Where's the hot Sauce? Uh,it just walked off.
@Hatley (163776)
Garden Grove, California
May 5, 2010 8:07pm CST
This came to me just now as a new topic from praising our great mylot. My tablemate Emily and I had taken the stale bottle of ketchup off the
little turnaround and the very old bottle of Hot Sauce, and put it to one side for the care takers to dispose of. Well one of our other tablemates' Celia the silent came in.She put those two old bottles back on the little turnaround, and we explained that we wanted to discard them as they were really outdated and tasted horrid. So Celia put them back against the wall where I had put them.Now a word about Celia, she was on the street as a homeless person for a long time,or so George the president of us residents told me. She has a way of just making things on our table disappear,like extra ketchup packets or mustard packets and we don't mind,its there for all three of us to use. But have you ever met someone or know someone who can be around you are awhile , then when they leave you realize something is missing? It is never anything very expensive so people will not really complain about it, but this person was the last one to be close to the item.we were sitting talking after lunch, Emily and I and all of a sudden I realized the hot sauce bottle was gone. well we did assume she took it as she has been taking things from our table every since she came here. we had to laugh as that hot sauce was outdated three years ago, she may be in for a surprise if she really tries to use it on something. So to make a discussion, have you ever known a person, friend or not, who had uh sticky fingers? swiped little things, that you only realized later were missing?
8 people like this
21 responses
@geqiandeyu (84)
• China
6 May 10
the goverment is the biggest thief.and even everyone in this world has sticky fingers too.we steal pork from pig,milk from cow,apple from appletree.steal rice from grass.we steal life from our parents.one life live by eating enough,at the sametime,someother been eaten.someone starve.
i know this is maybe a little far from what you want to talk.but is really what i thought after reading this.
2 people like this
@GardenGerty (160978)
• United States
6 May 10
geqiandeyu, we do not have the option of deleting our posts on this site. It would be nice sometimes. It is interesting that that is how you mind sees us.
2 people like this
@Hatley (163776)
• Garden Grove, California
6 May 10
hi geqiandeyu but that is not the way to look at it. God made his world and gave us dominion over it and taught us to eat from what he made so we are not stealing we are obeying his commands.We must be positive in this life,not negative. look up not down.
1 person likes this
@cream97 (29086)
• United States
6 May 10
Hi, Hatley. When my son wants something he can sneak it very well. We will never see him do it. But when money is missing, we know that it was him that has taken it. And, he has the money on him. He is very clever when it comes to taking something that does not belong to him at all. This silent Celia is going to be in for a big surprise when she finds out that the hot sauce has a stale taste to it. Celia knew that the hot sauce bottles was no good, she already had plans to use it. She is very sly and someone needs to catch her red handed.
It may just be you and Emily that is. The silent thief has just met her match!
It may just be you and Emily that is. The silent thief has just met her match!2 people like this
@Hatley (163776)
• Garden Grove, California
30 May 10
hi cream oh my lol so maybe thats what happened she did miss several meals and was seen carrying groceries so maybe she used the hot sauce and yes Kaboom!!!!
@GardenGerty (160978)
• United States
6 May 10
I have baby sat children who did this. One little girl stole stuff I hand made for my daughter's dolls even. Then had the nerve in front of my daughter (who was younger) and her mom and me to say Samantha had traded with her. This upset my daughter, cause she did not want me to think she had done that, but I knew better. The other person that comes to mind is my mom. She would not dream of taking money or anything like that, she just always wanted to take pieces of plants. It did not matter if it was in a park, a store or a greenhouse, if she wanted it, she wanted to try to get a cutting, for free.
2 people like this
@Hatley (163776)
• Garden Grove, California
6 May 10
oh my gosh garden gerty my own mom used to do that so finally when we were on a walk and my mom was eyeing some particularly pretty plant in some strangers yard, I would ask if some member of the family was around, would you mind giving us a cutting of that gorgeous plant and most would be so pleased that we had admired their garden that they would give her several really nice cuttings ,. she had a really green thumb so the cuttings never went to waste either.She always had so many great plants and they would really thrive too. Oh yes mom had a way of taking slips without others noticing and always I held my breath in case we did get cau ght. lol lol lol.
1 person likes this
@laydee (12798)
• Philippines
6 May 10
Not really something about losing things, I'd say I do know of someone who, when is around food would be lost or out of sight. Hehehe.. He was younger then.
