Chronicles of
Dear Readers,
I am going to share something with you that I would not tell to just anyone, but I know my secret will be safe with you. I am a sucker! I have inspected my forehead multiple times to see if it is written faintly in freckles (or more likely age spots), somewhere on my face for scammers, liars and outright thieves to detect, but I can’t find it!
Yes, it happened to me once again this week in a local eatery of all places. I have pondered through multiple events of this type from my past, and decided the shysters deduce that I must have a soft heart to go with my soft (I prefer voluptuous) body and zero in on me like a shark going after a plump, juicy seal!
The one this week took me by surprise while I was just trying to get down my fries before they got too cold to eat (obviously my blood sugar was low). “Ma’am, are you a woman of God?” he asked. This question was the set up. It only has two answers, yes or no. I answered “yes”, and he zeroed in for the kill.
This older, welldressed senior did not fit the usual profile, but I should have wondered why he seemed reluctant to take off his sunglasses. Within less than three minutes, he had informed me of his dire circumstances as follows, I will keep it down to the basics to save space: The fuel pump had gone out on his car while on the way home from Shands Hospital in Jacksonville, where his wife (with stomach cancer) had just undergone chemotherapy earlier that day. I told him she didn’t need to be sitting out in a hot car and he should go out and bring her into the cool immediately. He assured me she felt too ill to get out of the car. Having gone through chemo myself, I understood what he meant.
He had asked his daughter to wire them some money, but with all the bank computers “down”, she was unable to help him out. Again, pretty believable. He just “needed a blessing” (complete with downcast countenance). This guy was good! He knew he had me when I asked him just how big a blessing he needed.
Unfortunately (for me) I just happened to have my checkbook in my purse. I whipped it out with gusto and what I thought was Holy Spirit prompting and approval and wrote this stranger a check for ten dollars over and above what he was in the process of stealing from me! I asked him where he and his wife went to church and invited him to please come visit ours. I asked his wife’s name and piously told him (with a sincere crack in my voice) that I would be praying for her. He left promptly.
The charade ended when the manager and several other employees and customers came to my table and informed me that I had just been scammed! Krystal seems to be one of his daily spots to steal from. I was heartsick. Not so much over losing the money, but for being so gullible.
“Let the buyer beware” is still good advice to live by especially with the rampant evil today. I reaped some solace remembering the Scripture about “coals being heaped on the heads” of evil doers. I admit, I would have liked adding some lighter fluid to this one! Sincerely,
Scarlett
Please send your questions to Scarlett at: scarlettodara5 @gmail.com or through postal mail to: Scarlett O’Dara, 902 Elizabeth St., Waycross, GA 31503.
