Karma and Fate, Do You Believe In That Stuff?(NF)

[solopaddler]

Some of you guys might remember, but a couple days before we were set to leave for up north last week a huge storm hit Grimsby and my neighbours 80' pine tree fell over landing mostly in my backyard.

Damage was relatively minimal, but the cleanup was unreal.

 

First off I had no time to deal with the problem as I had a million things to do to get ready for our trip.

But what are you gonna do? I figured that it was the neighbours tree right? So my first thought was cut the damn thing up and haul it all over to his driveway and pile it up neatly.

Sounds reasonable? WRONG LOL!

I called the guy to let him know what my plans were and he instantly went nuclear on me.

"I've checked and it's NOT my responsibility! YOU are liable for the cleanup, NOT me!"

He pauses to catch his breath then shouts "If I see ONE piece of wood that's on your property back on mine I'll sue you! I've taken digital pictures of the whole scene buddy...blah blah blah"

I pause myself to check my anger and say "All right, fine. I'll check with my insurance company and get back to you. If it turns out you're right I'll take care of it. And by the way, thanks for the great welcome to the neighborhood BUDDY, we just moved here a month ago and it's nice to see I'm living next to such a great neighbour"

 

Anyhow it turns out the guy was 100% correct. It's considered "an act of God" by the insurance company and I was indeed liable for the massive cleanup.

I didn't even bother calling the guy back, just resigned myself to the task.

My first thought was pay someone else to do it as I really didn't have time.

So I called a local tree service company and he quoted me $1200 for the job.

No way jose!

The day before we left for up north I rented a truck and worked ALL day cutting, raking and hauling 10 loads to the dump.

The more I worked the angrier I got LOL!

 

My mom came down to watch the kids while I did this and AMAZINGLY while I was on my last dump run the neighbour came over, knocked on my door, apologized like crazy for the way he talked to me on the phone and handed my mom $300 to give to me for my troubles.

 

Incredible eh? Me and him are on great terms now (thankfully).

 

Now, the reason for this post.

Yesterday I was working out at the gym and happened to bump into my old next door neighbour from Dundas.

We get to talking and he says "Hey, did you guys get hit with that huge storm about a week and a half ago?"

I say, "why yes as a matter of fact...."

He interrupts me by saying "The entire basement in your old house was flooded! She had one quote from a contractor and there's over $6000 worth of damage!". "When they tore down the drywall and wainscotting apparantly there was a HUGE mold problem...."

 

Unreal, just unreal.

There but for the grace of God go I......

Edited August 19, 2008 by solopaddler

[fish_finder]

I guess you could consider yourself lucky!

 

Now just imagine what would happen if you told me your best fishing spots!!!

[solopaddler]

I guess you could consider yourself lucky!

 

Now just imagine what would happen if you told me your best fishing spots!!!

 

Well....my normal guide fee is $250/day plus gas, so.......

[holdfast]

I was going to say that I would be ticked if my neighbor decided to leave all the wood on my property, however your thread explains it Legally or at least insurance legality. Your neighbor though really shows maturity and understanding after the issue. Maybe his woman was behind it. As far as Karma, wheres your Horseshoe.

[solopaddler]

Maybe his woman was behind it. As far as Karma, wheres your Horseshoe.

 

You are intuitive sir. What I didn't say was, it was the guys wife who knocked on the door with him standing in the background looking sheepish.

As mentioned we're good now, but fact is I feel a little sorry for him .

 

As far as karma or fate goes, I'm not necessarily saying that's what I believe....just that it made me stop, pause and go hmmmm.... .

 

I generally believe we're masters of our own destiny. It's our own choices, decisions and work ethic that make a person who or what they are.

[Billy Bob]

Too bad it wasn't a hardwood tree. You would have made some extra fishing money. Firewood here is selling between $85 - $100 for a delivered face cord. I just got done moving 8 cords of wood for myself but I got it for $50 per cord. I use about 6 cords per winter, so my total heating bill is only $300 while others using natural gas are spending between $275 and $400 per MONTH to stay warm not to mention gas is going up 40% this fall

[holdfast]

You are intuitive sir. What I didn't say was, it was the guys wife who knocked on the door with him standing in the background looking sheepish.

As mentioned we're good now, but fact is I feel a little sorry for him .

 

As far as karma or fate goes, I'm not necessarily saying that's what I believe....just that it made me stop, pause and go hmmmm.... .

 

I generally believe we're masters of our own destiny. It's our own choices, decisions and work ethic that make a person who or what they are.

 

You see I was a Warrant officer in the Army, but my Wife was the Warden, also MY Gazoo. I enjoy your Posts, keep it up

 

Rob

[Sandbag]

Good on ya

 

Some times it just pays to take the high road....This is a perfect example.

 

Cheers

 

Craig

[ccmtcanada]

Wow...a bad neighbour turned good and all that water damage at your old place!!

 

Good things happen to good people Mike.....and you are good people.

Edited August 20, 2008 by ccmt

[bowshep]

You create your own path, chance has a part in it but as for karma it is only wished apon you good or bad...

 

Ken

[Hooked]

That's pretty crazy, glad everything turned out all right, especially with the neighbor. Nothing like living beside somebody and having that tension, I know! But its sounds like you got pretty good with cutting up trees, I happen to have a 30' birch tree in my front yard that needs to come down, birch disease, you interested in taking on that task?

