She told me that some of her 'friends' had put an ad on craigslist, using her telephone number, for a free house and when she turned on her phone at break, her battery was dying, voice messages were full and had a ton of texts.
And she was very upset. She asked me to please get on the computer and try to take it off or flag it or something. But I couldn't, because I was dealing with something else and didn't have the technology available to deal with it-but I promised to deal with it as soon as I got home.
When I finally got home, I couldn't find the ad. It must have been taken off. Thankfully.
But that wasn't stopping the calls and the texts.
miss h shared them with me when she got home from school. Here's a sampling (some are texts, so they're typed like a text):
A free house? Sounds too good to be true.
I just called about your house. I left a message but the hospital I’m in does not have a good signal and no one can get through.
By any chance do u still have the house I am in bad need of it.
Hi I am inquiring about your ad on Craigslist your voicemail is full but I have three kids and a mom and we could really use a fresh start please call me back at
My name is ______ I’m in a bad situ with my 3 kids and need to move asap I’m a nursing student and your place would be an amazing new start 4 us somewhere my kids can call home and no one could kick us out we have been there a lot the last few years going from house to house and school to school my kids deserve better and my mom’s husband has tried to force his self on me so we need out I fear for my daughter she’s almost 16 I can and will take very good care of your home and it would be a blessin I will meet you anytime you can thnkx _____
My num is
I have called ur num n it don’t ring
Please help us I will meet you any day anytimeMy num is
I have called ur num n it don’t ring
Thnkx
I would love to have a house been moving here and there
very interested 3 boys in dire need
Think this is a joke if not call
miss h was totally bawling as we listened and read these.
And I am glad. She has a heart.
Clearly, her 'friends' did not think about the consequences of their so called joke.
What got to us the most, was the thought of the false hope that this thing created for those poor people.
What a shameful thing to do.
And then we started thinking about what these kids really did.
(Violating miss h's privacy)
And that was spooky.
miss h decided on a course of action to deal with the situation (since it happened during school hours and we subsequently learned was done on a school computer). I am proud of her for how she handled herself and thankful for how the school administration helped her handle it.
I am thankful that, as a mom, I've said over and over, "actions have consequences."
Because they do.
Oh, baby, they do.
Oh, baby, they do.
Horrible. Yes actions have consequences and they sadly teach amazing lessons. Sadly, your kiddos (who wouldn't anyway) and anyone who was affected by this will hopefully never dream of doing anything like this. So so sad.
ReplyDeletePS I hope I used affected right. I never know exactly when to use affect and effect so I never use the word. I'm a dork.
Whoa. That is crazy. I am proud of Miss h. I hope her new friends will treat her better.
ReplyDeleteI'm amazed you were able to handle it so well, I would have been SO furious! Way to go mom, and it shows how well you've raised your daughter if she can handle it so well, too.
ReplyDeleteI found your blog through Crazy Writer Girl; you're a great mom and I'm impressed by your daughter. What some kids think of as a joke these days is really sad. Hopefully they will learn before someone really gets hurt.
ReplyDeleteHi Jenn! So glad you're here! Thanks for visiting.
ReplyDeleteDon't you just love CWG?
She's certainly surprised me today. :)
AP-me too
Four-I was really disappointed. I hate it when things happen (like this) that shake things up in a bad way--but--it was a very good life lesson.