Mary Anne sued the insurance company, won big time in court and became a wealthy woman.

He thought to himself that Mary Anne would be easy prey for him, and he was right. She fell in love with him in no time. By the time he met her, he already knew all the condos had already been sold. But this didn’t stop him from selling some of the units a second time.

In order to make this work, one of his accomplices had to pretend to be the owner of the project and the other his executive secretary. The secretary gave Marry Anne a bank account number to make her down payment along with all other payments for the condo. However, the account wasn’t one that belonged to the real estate company. In fact, it was an account set up by Mark and his buddies and the funds deposited there went to them. Mark would then generate a fake receipt which he would give to Mary Anne.

Mary Anne wasn’t the only one who was deceived by Mark. He misled her friend Jackie along with others he met at the club. Mark didn’t think about the consequences of his actions on his family or even about his own future. He lived as though tomorrow didn’t exist.

Anyhow, a receiver was appointed by the court to manage its affairs after the company that built the condos was declared bankrupt. The receiver decided to put the buildings up for sale and they were bought by a Canadian developer.

Once the sale went through the receiver paid the bank, the legal fees, as well as all other fees. Then the other creditors were paid. The last ones on the list were the condo owners, who got peanuts. Those poor people lost a lot of money. Unfortunately, some of them put most of their savings into the condos and were left with practically nothing. People like Mary Anne, Jackie, and others who were directly deceived by Mark, were not listed as creditors. Therefore, they had to personally sue Mark in order to get their investment back.

However, Mark’s family was shocked by his behavior. His children decided to disconnect from him. While his wife decided to stand by him after he persuaded her his actions were due to his addiction to gambling. Basically, he manipulated her the way he always did. He told her he started gambling because he felt lonely as he was far away from his family and she accepted his explanation.

Mark’s lawyer claimed the other two employees were the masterminds behind the crimes and they were the ones who stole most of the money. He maintained they took advantage of his condition and blackmailed him. The court wasn’t impressed by this line of defense. To make a long story short, Mark was sentenced to 15 years in jail and fined $5 million. As the other two were able to return some of the stolen money, they were sentenced to 12 years and fined $2 million each.

Mary Anne and Jackie and the others reached an out of court settlement with Mark’s wife. She generously agreed to pay half of what Mark stole from them. Their lawyers advised them to accept her offer as otherwise, they would have to wait for the legal process to work its way through the courts. And even then it was unlikely they would receive anything close to what Mark’s wife was offering them.

Sadly, when a company goes bankrupt it can frequently drag other companies and individuals down with them like a collapsing house of cards and this is a tragedy…………

Since the police publicized Mark/Kevin’s picture, at least 6 women posted on Facebook that they had relationships with the man who went by a different name every time. These women joined together to form a group and exchanged information with each other about the man.

They all thought that he was the best thing that ever happened to them until he disappeared. All of the women were either widowed or divorced and were well off. The women said that after Mark disappeared, they found out their credit cards were used by someone else and money was mysteriously withdrawn from their bank accounts.

Mark/Kevin was caught a few weeks later in Mexico, and then some information about him started to come out. He was married to Nancy, the daughter of Mike the owner of the real estate company. They had four children and lived in Seattle. He was born in the United States and moved to Canada with his parents and two siblings when he was four years old. His father also worked in the real estate field. He even worked in the same development company where his son was working for a while.

However, Mark’s wife knew he liked to flirt with other women and she accepted it. She loved him very much and was not willing to leave him because of that. Nancy also knew he would never leave her for another woman. Still, she didn’t know he had so many relationships with others. Her father, who was a very wealthy man, owned a few real estate development companies and one of them was in Vancouver.

Mike trusted and valued his son-in-law very much. Mark was a brilliant economist and Mike thought there was no one better than him to be the director of finance when he decided to establish his company in Canada. He offered Mark the job but only after receiving his daughter’s approval that her husband would be regularly away from home. Nancy didn’t like the idea at first but on the other hand, she knew this was a big promotion for Mark. And besides, this job in Canada was only temporary. In addition, the company offices were in Vancouver, which wasn’t too far from Seattle where they lived.