I could remember him. He was huge for his age and I think it was because of the upbringing, he was younger then and whenever he comes to visit with his family and stayed with us, we noticed that there would always be food shortages. Until we found out that the kid was keeping food in his pocket! Well, it may sound 'normal' to you or to an average reader, but we're talking about food in terms of meat slices, chicken legs, rice and other stuff.
He takes them, put them in his pocket (without any wrapper or cellophane, just directly into his pocket. Then run off eating it slowly while in hiding.
It's quite weird really, but I think it's about survival. When he was younger, the parents were mostly away and was left to two old people in the province to take care of him. The only means for him to stop crying was to be fed. It's sad really but I hope he'll get over it soon.
2 people like this
@Hatley (163776)
• Garden Grove, California
6 May 10
hi laydee, oh that was something else that silent Celia did, she would wrap up pieces of food and put them in her huge bags, she always carries two or three of them with her where ever she goes. She will not talk to us, and I have really tried. I did feel sort of sorry for her, for I did not know why she was homeless but its a horrible feeling to be that way,. as I landed here because I and myson were for awhile. but she refused to socialize with us so I just am pleasant with her and do not force the issue. I think thats what up with her, having to survive.
1 person likes this
@bunnybon7 (50973)
• Holiday, Florida
6 May 10
are you sure she didnt just throw it away? did you look in the trash? i cant remember knowing a person like that but my son in ohio said they had a ferret that took stuff and hid them in a little hiding place. when they found out it was her then they found her hiding place and reclaimed things, like a sponge
a comb,a sock, braclet, etc. she soon found another
that was so cute but annoying. @Hatley (163776)
• Garden Grove, California
6 May 10
hi bunnybon we had a magpie on the farm when I was in my teens. we found in its nest a whole bunch of shiny jewelery we had missed over several years. earring , broaches, and one crystal bead necklace, all really shiny stuff. she did not seem to miss what we took back as she kept to the same nest. lol lol lol.
@geqiandeyu (84)
• China
6 May 10
i don't really want to talk about this.because i am a thief.i do that kind of things everyday.i steal milk form cow,pork from pig,and rice from grass.even steal life from my parents.i hope there is no laws in heaven.
2 people like this
@Hatley (163776)
• Garden Grove, California
30 May 10
hi gabs this poor lady came here off the streets and now she seems to be slipping. I think her mind is going as she seemed to be conducting an orchestra in her mind and moving her hands accordingly.Its painful to see that the admins, here at a retirement center supposedly for only retirees with sound minds, have got to the point where money is more important than people. some of the people they are now taking in here belong in institutions where they can care for people with moderate to s
severe mental problems.
severe mental problems.
@dawnald (85146)
• Shingle Springs, California
6 May 10
ah, the Bickersons....
My mom used to direct duplicate bridge games. I would go and help out for a whopping $5 a night (I could do my homework in between things). There was this couple, Ed and Annette (forget their last name) who were constantly at each other. He was a very nice man, but nobody liked her. Anyway, they were supposedly quite well off. Anyway, the club put out cookies and made coffee for the players. At the end of the game, she would sneak over and stuff a bunch of the leftover cookies in her purse.
And that's your Dawn memory for the day...
1 person likes this
@Hatley (163776)
• Garden Grove, California
6 May 10
hi dawn oh yes another funny Dawn memory for the day. I have known
women like her, one time mymom made a party the only one she ever made for the church ladies society, and this one lady kept stuffing slices
of chocolate cake into her purse. My mom was fit to be tied but my
dad butted in and whispered, oh dont make a scence she is the Mayor's wife.When they left my mom said, well then the Mayor sure made a poor choice of mates, glad I never voted for him. Even though the lady wrapped the chocolate cake in napkins, it had a nice thick gooey Chocolate frosting on it. I bet her handbag was a mess when she got home. the mayor really was a nice man however.
1 person likes this
@dawnald (85146)
• Shingle Springs, California
6 May 10
OK that's too much for me. Weird....
Now my mother-in-law takes things home from restaurants, but it's mainly things that are going to get thrown away anyway, like any bread that doesn't get eaten.
@Hatley (163776)
• Garden Grove, California
6 May 10
hi jdyrj777 oh dear we are stuck with this one as she is our
table,mate. but at least she only swipes packets of ketchup
and mustard, and sometimes put part of her meal into napkins
then stuffs it into her purse.She also takes cups and plates
to her room but the staff here will always pick up any dinner
ware belonging to Gold crest.
@celticeagle (168334)
• Boise, Idaho
6 May 10
I have had some things come up missing years ago and I still wonder to this day who took them. I think my granddaughter did. She has sticky fingers and comes up with things I think she brought home from the lost and found at school. Jewelry and clothes. Pretty pathetic I think.
