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S09.E04: Linda & Kerry


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Oooooh Linda's story had my hackles up. The team assigned to her was DOA, no doubt about it; Linda appeared to have many other things plaguing her psychologically other than hoarding, and probably the only way that lot gets cleaned up is after the property is seized from her. But I so wasn't impressed with how the show portrayed the team's efforts. I'm guessing/hoping that there were hours of footage, and probably hours where the cameras weren't present, where the therapist (....wasn't that the guy from that fascinating/exploitative VH1 show from the mid-aughts, OCD Project?) where they tried to explain the disorder to her, and figure out when all this started, etc. Otherwise, I'm not sure how they imagined their approach would work, swinging from putting their frustration on full display to handing all control over to her. There was no calm, clinical approach that they showed, really. They either gave into her by giving her the angry reactions she was provoking, or letting her run the show. But...it probably wouldn't have mattered had they tried every single angle and done it all perfectly, I don't think there's really a fix for that kind of broken. It seems worryingly likely that she'll take others with her on her way to the bottom -- another fire, maybe she's got an armory in there, etc. 

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How were Dean and Angela related to denial lady? Their dynamic was so odd.

I don't think it mattered what the team did. She said she didn't see you problem and was happy. 

Edited by Court
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I loved when Linda, the Garbage Farmer, bragged that she wasn't motivated by fear after Cory told her that her house could suffer the same fate as the barn. That's right, Linda, who refuses to part with any of her trash because she believes the monetary system is going to collapse in 6 months to a year, that Armageddon is right around the corner, and who saves rotted carpet fibers to wrap around non-existent raspberry plants so she'll have something to eat during the End Times, is not at all motivated by fear. 

How were Dean and Angela related to denial lady?

I got the feeling Angela was her girlfriend and Dean was like a garbage-farmhand. Also, I don't believe in the "oily rag" theory; I believe Dean burned down that barn. 

Edited by Guest
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17 minutes ago, Giant Misfit said:

I got the feeling Angela was her girlfriend and Dean was like a garbage-farmhand. Also, I don't believe in the "oily rag" theory; I believe Dean burned down that barn. 

I'm confused because when Dean was talking about the fire, he said he took a break to go to the house and get some "loving". I even turned on closed captioning to make sure.  

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3 minutes ago, lzim61 said:

I'm confused because when Dean was talking about the fire, he said he took a break to go to the house and get some "loving". I even turned on closed captioning to make sure.

Oh, ew. Right. Well, maybe they have some sort of polygamy thing going on there? Maybe that's best left unknown. 

I wondered how many outfits Linda was going to change into on that that first day. It seemed like she had three different ones on that I noticed. She was quite fashionable for being such a repulsive human being.

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She said that broken lampshades were good for putting around plants? It was weird.

So was the loving comment. Then Angela said she worked there so she could live there? Corey was right when he said there was something off with the whole dynamic.

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It looked to me like a 3-person cult.  Lazy pessimists and dysfunctional losers that found each other and a project where the only standard of quality to be satisfied is churning garbage and making "ropes" out of filthy shopping bags.  They don't have to worry about disappointing anyone with a bar so low.

I loved Linda berating Chalmers & Tolin for their immediate concern about fires... when all she did was worry about esoteric dangers.

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I also seem to think Dean and Angela are just sponging off Linda who is clearly ridiculously wealthy (and insane). 

I want to know why Linda even agreed to be on this show in the first place. 

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The insurance theory has legs, especially when she said MILLIONS OF DOLLARS worth of stuff and things were lost in the fire.  Yeah, right.  Millions of dollars worth of rusted, broken, bent, moldy pieces of who knows what?  Sounds legit to me.

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8 minutes ago, Giant Misfit said:

I also seem to think Dean and Angela are just sponging off Linda who is clearly ridiculously wealthy (and insane). 

I want to know why Linda even agreed to be on this show in the first place. 

I was thinking she put an ad on craigslist for free rot & board... or was it free room & hoard?

