The Road To Getting Even
Sometimes people need to learn their lesson the hard way, especially when it comes to family. Family is everything to most people. Everyone knows that when push comes to shove, even the shyest person will throw down if someone messes with their family. It’s just common sense. Their claws will come out and show whoever decided to pick on their family, it was the wrong decision. But what happens when someone constantly picks on someone’s family member? Let’s say, their dear old grampa? Oh, then it’s time to show people who they’re working with.
“Sara” had to teach a local organization member, “Karen”, a thing or two about crossing the line with her generous grandpa “Henry” not once, but twice. Sara knew that sometimes you had to play hardball to win the game. And other times, you did what had to be done to get the message across. She was no ordinary campground facilitator. She was ready to show people who they were messing with.
Strike One
To set the story straight, Grandpa Henry owned a beautiful campground site he was very protective of. And understandably so. If he hadn’t kept a watchful eye on who went in and out, then people would be coming for free. Who would want that? So to follow the law he kept a keen eye and chase people down who dared to violate them.
Now, the part where this gets interesting is when Karen, the local organization’s leader’s wife, comes in. She believed since she knew “Grandma Beth,” grandpa Henry’s wife, she should be able to access his private property for free when she wanted to use it. Entitled much? She demanded free use of it for any and every event she held for the organization. But here’s the catch, she would charge people for admission to the event and the money would go to her organization. Allegedly.
Grandpa Henry, however, did not think this was a good idea. He could care less about who went to what organization. But he was understanding and generous, so he allowed three free events once a year to the youth. This included food for the three-day weekend, fishing on the river, trail rides, and interactions with the horses. And to help lower the costs to plan these events he enlisted the help of his kids and grandchildren, including Sara. Sounds like a pretty sweet deal, right? Wrong. Five years later, Sara found out how wrong that sentiment really was.
~
Swindled
After five years of planning these annual events, Sara and the rest of her family thought all was going well. Until the day she went to one of the organization’s meetings with her brother “Clark”, to speak to the man in charge about visiting her bed-ridden grandmother. When they arrived at the location, she could not believe what she heard She found out Karen had been charging people admission for nearly 300 bucks to attend a free event. Clark, however, was red in the face and consumed with anger. They were giving innocent people a run for their money. The more he learned, like how they offered special discounts for kids to attend, the more fed up he was.
Clark couldn’t wait any longer and midway through the meeting he stood up in a room full of nearly 200 people, surprising Sara herself. His voice filled the entire room as he address the organization leader.
Clark said, ”I’m surprised you’re able to stand up on that stage and speak of honesty to these people! You and your wife are crooks and thieves! You’ve been stealing from them for who knows how many events, I’m curious how far down the rabbit hole your theft goes!”
Astounded, the leader clamored, “Excuse me, sir! What are you talking about?!”
Not backing down, Clark replied, “My grandfather runs the Horse Camp all the kids are attending this coming weekend. My grandfather never charged any of the kids or their families a cent for using it. He knows how hard it is to attend fancy camps and had to pay for his own kids! My grandfather hated having to come up with so much money all the time so he hosted a free event for the kids. Even his grandkids help him run the event! I should know, I’m the Stablemaster during the event!”
The room went silent at the shocking revelation, the leader’s face turned red and a woman stood up, demanding answers. Who wouldn’t be shocked to learn they were being hustled?
“What do you mean, he doesn’t charge?”
~
The Truth Is Revealed
This woman wanted answers and she wanted them now. Especially since she had five children. Her face gave away all her emotions. She looked like she was ready to riot.
Clark told her, “My granddad knew first-hand how hard it was to come up with funds and how much going to different places affected his kids and helped them grow. He pays for their food, he lets them use the horses, has his family teach them about horses.”
This got everyone even more fired up. Because, how could they not? They had been paying for a free event, so where was their money? Everyone was talking over everyone. People were pointing fingers and throwing accusations at each other. It was sheer and utter chaos. It took hours to get things sorted out. During the chaos, the leader’s wife mysteriously disappeared. The leader admitted he thought the funds were being sent to Grandpa Henry, but not only was that not the case, but it also wasn’t even going back into the organization.
So many questions needed to be answered and yet the person who could answer them was nowhere to be found. When people realized she vanished, things got more heated. They realized how bamboozled they actually were. The events at Grandpa’s campsite allowed up to 20 to 25 people. People donated funds to the families who were less fortunate. No one was sure how much money was swept under the rug.
The estimate of the total amount, however, was another story. They estimated she got away with at least 105,000 bucks. Holy guacamole! Talk about hitting the jackpot. Sara was exhausted. She decided to head home and tend to the horses. Clark was furious but it didn’t compare to Grandpa’s anger once he found out. But if Grandpa Henry thought he was mad then, he was in for a rude awakening when the next event rolled around.
