This is only remotely TV related but...

In London:

"A woman's skeleton was discovered in her flat three years after she is believed to have died, it emerged today."

"Joyce Vincent was surrounded by Christmas presents and the television and heating in her bedsit were still on"

http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1614422/posts

Wonder how the TV looked after three years of continuous operation?

That is so tragic. It is unfortunate that somepeople are so alone in this world that no one considers them until the rent is past due.

I wonder what kind of TV it was. I doubt it was a black box. Three years of being on twenty-four/seven would cause the picture tube to rot off at the neck.

Must have been a utilities paid apartment as well...

Scott

That is a really sad story.

That is a really sad story.

Gotta agree.

It's almost unbelieveable that someone could drop out of sight and no one would check out their home to see what's up. A very sad commentary on the world we live in.

Heck, it's gross, but you think someone would have smelled something?????????

Yes, it is sad. Not so sad that she died if she is of a religion where she must now be in a better place, but so sad that she must have been alone and terribly alone. And so young to be alone.

In Los Angeles, they say nobody ever meets their neighbors. But this news story is a very good reason to know your neighbors, and to keep in touch with people. What if the woman in that story was alive but passed out or paralyzed from a stroke or seizure for a few days? She might still be with us if her disappearance had been noticed!

Charles

That is a really amazing story. She must have been pretty brave to have fled an abusive household with no freinds or family to turn to.

Since she died in the winter, her flat was probably around 70 degrees...she could have just "dried out" so when summer came and everything got a lot warmer, there weren't really any "guts" to smell up the place as bad as if she had died and started to decompose in the hot summer (with the heating on). Just a theory.

Whats really sad is that the story mentioned sisters she had,but still went undiscovered for three years in a refuge from domestic abuse,surrounded by Xmas presents,probably at least a month after the holidays.It all sort of adds up,in a really,really,tragic way.I think I will go kiss my wife now.
Jimmy

That lady's story is unique but the equivelant happens to more people than we can imagine everyday. People are abandoned and forgotten for reasons that stem from what is considered "normal" behavior in popular culture throughout the world. How many young peopledoyou suppose enjoy being with the elderly? How many young people believe it is worthwhile to try to learn from thier elders? Old people,like old things in general, are considered not as good as the new and the young. People do not think this way on thier own. They are trained to think as such and most people don't want to even take the time to discuss the subject.

Whats really sad is that the story mentioned sisters she had,but still went undiscovered for three years in a refuge from domestic abuse,surrounded by Xmas presents,probably at least a month after the holidays.

What's really strange is if she was in a refuge... wouldn't you think there would be a case worker
assigned to her case? :scratch2:

Making sure she was doing okay, had everthing she needed... checking up on her? :dunno:

Especially around the holidays...

Scott

Anybody else thinkin what I'm thinkin'...this has all the earmarks of an Urban Legend...

Yeah but the story was posted on CNN. And if you think about it, Layne Staley died in a similar way. Only difference is that enough people wondered where he was after not hearing from him for 2 weeks.

...And THEY can't be duped ? Come on, fellas, there's a fair amount of "too good to be true" stuff in this one....Old woman, friendless, apparently no close family, dies at home at Christmas surrounded by her presents...Nobody would call her & see how she liked the sweater set she got ? Her utilities just kept going on, even when nobody paid 'em? I'd like to try that w/my power board... I'm not saying it couldn't happen, it just seems a little, erm, "funny" to me...Let's just say I'm kinda skeptical. But if it is true, how awful ! Lets hope she went quickly, & didn't have to suffer...Imagine having a heart attack or a stroke, & being perfectly aware, but unable to do anything... Sounds like an Alfred Hitchcock story...no, wait..it WAS...

All the people in the world and so many are left alone. Sometimes it is good to be alone. Most of the time being alone wastes valuable time in that life is always better when you include others.

I hope we find out the truth as I think it should not be too hard to verify such a story. I believe it because stranger things happen all the time in this unbelievable world.
Does anybody know the easiest way to verify this story?

...And THEY can't be duped ? Come on, fellas, there's a fair amount of "too good to be true" stuff in this one....Old woman, friendless, apparently no close family, dies at home at Christmas surrounded by her presents...Nobody would call her & see how she liked the sweater set she got ? Her utilities just kept going on, even when nobody paid 'em? I'd like to try that w/my power board... I'm not saying it couldn't happen, it just seems a little, erm, "funny" to me...Let's just say I'm kinda skeptical. But if it is true, how awful ! Lets hope she went quickly, & didn't have to suffer...Imagine having a heart attack or a stroke, & being perfectly aware, but unable to do anything... Sounds like an Alfred Hitchcock story...no, wait..it WAS...