Anyway, Mark began working in Vancouver but felt a bit lonely without his family after a while. He began to socialize after work with some new friends that he met through his job. They would go out for drinks together, meet for dinner, go to a casino, etc. Mark started gambling here and there and found he really enjoyed it. He then started visiting casinos on a regular basis. At first, he won pretty often which gave him the confidence and motivation to continue gambling.

However, he soon started losing. This motivated him to go to the casinos more often and would place larger bets. He was sure if he continued gambling he would win his money back. But this didn’t happen, he lost more money than he earned. Mark earned a good living and was spending all of his salaries at the casino. At some point, he finally understood he couldn’t afford to gamble away his entire salary. Although he and his wife had separate bank accounts, they both had access to each other’s accounts and Mark didn’t want her to know how much money he was spending.

Anyway, Mark started looking for another money source to fund his addiction. As he was a handsome and smart man, he decided to take advantage of his charm and good looks. He noticed that numerous single women who came to the casino would stare at him and some of them even made a move on him. Thus, he decided to try his luck with them.

His plan was to target widowed women who came from an upper class background. Sometimes he would compromise and set his sights on divorced women. He would always do some research on the women he wanted to be involved with. They had to have a lot of money, and he made sure they were living by themselves.

After he earned their trust and became a fixture in their house, he would hack into their bank accounts and credit cards and steal money from them. Then he would disappear. It usually took some time until the women found out what happened. Yet, they couldn’t contact him about the unexplained credit card charges and cash withdrawals from their bank accounts.

Mark would always date a few women at the same time. However, the money he stole from these poor women wasn’t enough to cover his gambling debts. So he started stealing money from his company as well. Mark was a very smart man but not smart enough to completely cover his tracks. 

A short time after he started stealing money, two employees he worked with found some financial irregularities when they were reviewing the records. They knew Mark had a big gambling problem and came to him with proof he was embezzling money from the company. They told him he either paid them to keep quiet about the theft or they would call the police and report what they found. At first, Mark denied he’d done anything wrong but he knew they had too much evidence against him. As a result, he agreed to their terms………..

 

To Be Continued………….

One day after Mary Anne returned home from the cruise, she received a phone call from her banker who asked her about a few large purchases that were made on her credit card. The transactions took place both in Canada and the US in cities she had never visited. The banker also asked her if she transferred large sums of money from her chequing account to a company she had never heard of before. Mary Anne said that she didn’t make any credit card purchases for the last few weeks. In addition, she hadn’t made any cash transfers from her chequing account for over a month. She immediately checked to see if her credit cards were stolen but they were both safely inside her wallet.

Anyway, Mary Anne spoke with Mark several times while she was on the cruise as she wanted to be updated on his son’s condition. The last time she spoke with him, he told her his son needed to have surgery in the US and therefore he wouldn’t be in Victoria anytime soon.

However, a few days after her conversation with the bank, her real estate friend called and told her there were rumors that the company that was building the luxury condos in Victoria had run into financial difficulties. He said he wasn’t 100% sure this information was correct. Thus, he suggested she talk to her boyfriend about it, as he was knowledgeable about the company and had also invested in a unit. Mary Anne told him his information had to be wrong because if Mark knew something like this was happening, he would have told her immediately.

Later on, Mary Anne tried to reach Mark several times but she went to voice mail every time she called him. She left him several messages but he didn’t call her back. She was sure that something happened to his son. She tried to call the development company the day after, but there was no answer there either. Mary Anne started to worry as she had invested a lot of money in the condo which was supposed to be ready soon.

A few days later an announcement was published in the newspaper that the development company declared bankruptcy. Mary Anne felt as though she would have a heart attack. Jackie was also frustrated. Neither of them knew what to do. Mary Anne didn’t want to say anything to her children as she didn’t want them to worry. She decided to keep the news to herself for a while.