Sara and her family tried to keep up with events but the outcome made Grandpa Henry’s bitterness grow the size of Texas. Their maximum capacity went from 25 people to 50. That’s double the amount. Space at the campsite for visitors was not only limited but over-capacitated. Every camp bed available was filled and Sara’s family’s hearts felt raw. Sara felt cheated since she was a kid herself but in order for it not to affect her grandfather she put on a brave face. However, things took a turn when Sara turned 20.
~
Enough is Enough
At the ripe age of 20 years old, Sara found out her poor, sickly grandma’s health had crashed and burned. Everyone knew it was getting close to her end. Grandpa Henry needed Sara’s help with events because he was in no shape to be entertaining people. Sara wasn’t one to let her family down, so she added it to her list of things to do. Now she had to balance taking care of her grandmother and being the sole person to manage all the events for the campsite.
To alleviate more stress, she updated the website to say, ‘Due to current conditions, only previously booked events are on the schedule. Thank you. The campsite will be up and running again after the events conclude.’ The statement was the nicest way to explain how hectic her schedule and life had gotten.
While she was in town running errands five months later, Sara’s truck broke down. And just her luck, there wasn’t a nearby auto shop for miles. Sara called one of her family members for help and they offered to drive her back to work. But nope. Sara desperately needed a break. Sara’s aunt had driven her to get her car fixed. Once at the shop, the shop owner said it would take three hours so she decided to wander around town.
Taking advantage of this slight reprieve, she decided to eat at a small restaurant where she discovered a flyer. What was on the flyer that got her attention? The location for a said event of the flyer that’s what. Sara had to do a double take because she couldn’t believe her eyes. It was a location only available on her grandfather’s land. And admission was 20 bucks. Quickly thinking on her feet, she wrote down all the pertinent information from the flyer and made a promise to call as soon as possible.
When she got back to the shop she thought she missed an event on her calendar. it was possible, right? So completely wrong. Back at home, she confirmed she had space for maybe 40 cars at max. She called the number with an out-of-state phone number to see where parking would be for attendants. By the end of the call, she was livid. Karen had even charged between 20 to 40 bucks for parking. Not to mention the fact that one of the parking places was on Grandpa Henry’s property. Sara double-checked her calendar and saw it was not on the calendar.
Grandpa Henry’s property already had issues with someone breaking into his property. And now this? Fantastic. Sara didn’t know how to handle this unsettling news. Until Sara realized it was time for her to till the soil and smooth it over for the horses. A lightbulb went off in her head and she formed an ingenious plan.
~
Plans All Set
This was no ordinary revenge plan. Oh no. Sara had thought of everything to make sure she had the desired results. First, she visited an in-law who worked for the fire department and agreed to help her out. She signed the needed documents and her relative stored them away in his files. Then when Sara got back home later day, she tilled all of the pastures on her grandfather’s land. She did such an amazing job, the soil looked new and inviting for her unwanted guests. However, she didn’t care for anyone breaking her locks so she left her gates wide open and ready for people to drive in.
The day before the event was to take place, Sara noticed some suspicious activity. Sneaking a peek outside she saw a car drive by. She could not believe who it was. It was the leader’s wife, Karen, from all those years ago. It dawned on Sara, that Karen was running another scheme. Back at the scene of the crime no less. Sara saw red.
Sara watched the entire scene unfold as Karen and her partner knocked on all the doors of that area of the campsite and made sure the premises were vacant before speeding off. Thank goodness the grandparents didn’t live nearby. They came back the next day and brought a slew of people. There were three pastures worth of cars, a hand washing station, and vendors, and they were all set up for the event. They even had the nerve to turn on the footlights for the wedding vista.
Sara has had enough but she had to keep cool for her plan. Sara saw how big the event was and worried her plan wouldn’t work. There were just too many people she hadn’t accounted for. Once everyone had arrived it was time. She set off all of the sprinklers on the entire property and the results couldn’t have been better if she tried any harder. The driveway for the property was impassable. The sprinklers also washed out the roads. The scene was too beautiful. Sara watched gleefully as people rushed outside to see what was going on. After ten minutes, Sara shut the system off.
People called emergency services for help. The guests were stuck. Sara had even put flats in Karen’s tires of her car. Sara’s work here was done. By the time the police had arrived, Sara was already back with her grandparents and had an alibi. When she was questioned, she said she wouldn’t dare to be caught over there that night because a fire safety test was scheduled to happen. She even told them they had no events on their calendars. Take that Karen. Those documents she signed with her relative turned out to be permits for the safety tests.
As it turned out, Karen not only had to pay for the hotels and tow services for the attendants but also for the damage caused to the property. Karen was wanted for running similar scams for abandoned properties all over the country. Ultimately, all the profits from Karen’s scams were used to pay for the damages and extra expenses to help the people she scammed for her last scheme. It goes to show, that you never want to mess with someone’s family. You never know the consequences you might get.
