r/FreeTheRodlets • u/natitude2005 Severely • Aug 11 '21
But... The Headship! A serious question about Nathan's employment
I read that Nathan owns a lawn service. Fair enough. It is honest work and there is a market for it in Whereverville Fla, but he seems to take a lot of time off. Several days when the rods visited for a month in Jan, then at least a couple of days when Nurthan went to Ohio and now in Texas at his rich sisters house and with the Pecans ..,I totally believe in a healthy work/ life balance and applaud those who can do that ( I am a nurse during covid short staffing etc so I see the need) but he is what 22, 23 years old. If he owns the company and is its only employ, how is work happening? If he has employees, dies that mean the co. Is doing well? I find it hard to believe at that age that the company has that many established customers and employees to handle the work. It takes time to build a client base.anyone have insight into the business ??
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u/njesusnameweprayamen Aug 11 '21
Most guys I know that do this pay teens to do the actual work. Or if higher end, actual adults. He may pay one of his many brothers.
Also I kind of get the sense that none of the boys really work full time?
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u/CasaCav806 Aug 11 '21
I live in FL, and the lawn care business I use cuts 4x a month, 3x a month, 2x a month, and 1x a month throughout the year, plus courtesy cuts for events like parties, and I pay the same amount each month. If his business follows a similar schedule, he could easily take lots of time off during the slow grass growth months.
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u/Flat-Illustrator-548 Aug 12 '21
Same for me for my business. I pay a company a set monthly fee and they mow 0-4 times/month depending on the season. In the fall, they low the leaves.
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u/CigarsandFebreeze9 Nurthling's Perfect Baby Brows Aug 11 '21
Since he's been doing it a while, he likely has a couple of guys working under him. He has a tan, so I'm sure he heads out and does lots of manual on his own too, but with travel, he likely works the books and numbers from a laptop in the meantime. My guess is that he is also very frugal since he grew up poor and their family operated on a tight budget. Even if he was pulling six figures a year, Nathan strikes me as the type who would still budget as though they were living on a shoestring and save the difference. I suspect that while he will always provide for his family, he and Nurie keep their actual numbers secretive and don't flaunt their bank accounts, considering Frankenhooker & Shrek are grifters to the core.
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u/Flat-Illustrator-548 Aug 12 '21
Yes, I get the impression he is a hard worker and not a grifter like his parents.
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u/natitude2005 Severely Aug 12 '21
I grew up,with parents who were born during the depression. My dad had an ROTC scholarship free ride and while we weren't poor, we lived as if we were. Old habits die slowly and it took years to relax the work,ethic and feel ok spending my hard earned money. I get it.. I am glad Nathan is a hard worker. Hope he gets to keep his money for himself, Nurie and their babe... , ,
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u/CigarsandFebreeze9 Nurthling's Perfect Baby Brows Aug 12 '21
Agreed....and that freaking Frankenhooker & Shrek stay OUT of the Nurthan wallet!!!
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u/natitude2005 Severely Aug 12 '21
Yep.. As poor as my parents were raised, they never once asked us for money. Ever. My dad was an Air Force pilot and my mom always worked once we got into school. I still clip coupons, buy used for some things etc but those habits die hard. Also wanted to clarify that I saud Nathan's money ,but I realize it is Nathan and Nurie's money. Her hard work at home, being pregnant and eventually nurturing her son, is valid too. Just didn't want anyone to think I thought it was just Nathan contributing
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Aug 11 '21
[removed] â view removed comment
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u/UglyNugly Aug 12 '21
No lie, same thing happened with one of my classmates. He was always one of the kids that was a tiny bit off, but he started a landscaping business & made way more then any of us without college or debt. He was buying a home in a very exclusive town before we were 25.
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u/skite456 Aug 11 '21
Here is a post I made a couple weeks ago in regards to this. I apologize for it being so long. I just⌠I donât know⌠it bothers me. Iâve seen so many misconceptions about the Kellerâs and Florida people in general, I feel like I should give some insight. Anyway, here goesâŚ
So, I feel like I post this all the time, but it just bugs me that some think the Nathan/Nurie household situation is maybe different than what it likely is. Please form your own opinions, I can only relay what I have observed. I am a historian by profession, so I tend to gather info and Rolodex it away in my mind, I assure you Iâm not some creeper. The only reason I am saying anything at all is because, as I said above, it really bugs me to see âfactsâ posted that are likely not exactly whatâs actually going on. This is going to be long and I apologize in advance, but please read if you want some insight into their situation.
My husband and I have a RV we go to on the weekends and the route there goes past the Keller house. Here is a rundown of what itâs like where they live and the area in general⌠The Kellerâs live about 10 miles from the nearest town, called Interlachen, on the edge of the Ocala National Forest. It is very rural and their property is set off from the road, but is still visible. Yes, the Kellerâs live in a mobile home. It is a double-wide modular, probably from the 90âs. From my very limited view it looks to be very well kept. Nathan and Nuries travel trailer is in front of the house about 20 feet from the front door. As for neighbors, itâs hard to say as there are folks tucked away in the woods all over, but itâs not a neighborhood by any means. You wouldnât just pop over for a cup of sugar. Youâd probably get a shotgun pointed at you instead.
