Disheartening News!

[catzenmouse]

Legal & Olga,

 Have a WONDERFUL time away from the day to day!

 Well, you know our Jet, he just loves his toys...

Ken

[Wist]

Chipping in for a contract on that "businessman" would certainly tempt me.

[Rvrwind]

WOW!!!!
I gotta say Valya & I are both totally overwhelmed by the show of support & the loans pouring in.
For the moment though I gotta ask that you cease & desist, please. Its not that it is uneeded or that we can't find a use for it, its just that we have to figure out exactly where 'we' want to go from here.
There are several options we are discussing but have yet to come to a final decision. I am waiting answers to a couple of emails I sent out that will also have bearing on our decision.
Your kind thoughts & generousity are way more than I imagined & even though I never asked for your help you have all given freely of yourselves. No man could ask for truer friends than you. I checked my Paypal account & there is enough in their to buy the Tashma Hall I think, LOL, not really, but alot more than I expected to see.
Someone earlier in the thread mentioned a couple of questions that he felt need to be answered & I totally agree & that is what we are mulling over. There are a couple of ways this can play out & we have to decide which is best for us. We have some ideas & had made some plans about my return to Canada & her eventual arrival & so those will factor in as well. As well as in the long run sooner or later I have to go back & at least get Valya her Canadian citizeship so she can enjoy the freedoms I do.
I am a firm believer that everything happens for a reaon, even if a scumbag is the catalyst!
As for those debating the Buisness & the scumbag boss - They are two different things. Although I have the buisness it is not totally mine but a partnership & I was working outside the buisness to support Valya & myself as well as putting money into the buisnessto pro it up in the short term, the buisness hasn't matured enough to make it yet but it is slowly improving.
I have been here a long time, thats true, I have built a life here, a buisness from scratch, against all odds, survived a heart attack & a Russian hospital, LOL., but perhaps going home for awhile may be prudent. No matter what we decide, we will return as the buisness is here & I have an idea for another buisness in Canada involving my wife, so all is not hopeless. I am a survivour & so is Valya, we do what we need to do to get done what needs to be done. Sometimes it isn't easy, but then what is?
We thank you all from the bottom of our hearts for your thoughts & yes even your prayers, although I ain't religous either, it all helps.
Once we decide what way to go I will come back & post it here. But I think a few days reflecton is in order to make the correct decision.
Thank you all!
Richard & Valya

[viking]

Richard, you are welcome. Please keep us posted.

[GregfromGa]

Ken! Olga and I leave in three hours for Jacksonville.  I have a mediation at 10:00 in the morning then I am taking Olga to Saint Augustine and spending  Thursday night and Friday at a bed and breakfast. Olga's  present for International woman's day.  Guys Don't forget.  My point is I don't know when we will be back on the board probably Saturday well see     I need to decompress.  I will be in touch with Jet and Phil. Oh Ken by the way I was at the airport
waiting on the hot tarmac for take off clearance and I get another strange call about Jet also wanting clearance for take off I could not believe my eyes so I took another photo of our fearless leader Jet.


LEGAL

Had I not had baseball game on Saturday I wouldve loved to have met you guys in St Augustine. My wife likes that place and those old Bed and Breakfasts are the way to go. We drove about an hour down last year to eat some Cuban food. The wife was pregnant and it had turned a little late. So we get to this place that has live music and get a table. The place isnt full and we order our 2 big salads,2 orders of black bean soup,2 orders of plaintains and 2 orders of yuka and of course sweet tea. The guy tells us we havent ordered enough to be able to sit and listen to the music. I thought the focking guy was joking. I mean we were already at about $35 + desserts and who knows what else my wife might've wanted. He suggested sangria. I said dude my wife is 6 months pregnant and I've got to drive an hour back to Mayport. We walked out. Anyways I'm just doing my part to unpromote that place. Hope yall have a nice trip.

[catzenmouse]

Richard,

 Glad to hear that you are exploring the options and thinking about how to make this all work for the best!

Ken

P. S. They are NOT loans. Those are... Anniversary Presents. Early or late, take your pick.

[GregfromGa]

Check your account Richard. Good luck

[Admin]

Guys,

This is a quick note to let you know how proud, and humble, I feel right now.

The generosity and concern expressed in this thread is remarkable. Having been an active participant in various internet discussion fora since the late 1980's (back to the CompuServe era), I can honestly say that I have never seen anything like this. If anyone wants to see a 'model' of a "community" in action - this represents some of the best of what boards/sites like RWD can produce.

There are boards which are bigger (more members) - there are boards which generate more traffic - there are boards with more features - but there is no board anywhere with more 'heart' (to borrow catzenmouse's term) than right here at RWD.

In spite of our flaws - and we certainly have them - you guys and gals are an incredible bunch of people. Truly.

- Dan

[Rvrwind]

Dan, I couldn't have said it better & believe me I been trying. My wife is so overwhelmed she can't talk or think straight right now.
She knows that I have only met one or two of these people in person & that the rest are, well, cyber friends, to be precise & she just can't believe the warmth and compassion for our situation from people we have never met. Even I am finding it hard to digest.
But I can honestly say that evey one of them deserves to be called a Hero in my book & I've never been prouder to be associated with any other group of people as I am to be part of RWD!! Kudos to everyone of you & our most heartfelt thanks. I deffinitley will owe a few people some Beers & good times should we ever happen to cross paths!!!