Several buyers tried to break into the job site and take possession of their units after the announcement went public. Many people put their life’s savings into the condos as they were promised the suite would produce a high return for them. People were demonstrating for days at the job site and the ones who broke into the buildings were forcefully thrown out by police.

Nobody knew why the company, which was thought to be in good financial shape had to suddenly declare bankruptcy. It took some time but the picture slowly became clearer. It turned out that a senior employee embezzled company funds. This person was the director of finance. He wasn’t the only one defrauding the company, there were two others involved as well. The two aroused the suspicions of management who decided to open an investigation. When the suspects had their backs against the wall, they exposed the mastermind.

The director of finance couldn’t be found. Therefore, the police asked the public for help in locating him. They put his picture in the newspapers and online and received dozens of phone calls from citizens claiming to have seen him. But unfortunately, all of these leads turned out to be false.

Mary Anne didn’t see the newspaper the day the police published the pictures of the director of finance. She usually reads the paper when she comes home from work. Nevertheless, this was the end of the term at school and she was very busy this time of year. Jackie and Mary Anne’s children had been trying to call her all day after they saw the photo. But she muted the volume on her phone and wasn’t aware anyone had been trying to reach her.

When she finally looked at her phone, she saw she had several missed calls. She called her son Larry who said he had some bad news for her. He told her to find a private place at the school where she could speak with him. Then he dropped the bomb and told her Mark’s picture was made public by the police and he was suspected of embezzling millions of dollars from the real estate company where he was the director of finance.

Mary Anne was shaking when Larry gave her the news and almost passed out. Her son kept talking and said that the name next to his picture was Kevin and not Mark. At that point, Mary Anne wasn’t hearing anything he was saying. She could barely stand and all she wanted to do was throw up. When Larry noticed his mother was silent, he told her to stay where she was and that he would come to get her………..

To Be Continued……………..

Mary Anne had more than enough money to invest in the project Mark told her about. She got a lot of money from the insurance company after Jerry died. In addition, since she was an only child, she inherited her parent’s entire estate when they passed away. Mary Anne was still working and thus didn’t touch the insurance money or her inheritance.

Yet, she had no experience investing in real estate. She always invested very conservatively as she was afraid of losing money. She never invested in stocks as she felt they were too risky, even after Jackie made a fortune in the stock market. The last thing she wanted was to be financially dependent on her children.

However, Jackie’s enthusiasm for investing rubbed off on her and she thought maybe this project would be a good idea. Mary Anne googled the company that was building the condos. She found out they have projects all over North America. She also learned they have an excellent reputation. She decided she would invest in one of their condos after she read more about the company and consulted with a real estate investor she knew and trusted.

She didn’t want to say anything about her decision to her children as she didn’t want them to talk her out of it. Therefore, she shared her plan with Jackie who showed interest in it as well. After deliberating for a while, she told Mark both of them were interested in purchasing condos and asked for his help.

Mark told her that he knows the owner of the company very well, but he wasn’t sure if there were any condos available for purchase. He said that even if there were, they would be paying a higher price than he did for his unit as they had already started construction. Mark added that the apartments sell out very quickly for projects like this one. But he promised to speak with the owner and see if anything was still for sale, as well as the price.

Mary Anne was very happy to hear this especially since Mark had so much knowledge in the real estate field. She updated Jackie, who told her she didn’t know much about real estate but trusted that Mary Anne was thorough and checked all the small details.

A few days later, Mark called and said he spoke with someone high up in the company. He was told there were 3 condos left and he has to speak with the owner if he wants a better price. Mark had already booked a telephone appointment with him and was sure he could arrange a good price for her. In fact, they were supposed to talk later that evening.

A couple of hours later the owner’s secretary called and put through his call to Mark. They immediately started talking about the real estate market, some projects they were working on, as well as new investment opportunities. It seemed as though they knew each other quite well.