I agree it sounds far fetched,but think about it:she's only 40 when she dies,and the report mentions she has sisters,but they dont even show up until the autopsy.Maybe she came from a really dysfunctional family,which might account for her being in an abusive relationship to begin with.
Shes in England,and the refuge she lived in was probably government run,and they probably subsidized it,except for a nominal rent,which might have covered her utilities,etc.
I cant even imagine how backed up the beauracricy might be in a situation like that.Even in the states,the govt is always short staffed and behind in record keeping,but in a more socialized country like England,I bet the backlog of cases is mindboggling.
And for me,the saddest part of this story is the presents around her.I keep imagining this lonely woman buying presents for herself,and wrapping them all up,then keeping them around long after the holiday,just to comfort herself.How many people start buying Xmas gifts in the summertime,under the pretense of getting ahead,when you know at least part of it is trying to get the good feelings you get during the holidays during less pleasant times in your life?I know a lot of women who center their whole lives around those few weeks a year,making Xmas crafts,and homemade gifts all year round.
I guess this story just really affected me.I stayed up this morning,just so I could spend a little time with my wife,since our schedules dont allow us much time together.
Jimmy

There is a terrible, terrible website-rotten.com-with many stories along these lines. Some gruesome things can happen.

There is an odd chap near here-he lives in a burnt out house, is not that old, has an old pickup he drives around. My wife has been concerned about him given that the house is in such poor shape. We have asked many folks about him, trying to get his story and to see if he wants any help-but we have not gone up and talked to him. I wonder-would anyone miss him if he died? Thinking about it, that was my late grandfather's deepest fear, that he would die alone at home.

Brian,
That's great that you and others are thoughtful towards that man. It would be great to hear about someone talking to him to find out if he is knda nuts or just really depressed. He may very well not tell if he has givin up on other people as many understandably do. Ithink every community should have a group of women or anybody that goes and visits such people at least once a week just to chat and treat them with respect and dignity to hopefully let them experience being liked and wanted by others. Churches should be doing that but I guess they are too busy doing other things.



I hope your Grandfather is still amoungst us. Your words sound like he is gone. If so, did he have family with him?

Smoker, thanks for the kind words. My grandfather passed away in '97 while in the hospital. It was sudden, massive heart failure which killed him, something which ran in his family.

A house gets awful quiet & lonely when you live by yourself. Even folks who have frequent visitors can often find themselves feeling all alone. I know of another gentleman, alone in an apartment, who I have tried to visit every so often. Who was always calling me up and talking about how lonely he was. One day I stopped by after one of these calls and I learned I was his third visitor of the day and while I was there some other folks stopped by. But then, he might go for days without seeing anyone else.

All the people in the world and so many are left alone. Sometimes it is good to be alone. Most of the time being alone wastes valuable time in that life is always better when you include others.
Does anyone remember what famous person once said, "For every hour I spend with people I need an hour alone" (or something close to that)? This is closer to my own point of view, but maybe that's because I fancy myself to be a (wannabe) writer, inventor and all around dangerous thinker...

(my yahoo handle is wellturnedfrays (misspelled pun intended)

I think there should be groups of people to check on those who are abandoned as well as those who choose to be alone.
My first concerns are for those who would appreciate someone trying to help them as many are afraid to ask or just don't know how to ask for help.
As for those who choose to be alone, I think we should respectfully find out if they may be a danger to anyone. Some who stay alone have very good reasons for doing so. Unfortunately, there are loners who do bad things to others. I suspect many crimes could be prevented if we were to reach out to more people who may have problems that they cannot handle by themselves.

I suspect many crimes could be prevented if we were to reach out to more people who may have problems that they cannot handle by themselves.
Agreed. Civilization is a very thin veneer. Don't recall who said that. Or was it me? Nope, pretty sure it was some smarty pants whereas mine are too preoccupied with where double creases come from...

Here's a little more detail on the story, which is still far from making sense:

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/london/4906992.stm

...And THEY can't be duped ? Come on, fellas, there's a fair amount of "too good to be true" stuff in this one....Old woman, friendless, apparently no close family, dies at home at Christmas surrounded by her presents...Nobody would call her & see how she liked the sweater set she got ? Her utilities just kept going on, even when nobody paid 'em? I'd like to try that w/my power board... I'm not saying it couldn't happen, it just seems a little, erm, "funny" to me...Let's just say I'm kinda skeptical. But if it is true, how awful ! Lets hope she went quickly, & didn't have to suffer...Imagine having a heart attack or a stroke, & being perfectly aware, but unable to do anything... Sounds like an Alfred Hitchcock story...no, wait..it WAS...