[I/O]

evey one of them deserves to be called a Hero I deffinitley will owe a few people some Beers & good times should we ever happen to cross paths!!!

Nahhhhhhhhhhhh Heros are dead people....!!!   When you guys are "Back on Top" there might be a few from around here that'll extract a beer or three out of you.

Richard, there is that old saying, "A friend in need is a friend indeed" but you have simply missunderstood all of this.  The truth is "A friend in need is a pain in the arse" so all here are actually trying to change your status back to a friend "Not in need" so we can bash the crap out of you as we usually do.

More seriously, all the best with you and your wife's deliberations.  I think you now have a lot more options than you did yesterday and I certainly hope, and I suspect all here do also, that you don't feel quite so much pushed into a corner now. 

My tribute for having the "Guts" to spill your story on this board.  That would have taken "Some" doing. 

I/O

[acrzybear]

Hey Richard

Were you going to reenlist in the navy?  I found a photo of you "on watch"

[Rvrwind]

Yep, Dutifully patroling the Canadian Russian border somewhere north of Inuvik!
Ooops, sorry too many trees, must be closer to Cold Lake!, Alberta

[acrzybear]

Yep, Dutifully patroling the Canadian Russian border somewhere north of Inuvik!
Ooops, sorry too many trees, must be closer to Cold Lake!, Alberta

LMFAO 

[WmGO]

If you are going to make it in the business world in Russia
you just about have to be as snakey and deceitful as they are.
Otherwise you get your lunch ate.

Russia will always be Russia -  a fascinating place to visit but a hellish place to live.

[funkola]

Hey Richard

Were you going to reenlist in the navy?  I found a photo of you "on watch"

Is it normal to be on patrol with an unloaded weapon?

[catzenmouse]

Is it normal to be on patrol with an unloaded weapon?

Heck! He is one of the lucky ones. Most of the border patrol just have an elk antler to scare off the intruders with...

[KenC]

Richard,
I have been in your spot before in my life and it isn't a good place to be.  I was surprised by the friends and family that didn't offer to lend a hand because I had always been generous to them.  But know this: I came back bigger and better after my humbling experience and I know you can too.  Please confirm that you received what was sent via Western Union OK?  Good luck in whatever you decide to do.
KenC

[Rvrwind]

Is it normal to be on patrol with an unloaded weapon?

Yeah, they won't let us have real bullets, too many idiots running around that we might mistake for Russians sneaking across the border!!!
I feel priiledged, at least I got a real gun! The rest of them had paintball guns!!! LMAO

[BillyB]

 I sent Richard the value of my opinion, two cents. But it cost $20 to send it Western Union!!! That's why I went Paypal. Richard, most men send money to Russia in hopes of getting into somebody's pants. Athough I can't speak for anybody else, just for your piece of mind, you should know, I do not want to get into your pants!

[acrzybear]

I sent Richard the value of my opinion, two cents. But it cost $20 to send it Western Union!!! That's why I went Paypal. Richard, most men send money to Russia in hopes of getting into somebody's pants. Athough I can't speak for anybody else, just for your piece of mind, you should know, I do not want to get into your pants!

LMAO- I don't think your lady would approve Billy

[jb]

Richard,

Let's address the larger issue, that of your continued residence in Tver. 

As I understand the problem, your Russian partner, who signed off on your long term visa, has gone on record as not supporting this any longer, as well as having absconded with the funds you have worked for.  My wife once worked for an American firm which had offices in Moscow under the same sort of circumstances, i.e., Russian partners which lent their names to business legitimacy under Russian law, of course it was American capital which started the business.  After a number of years, the business, (oil from the 'Stans) accumulated a sizable amount of cash.  The partners decided to take the money and kick the foreigner out.  In this case, the amount was in millions of dollars.  The Americans were served notice they had X number of days to leave the country, and of course, the bank balance was zero.  It's the Russian way.  Corruption is, and was, rampant. 

I'm not trying to make you feel worse, if that were possible, but perhaps this is the best thing that could have happened.  You can still run your agency, just do it from home in Canada using a few Russian employees working in Tver.  I think if you continue to try to do business in Russia, you will always have trust issues with Russians.  Unless you are related to them, they will always view you as an easy mark.  Even other Russians don't trust other Russians in the same way we do unless it's in the family.

Rather than trying to make a bad situation work in Tver, have you considered that you and Valya maight have a better life in Canada without the endless hassles of visas and always wondering when your "roof" was going to steal your money and boot you in the ass?   Just a suggestion, but I think you need to seriously re-think your future.

[acrzybear]

Hey Richard

I think this says it all

[Son of Clyde]

Richard, those of us who have not donated yet do want to donate something. Please let us know when you have decided how you wil proceed. If you can send me a pm or post an address and phone number it would be great. I have decided that I can send donations to people through my bank website as long as I have an address and phone number. Please keep us posted because the cards and letters have not stopped rolling in. We want to help.

[jj]

Richard, 

Hang in there.  I am will wait for your decision also.  I will be glad to W.U. to an name and address you post.  -jj

[KenC]

Richard, 

Hang in there.  I am will wait for your decision also.  I will be glad to W.U. to an name and address you post.  -jj

All you need is "Richard Wright Tver, Russia" to send WU.
KenC