Replace Rob Watts's Stolen Tools

Lately, if it wasn't for bad luck, my friend Rob Watts would have no luck at all.

First, less than a month ago, he was doing carpentry work at my house in Paris, Mississippi when he slipped, his saw kicked back, and he cut off his thumb. 

He spent the night in the hospital and had serious surgery to re-attach it. Two days later, he was back at my house, working again. He said he had bills to pay -- even more now -- and couldn't afford to stop working.

So, he kept on. He had to hire help since he was down one hand, but he managed to rebuild one porch and start on another one. Rob has worked on my old house, off and on, for almost three years, completely transforming the place.  For most of that time, he's parked his tool trailer in my front yard (that's it, in the picture with my house). But over Labor Day weekend, someone stole the tool trailer.

Thirty years of construction and carpentry work. Thirty years of gradually buying the right tool, the right piece of equipment -- gone. 

Major surgery didn't slow him down. He had bills to pay, he said. But how can you get back to work with no tools to work with? Every tool he owns -- except one saw that was inside my house -- is gone. The authorities aren't optimistic that he'll get the tools back. In the meantime, he still has bills to pay. He wants to get to work.

So, let's pitch in. We can't begin to replace what he lost, but please, if you can, give a few dollars so that Rob can buy some replacement tools and keep on working.

 Here's an Oxford Eagle article on the theft. If you know anything about what happened, please contact the Lafayette County Sheriff's Department. In the meantime, please consider donating to the cause.

Thank you!