 

I actually had something similar thing happen to me, when I bought the house I'm currently living in, I find out a month later or so my old house water main busted in the basement and flooded it. Sounds like we both got out right in time.

[Headhunter]

Well, if yah really want that good karma to stick around, maybe you should give that $300.00 to the lady that bought your old house! I think she could use the help right about now!

Karma is not something I actually believed in until I joined this group. I have spent a fair amount of time helping members here and in some cases, their friends, with their resumes, interview coaching etc... and honestly, I can't believe some of the "luck" I have been having lately, most not fishing related.

All I can say is, this karma thing really does work!

HH

[limeyangler]

Great story Solopaddler, enjoyed the read......you are a better man than me...i would have found it very difficult to do an 'anger check' like you....lol...and therein lies a lot of the prolems i create in my life.....lol.

[corvette1]

hi mike i had same trouble the house next door his tree came down on our fence i ended up doing the clean up and fixing the fence

[Canoe2fish]

I'm a firm believer of "what goes around comes around", "you get what you give" and the "pay it forward" ideology.

 

Glad to hear it all smoothed out in the end and that the damage was minimal.

[bushart]

I guess I'm never too old to learn new things.

 

I've been wandering around life always thinking Karma was something unexpectedly received because of a good or unselfish act you had performed in the past without thinking of your own reward.

 

Now the way this reads is Karma is dodging a bullet--it eludes to that really nothing good happened to you here just nothing bad.

 

In this line of thinking everytime there's an accident/fire or tragedy of any kind that did'nt happen to you it must have been Karma.

 

Thanks for the lesson

 

Bushart

[solopaddler]

I guess I'm never too old to learn new things.

 

I've been wandering around life always thinking Karma was something unexpectedly received because of a good or unselfish act you had performed in the past without thinking of your own reward.

 

Now the way this reads is Karma is dodging a bullet--it eludes to that really nothing good happened to you here just nothing bad.

 

In this line of thinking everytime there's an accident/fire or tragedy of any kind that did'nt happen to you it must have been Karma.

 

Thanks for the lesson

 

Bushart

 

Noo, that's not what I meant .

[solopaddler]

Well, if yah really want that good karma to stick around, maybe you should give that $300.00 to the lady that bought your old house! I think she could use the help right about now!

Karma is not something I actually believed in until I joined this group. I have spent a fair amount of time helping members here and in some cases, their friends, with their resumes, interview coaching etc... and honestly, I can't believe some of the "luck" I have been having lately, most not fishing related.

All I can say is, this karma thing really does work!

HH

 

The extra bit of money (minus the truck rental) was spent on my wife. Surprised her just this past Monday in fact with a session at the local spa...

 

The good "karma" I get back from Joanne is a lot more enjoyable than the "karma" I would have got from the lady in Dundas..

[Headhunter]

Momma happy, Daddy happy!

HH

Edited August 20, 2008 by Headhunter

[Joey]

Sometimes I believe in it, sometimes not. I know a few people who I say Karma will always get them and it never does, they just go on be jackarses!!

 

As for the insurance company, what kind of malarky is that?? An act of God!! I think they tried to fluff you off and unfortunately it worked Mike. It's too late now, but I would have demanded action by them. If it fell on your car you can darn well be sure they'd pay for that, how is this any different? It was still the same act of God!

What if you don't believe in God

 

I'm in the industry and between Paul and myself, we have had insurance companies try that line on more than a few sitations where it was not true and would be covered if pursued.

 

Joey

[solopaddler]

Sometimes I believe in it, sometimes not. I know a few people who I say Karma will always get them and it never does, they just go on be jackarses!!

 

As for the insurance company, what kind of malarky is that?? An act of God!! I think they tried to fluff you off and unfortunately it worked Mike. It's too late now, but I would have demanded action by them. If it fell on your car you can darn well be sure they'd pay for that, how is this any different? It was still the same act of God!

What if you don't believe in God

 

I'm in the industry and between Paul and myself, we have had insurance companies try that line on more than a few sitations where it was not true and would be covered if pursued.

 

Joey

 

 

I don't know Joey you may be right, but my first call was to my broker, my 2nd was to my insurance company. Both told me the same thing.

 

Damage to my property would have been covered for sure, but the damage was minimal and my deductable is $500, so it wasn't worth it to put the claim in.

 

Cleanup of the mess wasn't covered at all...at least that's what I was told .

[douG]

I had a plumbing issue once with water damage to the living room. New flooring and paint were covered, but not the plumber. I think that this is the same idear.

[Roy]

When their's damage caused by plumbing, the plumber usually gets covered in it too.

[JohnF]

I don't know Joey you may be right, but my first call was to my broker, my 2nd was to my insurance company. Both told me the same thing.

 

Damage to my property would have been covered for sure, but the damage was minimal and my deductable is $500, so it wasn't worth it to put the claim in.

 

Cleanup of the mess wasn't covered at all...at least that's what I was told .

 

I don't think you were conned. As frustrating as it seems, it's the way it is. If the tree had damaged your house it would have been different, but the tree cleanup would have still been your problem. It's years since I worked in Insurance claims but that's how it used to be when you were in diapers.

 

JF

[ehg]

I generally believe we're masters of our own destiny. It's our own choices, decisions and work ethic that make a person who or what they are.

 

Choosing not to rip into your neighbour was probably the best choice.