Mark brought up the topic of the condo project in Victoria. He then put the call on speaker and mentioned his girlfriend Mary Anne and her friend Jackie, who both wanted to purchase a condo. He asked him to reduce the price so that they would pay the same as before the concrete foundation had been poured. The owner didn’t hesitate. He told Mark they have known each other a long time and he’s more than happy to sell them condos at a lower price.

However, the ladies had a provide a down payment of at least 30% of the total cost within the next few days. Mark looked at Mary Anne who nodded OK and the owner said he would put them in touch with his secretary who would fill them in on the other details. A few hours later Mary Anne and Jackie transferred the money and were both thrilled. Mark took both of them to the job site to see for themselves how the project was progressing.

Mary Anne and Jackie were required to make additional payments as the project moved forward. Mary Anne didn’t want to say anything to her children until the condo was ready to rent. She also realized that it cost her much more than she thought it would.

Although they were in a relationship, Mary Anne and Mark continued to attend events at the club. Therefore, when the club’s management announced they were organizing a 2 week cruise to Alaska, they quickly registered for it and made deposits. Mary Anne was excited as this was the first trip they were taking together outside of Canada.

But unfortunately, a few days before their departure, Mark told her he couldn’t go as one of his children was sick and he needed to stay in Victoria. Mary Anne was disappointed but decided to go on the cruise anyway. Even though she missed Mark, she enjoyed herself and had a great time………

To Be Continued………………

Mary Anne couldn’t wait to see Mark the week after. She felt excited as if she was 20 years old again. She bought a new dress a few days before she went to the club, and had her hair and nails done the day before. When her children came to visit her that day, they told her she looked beautiful, the same way she looked before their father died. When they asked if there was someone new in her life she said no, she was doing this for herself.

Mark wasn’t there when she went to the club. However, she was sure he would show up later on. She was looking for him all night and was regularly scanning the room. But he didn’t show up at all that evening. A few nice looking men approached her but she wasn’t interested in speaking to them.

Jackie realized her friend was disappointed and tried to cheer her up by dragging her out onto the dance floor. She didn’t let go of her until Mary Anne relented and joined her. By the end of the evening, Mary Anne was smiling and clearly enjoying herself.

Mark didn’t show up the following week either. Mary Anne tried to learn more about him by asking the club management for some details. But they could only tell her he was a new member, which she already knew. They added that the other information they had about him would remain confidential.

Although Mary Anne was disappointed with the management’s answer, Jackie didn’t need to do much to get her onto the dance floor. In fact, Mary Anne was on the dance floor shortly after she arrived at the club. While they were dancing Jackie mentioned that many of the members come to the club to enjoy themselves and not necessarily to meet someone. So if she meets someone, that is a bonus. She added that she needs to keep an open mind.

Anyway, the 3rd time she went to the club, she didn’t think about Mark, but about herself. She wanted to enjoy every minute without having any expectations. A few minutes after she entered the building, she bumped into Mark who looked very happy to see her. He even gave her a big hug which surprised her. Mark told her that he had to go to Europe on business. He also told her about some real estate projects he was involved with. He showed her all kinds of spectacular projects he invested in all over the world.

Mark turned out to be a very smart man with broad knowledge of numerous topics. Mary Anne slowly opened up to him. She told him about Jerry and the tragedy that befell her family when her husband disappeared, only a few hours before he was supposed to leave the sea for good. Mark listened attentively to her while she was speaking. He reached out and held her hand while blinking away the tears in his eyes.

Mark also told her about his family. He said he had two daughters whom he adored. He didn’t get along with his ex-wife who tried to interfere with the relationship between him and his children. Mary Anne and Mark found they had many common interests. For example, they both loved to watch ballet. Therefore, a few days later Mark bought tickets for the two of them to attend the ballet, which made her very happy.

The relationship between them slowly started to warm up. Mark would frequently send Mary Anne flowers and always included warm notes with them. He was an eloquent writer and his words deeply touched her. Most of the time he would go to her home and occasionally she would go to his house. His house was always clean and tidy as if no one lived there.

