Gypsy's has anyone ever met a real one ??

[Whispering Winds]

Years and years ago, my mom (who was born in 1907 and would be 103 if alive

was once told by a gypsy that she would have 4 children. She and dad had three kids, and when my brother was 16, my oldest sister was married, and my next to me Sister was 9, mom had me. She always said she thought that gypsy was wrong. . .she was 45 and dad was 50!!! But, on the bright side she had just started menopause and after I was born, she was DONE!!! I was always the true menopause baby. She always said I was the best thing that happened to her at that age. I use to kid her and said, "well, yeah, but you couldn't really give me away either!!!!"

 

[painterman]

hi there everyone
my partner is gypsy and its not racist atall to say that

p c brigade give us a break plz .. she lived in a caravan but on only on what you call a trailer park as the free spirit thing is something of the past over here with only small pockets living the old romantic ways we come to think of . there is a word roma and thats more reffered to rightly as eastern europeans. that have a bad attitude over here that give romanys or gypsys a bad name as they steal and beg .that are nothing more than a nuisense. its a shame. as there are other groups that fall under this banner that give real romanys a bad name too with moving into areas taking up ground thats not theres and dumping rubbish and terrorising locals causing hostility

you should read the british press to get an insight of what im saying . basically.. i could talk more about real romany life . but its a much forgotten way of life which is sad in a way.

 

[JetBlack]

My great-grandmother was a gypsy (she pronounced it Sheepsia). She could pick your pocket so fast. She would always give it back but by the time you left her house, all your stuff was in her pockets and drawers. One weekend, she stole three buttons off the front of my shirt! Yeah, she was pretty quick with that knife. I guess people used to use silver buttons on their overcoats.

Her family would send in a young man, to look at an engagement ring. He would memorize the tag on the ring and the color of string that was on it. A couple of days later, the young man and a young woman would return to the store to "look at the ring" again. The woman would palm the real ring and while pretending to struggle to get a tight ring on, or off, her finger, replace it with a fake. The ring was gold. The diamond fake.

She would play a game where, while you were eating, she would alternately steal your silverware and replace it with plastic. Then, as the night went on, she'd take everyone else's silverware and sneak it onto your setting. That was the game. To win you had to be the one with the least silverware and no plastic-picnic stuff. If you caught her (you had to tap her hand, as she did it), she got two additional pieces of silverware, on her setting. She'd wear loose-looking cuffs on her blouse or jacket and as she came forward, over your utensils, she would scoop forward and pick them up, into the sleeve. Silently.

By the end of Thanksgiving, I was eating with a spork or finishing up my gravy, with a plastic straw. I knew that even though I had a dearth of options, what with everyone else's utensils, on my place mat, if I put down the spork, she'd steal it and pretty soon, I'd be eating the rest of my dinner with the butter knife I ganked, as the rolls went by. The spork was less humiliating than that so I never let the spork out of my sight.

No one in my family is named "Mark" and I still get the urge to steal from people with that name. If you name your kid Mark, expect every carny worker to automatically assume all his stuff should be theirs.

In the time it took Gancy to shake your hand and look into your eyes and tell you how happy she was that you were here, all your @#$% was in her possession. She'd put your wallet in a different pocket, before you left, so you thought you'd been robbed, until you found it later.

She'd have loved these guys:

Even if she told you how she did it....

 

[michickenwrangler]

I had forgotten great-grandma's other quirks: she used to steal sugar packets and spoons from restaurants. Never forks or knives, just spoons for some reason.

 

[al6517]

Quote:
This what I was speaking of with my OP, They are so fun to be around, love the story and she sounds like a true Gypsy how cool. I know many people think that they make their living in a dubious manner but not all bands are that way, some still do though. Great stories.

AL

 

[al6517]

Quote:
When I grew up in Chicago I used to watch the Gypsy boy's pick pocket commuters on the subway, they were so good and fun to watch them work.

AL

 

[Valley quail breeder]

knew a guy he was Gypsy and was from Hungry very kool dude!

 

[sourland]

My wife's grandmother was Hungarian caravan gypsy. She left the lifestyle because of excessive drinking and emigrated to the U.S. I never met her, but she produced a very colorful family. Both my mother-in-law and wife have varying degrees of psychic capabilities. I have to behave because I swear that woman can read my mind. My impression of people on first meeting is frequently way off the mark. My wife seems to sense the good and/or bad in people at first meeting. She's a truely intriguing person. (Her sister has none of the Gypsy foresight.) I never met the grandmother, but my wife's aunts, uncles, and cousins are all intelligent and dramatic people. Emotions run high in this family. There are no dull moments. I always say that my wife on her own would be floating up in the stratosphere. On my own I would be mired in mud up to my knees. She buoys me up to ground level, and I keep her floating about a foot above reality. Yes, I have provided the dullness into this gene pool.

 

[sianara]

Yes, I AM one, well, 1/8

My great-grandmother was born in the Ukraine and she was a Kalderash Rom gypsy. She used Ukrainian as her ethnicity when she came over to the USA due to the stigma.

She had an affair with a Russian Revolutionary during WWI and found herself pregnant. Came to US with a Polish-American soldier fighting for Poland (quite a few did that) and settled in Detroit. She spoke 6 languages and sang quite well and got a job acting in a Polish touring company that went through the Great Lakes area: Detroit, Chicago, Milwaukee, Cleveland, Buffalo (all good cities with lots of Poles

) Her husband treated her quite poorly since she was only a "Uke" and she eventually left him with her two kids (second was born in wedlock).

She was quite the character, smoked cigars, drank cheap Canadian whiskey, swore in 6 languages (Rom, Russian, Polish, Ukrainian, German and English) and would begin swearing in one or all of those if we got her the wrong kind of whiskey for family get togethers. Referred to expensive Crown Royale as, well, manure in some language or another (wasn't Polish or German). She was always up front and despite being an actress, had no tact or subtlety speaking to anyone.

--She told my dad, right in front of his newly married wife--my stepmother, that "You should've stayed with the first one."

--Told me (with whiskey in her hand) "Is good you broke up with that boyfriend ... he drank too much."

Actually, out of all her languages, she spoke English the worst despite living here for 80 years. She lived in the old Polish area of Detroit and since was expected to speak and sing in Polish for her career, never really had to learn English until her generation started dying off in the 1980s.

She lived to be 100 years old, died Nov. 2001

Wow, that's a great story

 

[conny63malies]

Being born and raised in germany i got some experience with them and other nomatic groups. They used to drive around with huge Mercedes pulling even bigger trailers. THere were about 10-20 of the vehicles in a familiy . They used to park at local fair grounds. They always left a huge mess behind, crime rate went up too. The kids would always beg for stuff. Seeing them, made us keep our dogs chained up outside at night and our purses inside our jackets. I dont like them and trust them at all Too many bad experiences with them.