Christmas Almost Ruined

[Bronc Rider]

We have had my wifes family staying with us for the holidays. I get along really well with all her family except one cousin. That cousin has history with prison, drug abuse and alcoholism. He was released from prison six months ago and he supposedly had cleaned up his act. I didnt want him staying with us but, the wife and mother in-law talked me into it. It was for the holidays. I thought I was doing the right thing by letting him be part of the family now that he is cleaned up.
He behaved normal the first two days and it reassured me I made the right decision. That changed Christmas day..
I woke up at 4:00 am Christmas day due to excessive noise in the living room. After a few seconds being awake I noticed a smoky smell. I ran to the living room and saw the craziest thing I have ever seen my whole life.
The "bad" cousin stripped down to his socks, removed the smoke detectors, lit the couch on fire and started chanting. He was fueling the fire with gifts from the Christmas tree.
I started to yell "fire" to alert the rest of my family and the SOB tackled me. Crazy pos said he was going to cleanse the entire family and I was not going to **** it up for him. The rest of the family woke up and we managed to to pin him down. Some of the family members started trying to extiguish the fire while we were wrestling the guy down. While this was going on my neighbor noticed the fire and called the Fire Dept. By the time the Fire Dept arrived all we had managed to do was to keep the fire from spreading. They brought their hose in and sprayed the crap out of my house. Ceilings, walls, floor and all furniture was soaked. While the Fireman were working the crazy guy managed to free himself and run off, naked. Nobody has seen him since.
The presents that were torched were luckily going to adults, so no little kids lost their gifts. The remainder of the gifts were taken outside before the Fire Dept showed up so they weren't ruined by water either. The real damage was done to my house but, I will let the insurance deal with that.
We moved all our tables and chairs to the garage and still enjoyed a great Christmas dinner. We opened gifts in the garage too. Even though that event was really bad, we still had a nice Christmas. While we were eating we realized how different this year could have turned out had that guy succeeded in "cleansing" us.

 

[skargo]

Re: Christmas Almost Ruined

WOW, that's crazy. I'm glad it didn't turn out worse!

 

[ezmobee]

Re: Christmas Almost Ruined

Terrible story. Mental illness is a tragedy. Glad you seem to be keeping a positive attitude about it.

I am not looking forward to seeing how your insurance company manages to not pay.

 

[indy440]

Re: Christmas Almost Ruined

pictures or it didnt happen.


...just sayin...

 

[QC]

Re: Christmas Almost Ruined

Holy flyin' flip!! And I was PO'd that my Mom didn't want the dogs in the house, the TV turned down, and didn't like the wine I served

 

[WIMUSKY]

Re: Christmas Almost Ruined

Way to stay positive, if for nobody else, the kids... You're a good man!

 

[CheapboatKev]

Re: Christmas Almost Ruined

Oh there would have been a sudden death in the family

 

[WIMUSKY]

Re: Christmas Almost Ruined

pictures or it didnt happen.


...just sayin...

Let's just say, to make up a story like that, you'd have to be nuttier than the nutjob cousin....

 

[LadyFish]

Re: Christmas Almost Ruined

What a total mess, sorry to hear you and your family had to endure the emotional aspect of all that.

With any luck at all, he will be right back in the pen. If not, then I think its time for an intervention.

"Almost ruined", not exactly the words I would have found if I was in your same situation. Stay strong and maybe one day WAAAAAAAAY down the road when you tell this story to your grandkids, somebody will find it funny.

 

[Bronc Rider]

Re: Christmas Almost Ruined

pictures or it didnt happen.


...just sayin...

Pics or no pics, it happened. We actually have taken pics for the adjuster. I haven't done anything with them yet though.
The worst thing about it is that we had our two month old niece at the house also. She had to stay at the hospital until Sunday. She had sooty mucus discharge until yesterday, today she is healthy and happy. Doctor said she will be fine.
The cousin is on parole and is suppose to report this week to his officer. I'm sure he wont go to that appointment. When they do catch him he will have a parole violation on top of everything else. Hopefully they find him soon and put him away.