Mary Anne thought the place wasn’t a reflection of his personality. The house was situated in one of the best neighborhoods in Victoria, but it wasn’t so impressive inside. It didn’t have much furniture and there were hardly any pictures on the wall. When Mark noticed the look on Mary Anne’s face, he said that he had recently moved there. He said that he did not have enough time to properly furnish the house but would do so soon.

Nevertheless, a few weeks later Mark told Mary Anne that he heard about a project to build luxury condos in Victoria. He showed her a brochure that described it in detail. And he said he would definitely invest in the project. Mark wanted to buy a condo for investment purposes. However, there were limited condos available for purchase and he would have to move quickly.

He was quite enthusiastic about this opportunity. Mark left the brochure behind when he left. And Mary Anne started to think about what he told her regarding the condo project. He said that if she bought one of the condos, she could rent it out and get a very high return on her investment……..

To Be Continued……………

The coast guard stopped looking for Jerry a few weeks after the accident. In fact, his body was never found. For years afterward, Mary Anne and her children would celebrate his birthday. She would put an extra plate on the table on every holiday just in case Jerry would unexpectedly show up.

Jerry decided to buy some life insurance shortly after they got married as he wanted to secure his family’s future. He had to pay a high premium every month because of the risk involved with his job. However, when his wife contacted the insurance company to receive the insurance money, they refused to pay her.

They claimed that they had to investigate the case as his body had not yet been found. Her story was published in the media and she received huge support from the public. Mary Anne hired a lawyer who took the insurance company to court. The case dragged on for over a year which caused the family a lot of stress and aggravation. In the end, the judge ruled in her favor and declared Jerry legally dead. In addition, the insurance company was ordered to pay all of Mary Anne’s legal expenses.

Over the years, Mary Anne’s children got married and had their own families. All three of them lived not far from their mother and would regularly visit her. Even though she didn’t need the money, Mary Anne continued working as a teacher so she didn’t have time to think about the loss of her dear husband.

Mary Ann lost her parents a few years after Jerry’s death. Her father suddenly got sick and passed away a few months later. Then her mother went to sleep one night and didn’t wake up in the morning. They both died within a short period of time which was very difficult for her. Mary Anne’s parents were her main source of support all of the years that Jerry was away at sea, and after he went missing. They encouraged her to move on with her life and not look back. She meant the world to them from the minute she was born.

May Anne felt very lonely after her parents were gone and started to think about dating again. Nevertheless, she had a very good friend named Jackie who was divorced for many years. Jackie had a membership in an exclusive club for singles who were looking to start a new chapter in their lives. The club holds all kinds of events, such as parties, cruises, organized tours, etc. Jackie enjoyed herself so much that for years she would attend their events, but she never met anybody that she really wanted to share the rest of her life with.

From time to time, she would date someone for a few months. Usually, it led nowhere and she would go back to square one. However, after Jerry was declared legally dead, Jackie tried to persuade Mary Anne to purchase a membership in the club. She always told her she doesn’t have to date anyone if she doesn’t want to. She should come to the events and enjoy herself. But Mary Anne couldn’t do it because she still held out hope that her husband would come home one day.

After her parents died, she felt more than ready to take up Jackie’s suggestion and start attending events at the club. The first time she went there was with Jackie of course. When she entered the club she thought the place was very impressive as befits a luxury club. The men were wearing suits and ties, while the women were dressed in evening gowns.

Jackie, who realized that Mary Anne was looking around in amazement, whispered to her that all the members were carefully checked before being approved for membership. Anyway, Jackie disappeared a few minutes after they entered the club. Later on, she showed up with a gentleman on the dance floor that was quickly filling up.

Mary Anne felt awkward but not for long as a very good looking man came over and introduced himself. Mark was a real estate developer who said he had been divorced for almost 5 years and had 2 children. He was approximately 10 years younger than her and was extremely charming.