@Hatley (163776)
• Garden Grove, California
6 May 10
hi celticeagle oh dear yes that is pretty pathetic really as usually
in the school lost and found a child comes hoping to find whatever she or he lost and maybe mom or dad is not too happy they lost the items, so when they get there of course the object is gone as your granddaughter
took it.sad indeed. like me and my sweaters. I lost two at my favorite restaurant as I had ta ken it off as the room was too warm, then walked out and forgot it. only to realize a half hour later I left my sweater there, so go back and they say oh there is no sweater in our lost and found, but one time the cashier was telling me that just as the waitress who waited on me came up carrrying my sweater, is this it, library lady, oh yes i cried, and laughed, they did not know my name but did know where I wo rked. he he.
1 person likes this
@Hatley (163776)
• Garden Grove, California
6 May 10
hi celtideagle I have also lost two sweaters here at Gold crest and they should have been taken to lost and found so evidently the person who took them must have felt they needed more than the poor owner did. now I am really possessive of my sweaters and do not just walk off and leave them. i hate doing that. darn.
1 person likes this
@celticeagle (168334)
• Boise, Idaho
6 May 10
Yes, I too have lost some great sweaters and a few jackets at restaurants. Alittle enibriated so I wasn't thinking as straight as I would have been other wise. Hehe
1 person likes this
@cyrus123 (6363)
• United States
6 May 10
No, I never have known anybody like this. This is really weird! Reckon it's her mind? I hope she knows what she's doing at least. I just know that some of the people in the assisted living facility where I go to sing once a month, their mind is not that good, bless their hearts. I'm just glad it's not anything expensive she's taking. It looks like some of the staff would notice when some of these things are outdated. It looks like they would also notice when things are missing and what Celia is up to.
@Hatley (163776)
• Garden Grove, California
6 May 10
yes kathy you would think so indeed but I think some of the staff just smile and look the other way. She is one really odd person. She will sit there and watch us and not speak then go into a torrent of laughter, this is really unnerving and Perla my othe table mate will look at her and frown then ask her, whats so funny? Celia will then mumble nothing so I do not know is she is really so wacky or just putting something on. I assume she did get social security and probably ssi as she must have some mental problem.
1 person likes this
@Hatley (163776)
• Garden Grove, California
30 May 10
hi kathy oh yes me too. she buys groceries and eats in her room
at times so I hope she doesnt really use it. I feel sorry for
her inthat somethings gone haywire with her mind. this morning she was I think conducting an orchestra at least it looked like it just watching her hand movements. I wanted to laugh yet cry. sorta sad really.
1 person likes this
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@lovinangelsinstead21 (36850)
• Pamplona, Spain
8 May 10
Hiya Hatley,
That sort of fits the description I would give to someone I know. Won´t say who it is or was but he was forever "vanishing" all my things away whenever he could. He did that for years I could never have a decent thing for myself. He used to "vanish" them and hide them away I know because I found them more than once but they were all broken. Why did he do this who knows? However Hatley he has taken the very last thing away from me but he cannot take anything else away from me now that was his last card concerning me and now he cannot play the same game anymore. Do I feel sorry for him not one bit. He also cannot play the same game with any of us anymore. Thank goodness for that too. If in twenty years I never heard from him again that would be too short make it forty instead. Celia must be feeling out of sorts with herself having lived on the Street and all that so she must find it really hard to settle too. Maybe it´s a sort of "comfort" to her to do those kind of things I don´t know much about People but it would seem that way to me. By the way I am referring to an inheritance a family one I was "vanished" out of it if you see what I mean. So now there is nothing left for him to magic away from me any more. 
1 person likes this
@Hatley (163776)
• Garden Grove, California
30 May 10
hi lovinangelsinstead21 It proves that old saying you can choose
your friends, but your relatives you are stuck with it.I feel for
poor Celia as being on the street seems to have done something to
her mind. she was, I swear,pretending she was conducting an orchesta.
She willnot talk to us yet I seem a gleam of intelligence in her
eyes and I think at one time she was very bright.I would love to know
what her story was. She never seems to have any company so wonder is she is all alone.
@lovinangelsinstead21 (36850)
• Pamplona, Spain
31 May 10
Hiya Hatley,
Celia seems to be hiding herself under an umbrella to protect herself from life, from other people. She is intelligent alright you have to be intelligent to survive that long on the streets especially a Woman. She is probably suffering from being emotionally stuck too in some way. No wonder poor Woman. I think People who have suffered like this can suffer from odd behavioural traits that are really only saying look at me, talk to me, do something. Her brightness might seem tarnished but you can bet it´s still there. It´s only like a pencil that needs sharpening. Perhaps she may never come out of her shell again but I would bet my bottom dollar that there is more to her than meets the eye.
