Agreed!!

Best,
Tom

I remember when we were moving into the first house that I bought and my Mom set a Civil War print on our fireplace mantle and less that one minute later, I hear the most horrific crash coming from the living room. I run inside and my worst fears came true.....my very first print was cut to shreds from all of the glass. Strangely enough, I had about the same of money in that print as what you said your jacket is worth and all I wanted to do was scream at my Mom because she did something that wasn't the smartest thing in the world, but I bit my lip and told her not to worry about it. That was 20 years ago and today I would shred every Civil War print just to give her a hug and tell her that I love her. Hate to be a wet blanket because I really feel your pain, but there are more important things in life to worry about.

I'll try to leave this on a positive note....10 years ago I parked my Mustang on the street near my brother's driveway (a very steep driveway). My boys were taking turns pushing each other in a little red wagon down the driveway and since he lived on a cul-de-sac I didn't worry about the boys going out on the street. Well, Murphy's Law was alive and well.....the younger son was pushing the older son a little too fast and when he tried to bleed off the speed, he slammed into the side my Mustang. I forgot to mention that I just got the car out of the paint shop with a $$$$ paint job that took seven months. My aunt was the first to share the news with me and she told me to think really hard before I said a word. So for the next 15 minutes, I watch both of my boys trying to muster enough courage to tell me what they did to my car. Luckily for me, I had some time to gather my thoughts and realize that looking at the big picture, it really didn't matter. We still laugh about it today and yes, the dent is still there.....along with a few more battle scars from raising two healthy boys.

I think it's the principle of the thing as well as a matter of respect, especially since he later on mentioned his mother did something similar prior to that with the motorcycle. Could be there have been many instances. I'd bet this isn't entirely about the jacket, although it's obviously special to him. A bit of repressed anger here, and who knows, maybe for good reason.

"I have yet to find another Joe Rocket jacket exactly like that one. "

Well son, there's a reason for that...

Mike, I feel your pain. Get your jacket home. There is a place in East L.A. called Espinosa's that repairs and restores leather jacket. Mostly for the Harley crowd, don't know if he can do anything with the colors. I'll find the number at work tomorrow and PM it to ya. Good luck, Mike.

You have to admit it does look pretty kick a$$ on a scarecrow though. Just sayin'.
http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1285909295.jpg

You know, I sacrificed a lot to be able to up and move out here to LA with almost zero notice. I didn't have any money to do so and it was a big job I was talking, and I literally had to change everything in my life in the last 4 months.

I was just recounting to a coworker today about my GT/Dyno that she unknowingly sold so cheap on a yard sale. Now- I really didn't care about that bike, and hell, the money didn't even matter to me - she could have sold it for $250 and have kept the money and I would have been fine with it. But the fact that she didn't bother to ask me how much the bike was worth before selling it to some lucky kid really makes me wonder about her.


And then tonight she tells me she takes this jacket and throws it out to be ruined in the rain. Again.. thinking nothing about A) how much I care about it and B) how much it could potentially be worth.

I hope this isn't the beginning of that long struggle with parents getting older. I don't want to have to be watching them from across the country trying to make sure they don't sell their house for $100 or throw out all my grandfather's old WWII memorabilia.

Maybe Mom has some ANGER issues about you abandoning the family and moving to California.

She just might be offing things that you like, out of anger for you abandoning her?

You owe your Mother an apology. If you can't see that now you will one day and hopefully before you regret it.

Steve

I haven't lived with her in nearly 6 years and regularly went months without seeing them. I'm not sure why this would be an issue now.


I apologized to her on the phone later for being harsh about the situation but tried my best to explain my frustration nicely to her.

What scares me is that I vividly remember telling her, before I left for LA, that that jacket was special and that it was my favorite jacket, and once I was settled down in LA I may get it fixed up because I like it so much and that it's very rare and impossible to replace. I mean it wasn't passing conversation. I made a huge deal about that jacket when I left it there. And 2-3 times in the past when I was wearing it and she would mention how she hated how dated it looked, I would always mention that it was my favorite jacket and I would never get rid of it.

I asked her if she remembered me saying these things and she says she doesn't remember me saying that I liked it that much at all.