They spoke all evening and she didn’t notice the time passed by until Jackie came over to her and said she was going home and asked if she was coming with her. Although Mary Anne would have stayed longer, she felt it was enough for the first time. Before she left with Jackie, Mark told her he hoped to see her again at the next event, which was to be held the following week.

Jackie told Mary Anne on the way home that she had never seen the man before. After Mary Anne told her a little about him, Jackie laughed and said “good for you sister, it’s your first evening here and you caught a big fish.” Mary Anne felt exhilarated after she met Mark. She never felt that way before, even with Jerry who was the love of her life………

To Be Continued…………

Going back out to sea after his daughters were born was even harder now for Jerry as he missed them terribly. However, two years later he and Mary Anne welcomed a baby boy. This time he had the opportunity to be present at the birth of their son, which was a joyful event for him. He stayed home for two months after the birth and enjoyed every minute with his precious family.

Mary Anne’s parents moved closer to their daughter after their grandchildren were born and helped a lot with the kids. As a result, the couple had more quality time together. Even after they became parents, Mary Anne and Jerry felt as though they were on their honeymoon every minute they were together.

Jerry loved his wife very much and was very loyal to her while the other sailors were fooling around with other women behind their wife’s backs. Some of them even had children out of wedlock. On the other hand, Jerry only wanted to be with his wife and no one else.

However, when the children were young, Mary Anne’s hands were full and she was busy from morning until late at night. She worked as a part time teacher and didn’t have time to socialize as she was dedicated to her children. Mary Anne always counted the days until Jerry would return from the sea. She would prepare his favorite dishes for him a few days before he was scheduled to come home.

Over time, when the children grew up she started to feel lonely. Jerry felt bad for her and thought about resigning from his job and finding something on land. He even went on some interviews during his vacations but he couldn’t find anything that he liked. A few months before their 30th anniversary, Jerry decided he had enough and would resign shortly whether he found a new job or not.

He had already spoken with his employer about leaving and thought he would tell Mary Anne the news on their anniversary which was two weeks later. Their children made a surprise party for them on their anniversary. In addition, they bought them plane tickets to Paris. The party was a joyous occasion for everyone. It was even better when Mary Anne found out her husband wasn’t going out to sea anymore. They flew to Paris after the party, which was something they never did before. Their children arranged and paid for everything. Jerry and Mary Anne had an amazing time together.

Jerry started looking for a new job as soon as they returned home. While looking for a job, his ex-employer called and asked if he would agree to return to work for two months as one of the crew got sick and was unable to work. The employer told him he would give him a substantial bonus if he would agree to his request. Jerry said he couldn’t give him an answer until he spoke with his wife about it.

Mary Anne didn’t like the idea of him going out to sea again. But Jerry assured her this was the last time he would do it and besides, there was a lot of money at stake. His employer offered to double his salary for the two months he would be away. Jerry also reminded her that their daughter was getting married after Christmas and the extra money would come in handy. At the end of their conversation, Mary Anne finally acquiesced and agreed with Jerry’s decision to accept the offer.

A few days later, Jerry left for his assignment. Mary Anne felt that time was dragging along too slowly while he was away. He was supposed to return the day before Christmas Eve and the whole family planned to celebrate the holiday together. Mary Anne woke up early the day he was scheduled to return, as she couldn’t sleep. She was very excited to see her husband. She went shopping and cooked all his favorite holiday dishes and baked a special cake for his return. She also went to a beauty salon to have her hair and nails done. Then she went home and anxiously awaited his arrival.

Nevertheless, the weather outside was quite bad and she began to worry when he didn’t arrive home that evening. She tried to reach some of his colleagues from the ship but nobody answered their phone. At 8 am the next morning, somebody knocked on her front door. When she opened the door, she saw Jerry’s employer along with a police officer.

Mary Anne froze the moment she saw them. She let them in and they told her there was a bad storm the day before at sea. Jerry and a colleague of his went up on deck and were washed overboard. The poor weather didn’t allow for a thorough search and both men were presumed drowned.