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The whole weird mini-cult dynamic at Doomsday Farms made me want to take a shower. Though she had far from the "grossest" hoard, Linda might be the most cray we've seen on the show since the one chick who hoarded containers of her own (and her dead mother's) pee. I knew as soon as she played the God Card that any expert help would be futile. I agree that perhaps Dean did set the barn on fire...perhaps as a subconscious smoke signal plea for help? Also, do Dean and Angela get paid by Linda, or is it a hoarding commune type of thing? Also, we never got much of a backstory on Linda or either of her junkhands. So many questions.

I am happy for Kerry and his family, and hope he continues to do well. I do call shenanigans on the neighbors calling the cops about the vicious ferret pack that turned out to be a singular wiener dog. The cops themselves seemed like actors or something else to me. I honestly thought they were going to break into a striptease for the daughter. "Hey, girrrl...we're here about the...pack of vicious ferrets (*wink wink*)?"

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I believe Dean burned down that barn. 

I think so, too, but not that it was necessarily deliberate.  Usually I hope the hoarders are able to keep their homes, but I actually hope Linda loses her farm.  

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What always amazes me about outdoor hoarders in climates like Vermont -- isn't everything ruined after the first winter? I just imagine these hoards covered by a foot of snow, year after year. I mean I KNOW even if the thing is ruined that doesn't make it ruined in the mind of the hoarder, but don't things just rust to pieces or disintegrate?

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Yeah, Linda has serious issues well beyond the hoard.  There was no way they were going to get through to her.  God wants her to live in a disgusting shit heap with her two "friends."  Okay.  Sure.  Sounds reasonable.

The ending for Kerry bothered me.  His wife said he was verbally and physically abusive. They remarry a month after he does the clean up and we're all supposed to be happy for them.  I want him to deal with the abuse first.  How long before he starts up again?

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Linda was the biggest asshole they have had in a long time. I hope the whole place goes up in flames the next time and the Hills Have Eyes family burns with it. Why does the show even bother with people who don't want to be helped? If the hoarder flat out states they are not going to throw anything away and have some delusion that the Hoarders team can magically organize their garbage dump into a livable space, they should just move on to someone else. It's such a waste of the show's resources. I can not believe they actually offered Linda money for farm equipment repair, with the way she acted. She doesn't deserve anything from them.

I can't blame the specialists for not trying hard. Any attempt to have a conversation was met with nasty condescension, shutting them down, having a tantrum or running off. What are they supposed to do when she won't listen to anything they have to offer because it offends her? I'm surprised she wanted to be on camera. Now, the government will really know about her and those helicopters will be circling ;)

Linda's statement about not living in fear and asking what if was hysterical. Sure, why worry about an actual danger that could happen any minute and has already happened (huge fire on property) when you could worry about all the imaginary dangers in the future when you may not be able to get zippers anymore after the economy collapses.

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The ending for Kerry bothered me.  His wife said he was verbally and physically abusive. They remarry a month after he does the clean up and we're all supposed to be happy for them.  I want him to deal with the abuse first.  How long before he starts up again?

I had the same reaction. Temper/anger issues don't just go away because the house got cleaned up. They better dream up something for him to do with his time. He can't handle being at loose ends.

Edited by dwarmed
typo
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Yes, three person cult. Linda was so bizarre and the other two were just odd, but could head to Linda's levels soon. Hope the city/Township steps in. Eldercare could be called too, Linda was pushing 70 plus? So hard to tell with smokers.

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7 hours ago, Court said:

@Giant Misfit do you think he burned it down for insurance? I need more on this theory.

I actually hadn't even considered a motive (!) -- I just thought he burned it down after he kinda quickly looked away from the camera when discussing it. It seemed pretty shifty. I was hoping he burned it down to get one mess out of the way -- but now that you mention it, it sure does seem like a good way to earn some extra income for Linda. 

