Wednesday, May 20, 2009

The Story of the Pepper Man




Once upon a time, many, many years ago, in a small village in Mexico, there lived an old man. No one knew his name they just called him The Pepper Man. The Pepper Man lived alone, high on the hills just outside of the village, in a small hut.


He had no material possessions to speak of. His little hut had dirt floors and his chickens roamed in and out of the hut as did his one goat. But what the little man lacked in possessions he made up for with his gift, he could grow giant peppers.


He would carry the giant peppers into the village and sell them to the villagers. Everyone marvelled at his ability to grow such large peppers. Not only were they large, but they were the best tasting peppers they had ever tasted...






Okay, so I am pulling your leg, that isn't the story of The Pepper Man. Oh, I am sure there might have been just such a man, but that is not my Pepper Man story.


Here is my real Pepper Man story:

In 2003 we moved to Corpus Christi, Texas. While there a friend and I took a day trip to San Antonio. We did the usual sightseeing things and we went to the outdoor markets and picked up some souvenirs. I bought this little Pepper Man and some hanging clay pots. The clay pots were broken in a storm but the little man survived. He survived because he sits safely in my kitchen.


Against my better judgment, I paid for the items with my debit card...


You know it isn't going to end good with just such a beginning...


A couple weeks later, I begin to notice odd charges against my bank account...


One such charge listed a business phone number beside the charge on my statement. I knew we had not made the charge. So I called the number to find out what it was for...


It was a 900 number... need I say more?


So I explained the situation to them and they actually looked up the call that had made the charges and allowed me to listen to the voice that had made the call...
They also gave me the phone number where the call originated from.

Wasn't us! It was a Hispanic male voice...It was a San Antonio telephone number.


So I called the number...yes I did...and guess who answered. The same guy who made the call...I even had his name...Some people are real idiots!!


I told him I knew what he had done, he got scared and at first begged me not to call the police. Then when he realized I was seriously going to report him, then he threatened me; said he would call the police on me...


I called the business where I made the charges. Turns out, the guy who owned the business; it was his brother...


I told the man what had happened. I called the San Antonio police, and they say that he has called an reported me for harassing him... Crazy...


So I had to press charges against him. Because of the police report, my bank covered the charges on my account. I was refunded all the charges, and got a new debit card...


I don't know what ever happened to the man who stole my card number. Once I was refunded for the money the police told me I no longer had a claim against the man, that it was a police matter and they would take care of it.


It was just as well, I really didn't want to get involved with all of that...Just wanted my money back.


So, The Pepper Man has had a special place in my kitchen ever since. I look at him often and he reminds me that there are some bad people in the world; to protect myself, be aware and alert. But he is also a reminder that there are good things in the world.

Someone actually sat down and fashioned this man from his hat down to his shoes. He is handmade with paper, hardened by an acrylic finish of some sort. His basket is fashioned from particle wood and the peppers are real dried Cayenne peppers. He stands upon a block of particle wood and looks sadly at me as though he knows the problems I suffered through to bring him here. He is holding his offering of peppers to me as a consolation for my trouble.
I plan to keep The Pepper Man always, in his special spot in my kitchen, as long as he can stand there on his tiny legs, holding that basket of peppers...


I only wish that one day I could look at his face and see a smile there. Wouldn't that be a hoot!


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