Rumors about Jerry’s disappearance spread like wildfire. An enormous number of people came to the house to console Marry Anne and her children. Many of them brought food, and some even helped with the household chores. In short, all of their needs were looked after.

Jerry’s colleague’s body was found by the Coast Guard five days after the accident. Although the chances of Jerry being found alive were slim to none, Mary Anne held out hope for a miracle. Every time the front door opened her heart skipped a beat, as though he would walk into the house any minute……….

To Be Continued………………..

Mary Anne was married to Jerry the love of her life, for 30 years until death separated them. He was a sailor who worked as an engineer and was away from home quite often. Mary Anne was a teacher and raised their three children almost by herself. Jerry loved the sea since he was a small boy. He dreamt that he would work on a ship one day and he did.

However, he missed his wife and children terribly while he was at sea. From time to time he even thought about leaving his job on the ship and finding a new job so he could spend more time with his family. But he kept postponing it because he earned a good salary that paid for his children’s education and his family’s comfortable lifestyle.

Jerry knew this job wouldn’t last forever. Working on a ship is very difficult and requires sailors to be at sea for months at a time. It can sometimes be dangerous and they are exposed to many risks due to water conditions, shipwrecks, sinking, falling overboard, and piracy.

Nevertheless, Mary Anne and Jerry met in a pub when she came to celebrate her birthday with a friend. Jerry was sitting in the pub with a friend who was also his colleague on the ship. The two young men just returned home to Victoria on Vancouver Island after serving a lengthy period of time at sea.

Jerry liked Mary Anne the moment he saw her. With his friend’s encouragement, he walked over and started talking with her. On the other hand, Mary Anne wasn’t too impressed by his appearance. Jerry was a bit clumsy and not particularly handsome. In addition, he had poor taste in clothes. He was a large man and the clothes he wore seemed to be a size too small, which made her friend laugh when she saw him.

But once they started talking, she noticed he was very charming. He was quite intelligent along with a great sense of humor, and she liked him. But Mary Anne had just broken up a complicated long term relationship and wasn’t ready to start another one at that time. Even more so after she heard what he did for a living. Yet fate had other plans.

They started seeing each other and quickly fall in love. A few months later, Jerry proposed to Mary Anne. Although Mary Anne’s family liked Jerry very much, they thought it would be a huge mistake for her to accept his proposal. They kept warning her that she would stay alone most of her life and would raise their children alone as a single mother if she married him.

Mary knew very well they were right but decided to accept his proposal anyway. The couple got married at a low key wedding. They celebrated the joyous event with their own immediate families and a few friends. Mary Anne was an only child. Her parents attended the wedding along with 3 or 4 close friends. However, Jerry is the youngest of 5 children. His siblings are all married, and each of them attended the ceremony. In addition, some of his friends from the ship he worked on were also there.

Jerry had to leave for the sea two weeks after the wedding. Waiting for the love of her life to return home was always very difficult for Mary Anne. On the other hand, every time he came home, it was as though they were on their honeymoon again. They barely fought and took advantage of every moment he wasn’t at sea to be together. Their friends and family would give them the space they needed when Jerry returned home.

They decided they wanted to build a family together about a year after they got married. Unfortunately, this didn’t work out at first. Thus Mary Anne went to see a doctor who sent her for some tests. When the results came back, he told her everything was perfect, and she didn’t have any medical issues. He suggested that Jerry should also have himself checked to be sure he didn’t have a medical problem.

After undergoing testing, Jerry was also told everything was fine. They tried to have children for three years, without success. After the end of the third year, Mary Anne underwent fertility treatments. They welcomed twin girls after four years of marriage. Jerry missed their birth as he was away at sea at the time.

He saw his baby girls for the first time a month later and was incredibly proud. He knew what his wife went through to have the babies and was grateful for all her efforts. He would take them out for a walk in their stroller around the neighborhood and always had a grin on his face from ear to ear. He would show them off to anyone who passed by and would say “look at how beautiful they are. Thank God they look like their mother and not like me.”……. 🙂

To Be Continued…………..