Maybe you will be able to reach her Hatley you seem to have that ability to see Peoples problems.
In any case variety is the spice of life don´t you reckon?
Just leave a few more half empty sauce bottles around and see if you can catch her attention she might even let drop her story to you.
1 person likes this
@climber7565 (2579)
• United States
8 May 10
yea that is kind of strange and I would not like to be around people who have such habits of stealing. At some point it is compromising and could implicate me on something I did not mean to be part of.
@Hatley (163776)
• Garden Grove, California
8 May 10
hi climber well in her case the staff all know about her back ground
and do not worry about it as the things she takes are like little
packets of mustard or ketchup and they cost very little , so the staff
does know what she is doing. now if it was something costly of course they would be upset with her,. but its all very petty.
@Hatley (163776)
• Garden Grove, California
9 May 10
no not at all and these were not little packets, there were two large bottles of Ketchup and of an expensive Jamacian hot sauce,no not an issue as much as wondering. You really did not read all of my discussion or you would have known we took these two bottles of the little lazy daisy where they had been with the sugar and salt and what have you.We intended to throw them out as they were both outdated, way outdated, the hot sauce was three years outdated. Celia had stuck them back on the caro9usel and we told her we wanted to toss them out as they were outdated . So she put them back on the end of the table. then she left as we sat for a while and chatted. then I noticed the ketchup was still there but the hot sauce was gone. She does take larger things too but the staff just patiently hauls them back out of her room. I was just telling about her and trying to figure out her thoughts at time. we do nothing to hurt her or ridicule her,in fact all threeof us have tried to befriend her but she will have none of us. No I just hoped she did not use that hot sauce as I have no idea whether it gets hotter after three years past expiration date or whether it loses its flavor all together.this was to have been more of an amused discussion not any biggie and no we do not mistreat homeless people at all here.Also I was worried she would get sick if she did use the stuff.She refuses to return our trys at being friendly and it worries me as it seems so awful to just sit there and not talk to her, but if you do she will not answer.
@climber7565 (2579)
• United States
8 May 10
well when it comes to those little condiments everyone takes them and use them at home. I am confused as to what it is you all are paying attention then. Are we making and issue over normal things, just because she was homeless?
1 person likes this
@Hatley (163776)
• Garden Grove, California
6 May 10
hi saphrina oh yes I did blame myself as it would have taken only a second to just lock the front door, and that was all it took I imagine for someone to see that pretty Angel lamp and make off with it. You can just imagine what my very logical son said when I told him about the theft. I think Duh was one of the terms he used. he he he.
Thats men. 
@dragon54u (31634)
• United States
6 May 10
I was like that, too. I grew up poor and spent some time camping in the desert when I had no money and no job--then when I got a job I had to save up for an apartment. It was tough. For decades after that I would take things like packets of ketchup, sugar, disposable tableware...I ate nothing but Peanut butter sandwiches for a month one time, I've known a lot of poverty. So I knew why I was taking things but couldn't stop myself. After all, what if it happened to me again through my own mismanagement or unfortunate chain of circumstances?
Celia probably feels the same way. I'm glad you don't make a big deal of it and that you are supportive of her. She'll probably always be that way, it's a fear that is tough to overcome.
1 person likes this
@Hatley (163776)
• Garden Grove, California
6 May 10
hi dragon yes I do know that when she first came it seemed like she
could never get enough to eat, so if I or my table mates could not
eat a certain item we just asked her if she wanted. poor lady
she just wolfed it down like she was afraid someone would take
it away from her. We came to realize a lot of what she must have
gone through.I have been broke too and once lived for a w eek on
avocados till I got my first paycheck, in fact the reason I am here at Gold Crest is because after my son was laid off we got behind in the rent and were evicted so were homeless, and now my son is in government sponsored apt with three other men. He is still out of work.
@paula27661 (15811)
• Australia
6 May 10
I feel sorry for Celia, it sounds like she has not got out of the homeless mentality and still takes things and stashes them away. Your discussion reminded me of my ex mother in law who had the habit of pinching things from pubs and restaurants. She would come home with ashtrays, cutlery, salt and pepper shakers, you name it, if it was on a table she would steal it! Going out with her was really embarrassing! I remember one time we were sitting at a table in a pub and after looking around she turned to me and said, “How big is your bag?” My reply was, “Noooo waaaay!!”