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Angela cheerfully standing amongst the garbage, rusted bicycles, moldering clothing, shredded lampshades and waist high weeds, busily "up-cycling" old plastic bags into "rope" seemed just as delusional as Linda. She seemed to think she was in some busy, happy, orderly Uptopian community (or at least put that on for Dr. Tollin). Honey, you are not Shakers. Where were the huge coils of "rope" made from cast off materials? Seems there should have been plenty about, right? Snerk. I agree, wacko cult. Angela and Dean are just a pair of lost souls, probably wandered from pillar to post, can't keep a job, lacking the social wherewithal to cope in the world. "Getting some lovin". Shudder. That put some images in my head I would really rather not have there. I would not be in the least surprised if a few more drifters, losers, sad sacks and holy fools wind up at Linda's in anticipation of the pending apocalypse.

Linda's outfits slayed. I was fascinated. She got all done up, earrings and fancy tops to be on TV I guess.

Edited by Pepper Mostly
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Linda and her Cult of Crazies was just wild.  I, too, knew that she was a lost cause from the get-go.  When you have the "voice of God" in your ear telling you that you NEED to hoard trash, there is no human alive who can tell you different.  Personally, I'm hoping to avoid the whole Armageddon/apocalypse thing and get taken to heaven before all that.  But even if I'm here for the apocalypse, I'm not taking a thing from Linda's pile'o'trash.  I can live just fine without rusted zippers and rope made out of rotten trash bags, thankyouverymuch.  Yeah, did not need the visual of Dean getting his "lovin'" on while the barn burned.  Nasty.

Kerry was... different.  I, too, would mistrust that whole turned-on-a-dime personality transplant that occurred.  I truly hope his days of being abusive are done with, for Peggy's sake.  And that they can keep that house uncluttered, as Peggy seems to have mobility issues.  Glad he didn't hoard long enough to cause problems to the structure of the house. 

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I'm not too worried about Kerry abusing his wife again.  She walked out once and she'll walk out again if she needs to.  And he knows it.  Isn't he getting counseling now?  He's probably one of those people who does well with structure, and when the structure of his job was gone he went off the rails a bit.  Then the structure of his family was gone and he went completely nuts.  But the fact that he spent most of his life acting responsibly is a hopeful sign.  I think it is quite possible that a light bulb went off over his head and he realized that he either had to change or lose everyone and everything.  

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Whoa...I am with you guys, I don't care if Linda and her two lovers go up in smoke...and then they show her smoking, I almost fell off the bed laughing. Oh Lord. I too agree, why did they bother with that old broad...she was one of the worst ever, and they have had some dillies.  

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12 hours ago, lzim61 said:

I'm confused because when Dean was talking about the fire, he said he took a break to go to the house and get some "loving". I even turned on closed captioning to make sure.  

LOL! I heard that also turned to my mom to ask what did he just say.

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I got a feeling that the garbage bag "rope" was the first time anything was ever "up-cycled" in that open-air landfill.  I was equally puzzled as to why they'd want to turn decaying shopping bags into 3 feet of totally useless "rope" - they didn't have enough actual rotting rope?  Or do they plan to weave the rotting rope to make shopping bags?

As a compromise solution, wouldn't it be better to braid the filthy carpet fibers?  Or is their dedication to twine god-inspired?

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So much disfunction.  So little time.  I would love to tie all three of the crazies up and make them watch as everything is bulldozed and dumped into as many rollback dumpsters as it would take to get rid of that garbage pit.  So much unsaid backstory.  The apocalypse is coming for Linda. Just not in the same way she thinks. 

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I don't think the barn was burned down for any significant amount of insurance money. No insurer would have written a policy without an on-site property inspection by its agent or representative. She probably doesn't even have insurance on the house. She would then have been exposed to the "system" even sooner, because any reputable insurer would have reported her to authorities.

I wonder where she keeps all her money (assuming she has some). Surely not a bank.

But man, she was crazy. I wonder when this was filmed. Since she's so concerned about the economic system collapsing, maybe she was worried about the election. Although no matter who was elected, all the big volcanoes in the world would still probably erupt.

