Thanks, but no thanks....

[Southron]

I always prefer to start things on a positive note, so let me begin by thanking Clara for all the work she did coordinating the Thanksgiving dinner. I would also like to thank my staff who worked so hard to make it a success.

That being said, last Thursday was the proverbial "straw that broke the camel's back". After 2.5 years of sponsoring free gatherings, I am finished! There will be no more open meetings sponsored by me or my companies!

The crowning insult was when one of the people attending, whom I had never even met before acted like she owned the place, took the entire dessert platter to the table where she and some of her friends were sitting; and, at the end of the dinner walked off we 3 bags of food that we and others had provided without so much as simply asking if she could take some home.

In addition, one of her friends had the temerity to "disinvite" one of my personal friends from sitting at "their" table with them because they disagreed on some issue.

I am sick and tired of the free loaders, jerks and just plain trashy people who ruin things for everyone else. I never publicly complained about the way my house was treated during the 18 months we hosted an open gathering every week, but numerous events of breakage, going into private rooms, and people walking off with our food and liquor occurred.

Any future gatherings I hold will be private and by invitation only. For those of you who will miss the Thursday Open meetings, you have only the freeloaders and jerks to blame.

In closing, I would like to add that I have had the privilege of meeting many nice people who acquaintance or friendship might not have otherwise happened. They will always be welcome in my home and at my events.

[Syd]

David,

Time to put all that in the past. Go out into that beautiful yard of yours and sit by the water for a while. Great therapy.

Thanks again for the good times we had on our infrequent visits to your outings when you were in Buceo.

Syd and Gundy

[clara]

David,
No good deed goes unpunished......
Certainly the response to your generosity over the past 2 1/2 years has been far more positive than negative. Unfortunately there are always the few who by their disrespect, abusiveness, and generally bad behavior can destroy the good and leave you with a bad taste. I sincerely hope you will reap the rewards for many, many years to come. May all receive exactly what they deserve!!
Thank you many times over for your generosity and your friendship.

[Sara]

I'm certain that for every freeloader, opportunistic, and predatory creature in those gatherings there were at least twenty others who appreciated the Southron's generous hospitality of the past three years.

I live in Colonia so I just went to a couple of gatherings, but my life in Uruguay has been greatly enriched by this Southron's-sponsored forum. Without this board, I wouldn't have met many people I now call my friends.

So a here's a heartfelt THANK YOU, Southron, and may the sun always shine on you.

Sara

[Tom O]

I couldn't have said it better Clara.

As surely as night follows day, people will abuse the kindness of anyone offering anything for "FREE".Last week a friend posted some free kitchen cabinets on Craigslist,some people wanted him to deliver them for free as well.The parents of these parasites should be slapped for not instilling common sense and manners in them before they unleashed their brood into an unsuspecting world.
David,
Have you counted the silverware yet, it sounds as though you had your hands full.I hope it wasn't any of the regular contributors to the forum that caused your distress.We(the contributing members of the forum) appreciate all that you have done in making life easier for the expat community,we can only hope that you won't lump us into the same category as the leeches that you encountered on turkey day.As Syd stated earlier,you can hold your head high for tolerating and sponsoring the events as long as you did.

[Fuzzybill]

David -- So sorry to learn of the disgusting behavior of some of your guests. Gaye and I were in the States for Thanksgiving so we weren't able to attend, but we would have been mortified had we been there. As others have already stated, we appreciate your generosity to us first as potential expats and later as newbies in Uruguay. Without the information you provided us along the way as well as your help and friendship we might never have made our move. We, too, offer you all our best wishes for the future and hope that you have a great and successful life in the ROU. We hope to see you again somewhere down the road.

Rich & Gaye

[gaberoo]

David -- So sorry to learn of the disgusting behavior of some of your guests.

Same here. I'm sure the private gatherings will be much more pleasant. It's incredible how things (noxious behavior by guests) like this can occur. Thank you for the generosity you showed to all of the grateful guests you hosted through these past few years.

[oregon woodsmoke]

David, I am sorry to hear that the party turned into a bad experience. I'd like for you to know that, even though I've yet to get to Uruguay, I deeply appreciate all you have done for all the expats, all the expat wanna-be's, and all the Uruguayans who hang out on the Southron forum.

[loei]

Good grief!!!

I'm horrified to hear of this.

My move here and I suspect that of others would have been MUCH more difficult without the sound and solid help/advice of David and this board. I live some distance away from MVD so the introduction of the severe drink/drive laws has kept me away from the evening events during the last year or so but I still feel enormously grateful for all the excellent entertainment provided by David in the past.

I'd like to add a big thank you to David himself for all his kindness and to express my sorrow that scumbags like this are starting to arrive in this lovely country.

Patrick.

[carlos]

I'm horrified to hear of this.

me too!!

a last minute cancellation of another appointment at the same time, would have put me there ....

but i decided not to go, as i hadnt answered the repeated requests...

now i dont know if it was worse or better... (?)

anyways, thank you david and the team and all the other individuals that made the meetings possible for all these past years.

i met fantastic people there, as well as thru the forum, so i hope at least this good job online will go on.

wishing you only better times,

saludos, c.

--
i know many people wouldt tell "who they were" publicly, but, is there a chance to know by pm, in case they work?
for different reasons i consider it an important info.thanks, c.