1 person likes this
@Hatley (163776)
• Garden Grove, California
6 May 10
hi paula I do too and just wish she would talk to us, just maybe
we might be able to help. the poor lady still carries her three big
bags with her like she is afraid someone would steal them out of
her room. My husband sometimes use to take stuff from hotel rooms
till I made him stop as I just do not think they like people taking towels etc home with them at all. my mom was the one who was always
pinching cutting from plants in other people's yards.lol
1 person likes this
@catdla1 (6005)
• United States
6 May 10
I have a story about ketchup. When my son was smaller, as a treat I would take him to one of the famous fast-food restaurants, the kind with the indoor playroom. On each table were ketchup squeeze bottles. On this one trip, my son complained about the ketchup tasting 'funny', so I opened the bottle and sniffed. it was FERMENTED! I called an employee over and showed her. She told me that she wasn't surprised because they never cleaned the bottles. Each night they just refilled them. Things like ketchup and hot sauce, with the vinegar in them are not apt to spoil - as in getting moldy. But with the sugar and fruits (tomatoes and peppers) they will eventually ferment.
1 person likes this
@Hatley (163776)
• Garden Grove, California
6 May 10
hi catdla1 oh y es ketchup can ferment and boy does it taste
awful when it does that. I know a lot of places do leave those
on the tables. I always wondered if they ever changed them or
cleaned them . I was lucky in not getting one that was
fermented but once bought what I thought was a new bottle
the squeeze kind from Vons, and it was fermented. they
are really good about making things right there so took it
back, they sniffed it and the lady said, yuck , go get a new bottle, and then she sniffed it to be sure it was fresh so I did finally get
one that was new. She and the manager were not sure why that one was spoiled like that, so they started checking expiration dates and found ten that were way past expiration dates.
@Hatley (163776)
• Garden Grove, California
7 May 10
hi ifa225 y es it is so true. You finally notice something is missing and wonder what happened to it, but do not even know when it was
nicked.not very nice to steal from people that is sure.
@much2say (56114)
• Los Angeles, California
10 May 10
This made me laugh! Well, my 5 year old just loves elephants. In fact she is obsessive over elephants. My 6 month old son has this baby gym . . . a mat that a baby lies on with 2 arches with toys/links that are hung from them so baby can play. A couple weeks ago, I noticed something was strange about the gym and I couldn't quite place my finger on it. And then the other day I realized that the purple elephant that was placed in the middle wasn't there. I immediately knew that my daughter had taken it. She has an elephant "family" in her room . . . and I was sure that it was among them now. I asked my daughter and she said she did take it - that it needed to be with it's family. Well, I told her it was not ok for her to just take it . . . that it did belong to her little brother and that it was his toy to play with . . . but she could play with it when he napped. She doesn't skip a beat . . . sure enough I see that purple elephant is missing EVERYTIME I put the baby on the mat to play - she forgets to put it back!!! 
1 person likes this
@Hatley (163776)
• Garden Grove, California
30 May 10
much2say thats so funny and of course she just forgot, uh huh.
wait til baby is older then he is going to say dats mine dont
touch. but she will be a bit older too so maybe thats okay
too. oh my then she would love my beanie baby grey elephant he looks so real,He is named Bahati,suppose he is an Indian elephant and thats why that Indian sounding name its so cute I have it here beside my monitor so I can look at it.I have a collection of beanie babies I have bought and been given to over the years,more than thirty now.
sounding name its so cute I have it here beside my monitor so I can look at it.I have a collection of beanie babies I have bought and been given to over the years,more than thirty now. 
@Kumar1232009 (1215)
• Spain
6 May 10
lol.. when i was in high school, i have seen some group of student who were sitting next to our table. they are murmuring to each other but i don't have any idea about what was in their head until i found out that they used to steal the ketchup and hot sauce bottles being placed on top of the restaurant tables and those from the condiments corner....
1 person likes this
@Hatley (163776)
• Garden Grove, California
6 May 10
hi kumar12332009 oh yes I remember in college doing that and its so bad, why did we do it, its stealing a nd I am sure we were all taught not to steal. but one thing the others did that really made me angry. they would take mustard and ketchup and squirt them into cups, then put water in it and just leave that mess for the workers to clean up. these were mostly very wealthy kids from the upper class students spoiled rotten and taking it out on the student kitchen workers. they should have been damned ashamed of themselves I thought. ,
rotten and taking it out on the student kitchen workers. they should have been damned ashamed of themselves I thought. , 