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1 hour ago, Toaster Strudel said:

 

I got a feeling that the garbage bag "rope" was the first time anything was ever "up-cycled" in that open-air landfill. 

 

YES. It seemed like she was in some frenzy to show them, "Hey! Look! I'm doing something with this stuff! See! Look! Here! Here's some...rope!" And what of the garbage bag rope? It will sit in the mountain of other filth until Linda comes along and decides to re-reccyle that rotten thing. Or, she lets is sit there until one of the Four Horseman, who's no doubt gonna be riding by, stops and asks for a sturdy, modern-day lasso that won't cost him much. 

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she lets is sit there until one of the Four Horseman, who's no doubt gonna be riding by, stops and asks for a sturdy, modern-day lasso that won't cost him much. 

Or a zipper.  I'm sure the Four Horsemen will need zippers!

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I watched the Linda part of this episode again and am aghast at several things.

1)  How disrespectful Linda is to Dr. Tolin and Cory, as well as the junk guys.  While I understand her need to defend her 'lifestyle', she lashes out at the first opportunity whenever either says something that seems to contradict her "standards".  She argued with everything they said and did not listen at all.  How can a person have a kitchen full of flies and not understand it's a problem?

2)  Angela clearly supports Linda when Cory and Dr. Tolin aren't around.  Dean acknowledges there's a problem but can't get through to her.  What is the deal with these two?

3)  Does Linda think people are going to approach her home post-apocalypse for help, or will she assume that everyone who comes near will "rape" her?  It was hard to figure out her point of view.

It would have been great had more backstory been provided.  Regardless, she is clearly very mentally ill.  I hope the authorities see this show and remove all of them from the premises.

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2 hours ago, wattawoman said:


I wonder where she keeps all her money (assuming she has some). Surely not a bank.
 

Hoaders always seem to stash cash and checks in various places--in books, under the mattress, in the walls....

3 hours ago, Toaster Strudel said:

I got a feeling that the garbage bag "rope" was the first time anything was ever "up-cycled" in that open-air landfill.  I was equally puzzled as to why they'd want to turn decaying shopping bags into 3 feet of totally useless "rope" - they didn't have enough actual rotting rope?  Or do they plan to weave the rotting rope to make shopping bags?

 

Right? that "rope" looked about as useful as water wings would be in that godforsaken waste. It was just so random. I mean, if you were going to set yourself to the task of "upcycling" old shopping bags, wouldn't you have a big pile of bags, and be settled in to spend a few hours "weaving" your bags into rope? She was just standing in the middle of the trash, weaving a few moldy bags together. These people was all so delusional.
"I work here"! What? What the hell do you do besides pick shit up and put it down all day? These people are nuts.

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Hi, PepperMostly - It seems like if she's stashed cash anywhere in the house, it is at risk of being destroyed by fire, vermin, or some other cause.  Maybe she'd simply forget about it (happened to a friend of mine's dad - imagine my friend's happy surprise when he started going through books and found $20 bills between the pages).  I wonder if she's got dozens of coffee cans out in her yard somewhere.

 

Edited to add - If Linda is so concerned about the end times, it's odd that she's not stashing more food, or preserving her crop instead of letting it go to waste.  She doesn't seem to spend much time attending to the fruit she's cut.

 

Arggh - gotta stop watching this but it's a stunning episode for me.  I wonder if there are any weapons inside her #2 barn or on the premises?

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6 hours ago, camom said:

I was hoping Dr Tolin and Cory would throw up their hands and say, "Fuck it--let's go grab a beer!"

I swear I could practically see that thought bubble every time they were both on screen together. That and "I'm too old for this shit." 

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That went in to get some Lovin comment grossed me out.  She's not going to change, the mental illness is too strong.  

 

As my dh (a Marine) was watching the screen say Kerry got let go bc of budget cuts, he was like, it was more likely his wild temper that got him out.

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