Yes it does sound like an urban myth :bs:

But if it did happen... Well that sucks

Google on Joyce Vincent.
There are seemingly legitimate articles at The Telegraph and the BBC about her death.
It seems legit.

So call me a cold heartless bastard, but what kind of TV was it?

Back to the original topic of the thread. I think it is completely possible for a modern TV to work 24/7 for 3 years and still be fine. I've seen plenty of TVs running 24/7, or 18/7 in stores that work fine after as much as 5 or 10 years. It's also standard practice for many businesses to leave their computer monitors on 24/7.

Our local WalMart has tvs hanging up all over the store with wallyworld programing. They have been up and going 24/7 for 5 years now. One of the sets went to a green only screen.

So call me a cold heartless bastard, but what kind of TV was it?

My thoughts exactly. . .

Hey Gyusher, thanks for the laugh, you made my day. Why? Dear old Dad died last night. It shead humor on the death topic.

Devoid-

Sorry to hear about your dad. I went through that myself not long ago. Hang around here a bit; it helps.

It would be great if you told us about your dad if you ever feel like it.
Maybe post photos.
Good luck

Devoid, sorry to hear about your Dad! :tears:

I lost mine not too long ago as well... :(

Listen to some tunes in his honor! :thmbsp:

Scott

Thanks all. His love was classical music and was a long time member of a local chamber orchestra that he played violin in. I'm sure that seeded my interest in music. Been a rough couple of days so far. Got to go to the viewing today and the funeral tomorrow. Feels like the toughest thing I've ever had to deal with. Me, my mom, my wife and my three sisters are all hanging tight right now. Thankfully he died at home in his sleep. And cut the grass the day before. He was only 60.

Devoid-

Sorry to hear about your dad. I lost my dad last year and I know exactly where you are at the moment. My dad introduced me to quality hi-fi in the mid 70's when I was just knee high and I am eternally indebted to him for that and I still have most of his gear (which makes it even more special). Just hang in there and use the support of your family - It does get easier.

60-<gulp>- that's awful young...At least he went peacefully- a lot to be said for that. My dad, Henry, is 77,independent-and bull-headed as all get out-the day is coming when my sister & I are gonna have to take the car keys away from him. THAT is gonna be a Battle Royale...

Sorry to hear about your dad, Devoid. If you want to post more about him, please feel free... condolences to your family too, in any case.

Although we're a bit off topic, I want to add that Devoid's loss is a reminder to all who still have living parents... Don't EVER let a day go by without talking to Mom and/or Dad if you can, and know that some day you will no longer have that opportunity. For me, I was 21 when my mother passed away, and my natural father a year earlier. Stepdad is still with us, and just turned 71. Bossy & difficult as he is, I see him at least 3 times a week, and we have several vintage car restorations going at any given time. Most all of us will eventually be facing a similar loss to what Devoid is going through, and it is easy to put off that call or visit. Mother's Day is next week, and Father's Day in June. Food for though.

Charles

I wonder what kind of TV it was. I doubt it was a black box. Three years of being on twenty-four/seven would cause the picture tube to rot off at the neck.

I never heard of anything like that. Department stores have TVs on all the time (perhaps not all day and all night as you mention) for display purposes while the stores are open, and have no problems with the CRTs. I can't imagine why that would cause a CRT to rot at the neck unless the glass overheats and destroys the vacuum seal, or some such. :dunno: Are there any documented cases of this sort of thing actually happening?

BTW, that woman must have been incredibly alone for an incident such as you describe to happen. I can't imagine why someone, somewhere, didn't suspect that something was amiss when her mailbox became full to overflowing, or, as was mentioned in a previous reply to this post, when the landlord didn't hear from her when the rent came due.

Sad. Incredibly sad. :no:

Jeffhs- when the landlord didn't hear from her when the rent came due.

Sad. Incredibly sad.

```````````````````````````````````````
this is sad-

and yet...

i can't seem to get people to leave me alone...
neighbors, children, women of all ages, small animals, police,
but especially landlords!
how did this happen?

i'm jealous...

then again this may be an on-going trend-

http://www.girlsandcorpses.com/backissues_03.html

http://www.girlsandcorpses.com/about.html

then again this may be an on-going trend-

http://www.girlsandcorpses.com/backissues_03.html

http://www.girlsandcorpses.com/about.html

Ah...now there's a new low level of taste. This thread will probably be going three years from now, and it's been dead since it started. :sigh:

Ah...now there's a new - level - taste. This thread will probably be going three years from now, and it's been dead since it started.

back to life...


http://www.newsforblondes.com/