So either my mother just really doesn't listen to me when I'm talking about what things I like, or she is losing her memory.

Mike I would have done exactly the same thing. Yes I know I have issues. Blah blah blah. I agree with you though. There was no forethought given to this. I'd call and apologize and ask her to please think before she disposes of anymore of your things.

Sid, I already did.


I also said that if my few boxes of things in the basement were a burden, I would gladly have a truck come pick them up and ship them out here for me to properly go through and keep/sell/dispose of so that it would be out of her house. She freaked at this idea and said that wasn't necessary. I said that then next time she had the urge to go through some boxes and get rid of things... call first.

I vividly remember telling her, before I left for LA, that that jacket was special and that it was my favorite jacket, and once I was settled down in LA I may get it fixed up because I like it so much and that it's very rare and impossible to replace.


hmm, people who squat to pee do odd things!

Schumi!

Did you read Lee's post? Life is too short. Always finish on a good note with your family and your loved ones.

The reason you are angry is that you know it is your fault for leaving the jacket in your mother's care. She has a history of selling / giving away your stuff, so what were you thinking leaving something in her control that is very important?

It is very simple - you should have taken the jacket with you or rented a storage unit.

On a final note: Moving sucks. You will always lose things in a move. And you will always leave behind memories and items that belonged in a phase of your life. That's your college jacket, all right. Sorry, college is over and there will be another favorite jacket around the corner ... too warm to wear that in L.A. anyway. ;)

Cheers,

George

Mike I know the way... If you need to go get and safely "store" any of your cool stuff let me know. ;) Cough *stereo and 924s* cough....



SmileWavy

Sorry, but I don't believe in a double standard for parents. If someone posted here that he'd sold his dad's old WW2 bomber jacket since the old guy hadn't flown in years or given it away to be used as rags for a scarecrow, this forum would be shopping for a redwood to hang him from. Mom may have gotten a tongue-lashing, but she did her own son pretty badly as well. The kicker is, as is likely with most families, if the belongings were those of a non-relative, they'd be untouched. Huge pet peeve of mine is how often people treat non-family with more respect than their blood.

Good move. Why she was out there going through your stuff at all is a completely mystery, but the fact that you stressed to her how important it was to you, and she doesn't remember that, could be a sign that she is heading towards Alzheimer's.

Regardless, there is nothing wrong in the least with expressing your anger/disappointment to her. These people who are telling you to grow up, etc. are totally out of bounds. You got blindsided on the one thing that was most important to you and you did everything but put a note on it saying "Do Not Throw Out."

It doesn't matter it was "just a jacket." Yeah, it doesn't matter to them it was just a jacket.

It's all too easy for them to stand at a distance and criticize you.

RPK's comment about "taking advantage of them" was the worst, IMO. The thing wasn't taking up desperately needed space. Good grief.

I remember how sad I was when I lost a beat up old canvas jacket my dad gave me. He was a Coastie and wore it in Alaska in WWII. There was no ceremony in his giving it to me... there way no "take care of this, son." He didn't care about the thing, but I did. I left it in a frickin' laundromat one night a couple years after college and didn't think about it until a day or two later. It didn't mean half as much to me as this leather jacket does to you, but I felt a huge loss.

I would bet it can be revived with the right oils and some expert hands on it. Even if it's a little skeevy, at least it'll be back. Be glad she didn't just toss it in the garbage.

Kudos to your dad for going out there to get it.

John I get the feeling that most of the comments about leaving the stuff were made by people who don't realize the circumstances.. I give Mike props for pulling off what he has this year. Not sure I could/would do the same.

lol! Roflmao! :d

If the jacket was so mission-critical, it should have come out west. Anything you leave behind in your life has less importance to you than the things your bring.

Following my mom's death, my dad met a woman, got cozy, wrote me out of his part of the will, and sold the house i grew up in without even telling me. Despite the fact that I got him through his post funeral period and still was talking with him once or twice a week.

I've known friends parents who did far worse. In the grand scheme of things, a jacket...is pretty much just a jacket. If it is more, then one might want to consider why such importance is applied to an inanimate object. Or in other words, what are the real issues driving this - on both sides.