 

[Bronc Rider]

Re: Christmas Almost Ruined

What a total mess, sorry to hear you and your family had to endure the emotional aspect of all that.

With any luck at all, he will be right back in the pen. If not, then I think its time for an intervention.

"Almost ruined", not exactly the words I would have found if I was in your same situation. Stay strong and maybe one day WAAAAAAAAY down the road when you tell this story to your grandkids, somebody will find it funny.

The reason I put "almost" in the title was because no life was lost. When we were eating later that day, my father in law pointed out that it was a miracle we were all still here together to enjoy the meal. I agree with that also. It was not the Christmas I wanted but, I'm extra thankful I still have all my loved ones to talk about it with.

 

[Mike Robinson]

Re: Christmas Almost Ruined

Wow! Good to hear you and yours are still alive and healthy.

 

[tashasdaddy]

Re: Christmas Almost Ruined

glad all are well, hopefully the court will make him straighten out, or stay caged.

 

[kenmyfam]

Re: Christmas Almost Ruined

Sorry about what happened. Glad everyone is O.K.
Still no sign of a naked guy running around the area ???

 

[rbh]

Re: Christmas Almost Ruined

Good to hear thats alls well, and you were still able to make christmas happen
If this was a movie I think I would have found this one of those crazy/zanny things that you only hear about through the grapevine, ohhhh

 

[LadyFish]

Re: Christmas Almost Ruined

Bronco Rider, I will keep an eye out for a nekid mad man running toward Galveston. Of course we both know that could be just about anybody in these parts.

You are so right to be thankful that there was no loss of life or total loss of property.

Good luck with everything!

 

[marine4003]

Re: Christmas Almost Ruined

Two words - Smith & Wesson.

 

[waterinthefuel]

Re: Christmas Almost Ruined

Well, I just want to say that not all former inmates act like that. Some really do want to do better and wouldn't DREAM of pulling a stunt like that.

 

[Bronc Rider]

Re: Christmas Almost Ruined

I do appreciate the kind words from everybody, thank you all.

Bronco Rider, I will keep an eye out for a nekid mad man running toward Galveston. Of course we both know that could be just about anybody in these parts.

Lol. That is sadly the truth.



There has been no reports of a nude guy running around yet. The guy left his clothes on the floor. He left his duffel bag with extra clothes at my house too. I have no idea if he is still naked but, he would have had to steal some from someone if he isn't.

This guy is a real bad apple. The last time I saw him before this incident was at the hospital before his prison stay. He had overdosed on cocaine and was clinically dead for a few moments. They managed to bring him back from the dead. He has always reminded me of those weeds that grow on your garden that always come back no matter how hard you try to kill it.

 

[Skiuseme]

Re: Christmas Almost Ruined

Bronc,

Presents can be bought again and houses can be fixed but, the best words that I have read have been from your father-in-law. Make sure that you have a good conversation with your wife and family on what has happened. Make sure they know no one is blaming them for his actions and no one could have seen this coming. Chances are this will be in their minds and might need counseling.

As for the Insurance make sure you Document, Document and Document some more. Fires are one of the worst things a person can go through and when you evolve family as the culprit it only escalates things. They are going to want proof of what has happened. They will want to see examples of what went on the night before this event. Did he seem to act funny or drink or smoke anything? What was in the room and what all was damaged. After this is all determined you want to make sure the contractor that repairs your house has coverage for MOLD in their insurance policy. Ask to see it in writing and keep a copy of it for yourself until you move and then leave it with the new owner. With the amount of water that was used I?m sure the drywall and lumber was soaked. and you have a potential of mold growth down the road. If the cleanup is not properly done and taken care of, you could certainly pay for this in years to come.

Most Contractors Insurance policies will exclude mold coverage with restoration work. This could be a pain to deal with now but, is well worth your effort if you have mold issues in the future.

Take Care and Good Luck
Adam