Plymouth Area News for the week of May 18th, 2020, by Joyce Steiner

 

Another interesting week.  I think the virus is hitting us all hard.

Though I am fairly well educated, I remain way too trusting and naïve I guess.  Tuesday  I received a phone call asking if I deliver.  Had the same call earlier this year.  Turned out they were asking for a food delivery and were in Plymouth so I told them they had the wrong number and suggested KD’s Coop.  Tuesday they asked me if I deliver and since we are allowed to deliver antiques, I asked them where they lived.  They gave me an address in town so I said yes that I could deliver.  He then asked if I carried flowers.  Said “no that this was an antique store”.  The person was very difficult to understand and the connection was terrible which should have alerted me that this was not a local call.  He asked me what I carried so evidentially “antique store” were words he had yet to learn in English.  Tried to explain and eventually we ended up thinking that he wanted to order a vase and have it delivered.  Told the gentleman that I would have to go home, get my car and deliver the vase.  Picked out a selection of vases and took them to the address which he had given me.  The gentleman at the home invited me in and I said “no”.  He then asked if I was giving away vases and I said “no, you called me”.  He said he had not and I left.  Later I got a call from the original gentleman saying that he had expected a call from me.  Told him I had tried to deliver the vase.  He said “oh it was to be a gift from me and could I give him his dads phone number as he needed to talk to him.  Then he asked if I could go back to his father’s and let him to talk to his father on my phone.  Said no again”.  The gentleman then texted me telling me he was worried about his father and that he could not read the number I had texted to his father.  During one of the several texts I received, he eventually used the words “my dear”.  Understanding dawned!  I was being scammed, from India probably, as no one here would refer to a lady as “my dear”.  The phone number he used as his fathers was 240 901 0170 and the number he texted from was 412 263 0170.  This was a new scam for me.

 

Freddie Hoelscher planted strawberries behind one of his buildings on the square.  Each year I weed them to try to allow them to grow and bear in remembrance of Freddie.  Finished that job on Monday after a couple of days of work.  He also planted rhubarb but someone who did not know what it was and sprayed  and killed it.

Friday saw the yearly destruction of the holly hocks in front on my antiques store.  In the past, they have been dug up, sprayed with weed killer, so strong it was almost a human killer, mowed off and tossed in the gutter etc.  Friday the vandals were interrupted while their work was in progress.   The alarm was given to get in the maroon truck and get out.  The holly hocks they had pulled were tossed in the entry way to my store.  Last year I knew who destroyed the flowers and when asked about it, she proudly announced that “they had cleaned up my mess and there was more to do at my house”.  If one really wanted to clean up a mess, Plymouth has more opportunity than most places.  The east and southwest parts of the square are a disgrace.  How about getting together a the group and helping to clean that up!  I suspect that alcohol played a part for the ”group of middle aged Plymouth women” who were destroying my flowers.  It takes real courage for a group to pick on one widow.  Since the store has not been open for two months, I am sure they were concerned that the huge number of people walking down the sidewalk to enter my store might trip over a flower.  My property was mowed and weeded the very day before this cowardly act of bullying.

On the very nice side of life, Carolyn Frakes stopped by on Saturday to give me a personalized key chain from Gentry-Bryant Ford.  Ben worked there and then bought it  and the store became Western Ford.  Small acts of kindness are really appreciated.

The actual solar panels began to be installed this week.  Pretty interesting and exciting to do my tiny part for renewable energy.

In this time, and always for that matter, please check on your neighbors.  It would be nice if everyone could also be kind to each other as these are very difficult times for us all.  And again in the words of John Wesley, “Do no harm, do good, stay in love with God”.  Hopefully everyone understands what “Do no harm” involves.

 

 

 

Posted in Plymouth News