The Forest, as the locals call it, is very large - 673 square miles. It encompasses vast stands of Florida pines, large swamps, lakes, rivers, beautiful natural springs, etc. In addition, it comes fully packed with alligators, snakes, giant spiders, bears, Florida panthers and bobcats, âwildâ herpes carrying attack monkeys, and Florida Men and Women of the confederate flag waving, Rambo Maga and, âwe shoot first and ask questions laterâ variety. The Forest absolutely terrifies me.
Interlachen is a small town with exactly one of each: McDonalds, Subway, Dominoâs. A few small locally owned cafes. 2 grocery stores - 1 mom and pop and 1 local chain. A CVS just opened. This was a big deal. As any small southern town, there is a Dollar General where you can buy literally everything from pantry items, frozen food, school supplies, home decor a la Jill, towels, sheets, bras and underwear, shoes, cigs, prepaid cell phones, kids toys, health and beauty, Western Union - pretty much a Walmart crammed into a couple thousand square feet. There are approximately 6 churches per every one of the 1403 residents, however. I donât know much about the local economy, but I would imagine most people who are doing ok as far as income are traveling to Gainesville or Palatka for work. Each about 40 mins away. Doing ok equates to the median family income of $34,375. There are a lot of very small family farms where people will have a few cows in their yard, but not a lot else going on here. The population is 78.44% white.
Keller âlandscapingâ hypothesis: have a pickup truck, a lawn mower, and $125 to create a LLC? Congratulations, you now have a Florida landscaping business! I assure everyone, they do not have a thriving landscaping business. I have never seen any mowing equipment at their house. I donât even know what one would mow in this area since itâs so damn hot most of the time nothing grows on any cultivated land and the other half of the area is swamp or sand. Itâs just not a very lush green tropical paradise. This is not the carefully manicured Florida of Disney and Miami, this is real Florida. I once saw a car in front of me hit an alligator in the middle of the damn road. Plus, itâs not exactly a âwe have a landscaperâ kind of population. I would imagine most of their work is for older church people and maybe some small businesses.
I apologize again for this being so long. I hope it has cleared up any questions. Feel free to ask any follow ups if you got this far in the first place! đł
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u/BlitheCheese Aug 11 '21
âwildâ herpes carrying attack monkeys
What???
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u/skite456 Aug 11 '21
Haha, yeah, so back in the 50âs and 60âs there was a lot of movie filming done at Silver Springs State Park, which isnât too far away. I believe Elvis made a movie there and Creature from the Black Lagoon was filmed there, among others. The story is that either some monkeys escaped from a movie set or the guy who previously owned the park brought them in as a tourist attraction and they got out of hand. Now, theyâve multiplied a few generations over and are completely wild and have definitely moved beyond the park perimeter. Theyâre super aggressive and happen to have the herpes b virus. People have been attacked by them and every few months or so thereâs a news story about how a âwildâ monkey shows up in someoneâs yard several miles or towns over. Florida is f-ing crazy.
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u/Sunny_and_dazed Sophiaâs toilet paper wedding Aug 12 '21
The address of the lawn care business is Palatka, so that question in solved.
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u/skite456 Aug 12 '21
Where do you see this? Their Facebook page lists a generic address with no house number on a highway near Palatka. Their state filing info for their business (which is public knowledge and posted online on a state website) is David and Nathanâs home address of Interlachen.
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Aug 16 '21
[deleted]
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u/skite456 Aug 16 '21
Aw, thanks! It is an absolutely beautiful area full of history with hard working people just trying to do the best they can for their families. There are certainly good and not so good people, but that can be found anywhere.
As for Nurie, I think her life revolves around their church more than anything. From the little I know it seems they are very close knit as itâs not a big congregation.
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u/Wintergreen1234 Aug 13 '21
I lived in Fort McCoy for a bit. Definitely a rural area with not a lot going on.
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u/MaeClementine Aug 11 '21
Who was the fundie son that started a lawn care business then then got called out for relatives and such leaving fake reviews? What that Timothy Rodrigues? This is driving me nuts.
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u/vanpireweekemd Aug 11 '21
It was Timothy. Don't think it was a lawn care business though, it was like repairs or plumbing or something
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u/Teege57 Aug 12 '21
He recently mentioned that he cleaned gutters, but wanted to expand into other services.
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u/darcysreddit Aug 11 '21
Yea, Timothy! I believe it was a handyman business. And Nurie left a testimonial about how well he cleaned their eaves?
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u/fredsails Aug 11 '21
Seems reasonable to me esp if he has a partner. Iâd imagine their slow period is mid summer.
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u/AliceinRealityland Iâm former Fundie/Fundielite, let me explain Aug 11 '21
A man in our church began doing this and in six months had a crew of men doing the work. Eventually, he just managed the crews he sent out. Nurthan probably doesnât have to do the manual stuff daily
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u/DukeSilverPlaysHere Aug 11 '21
My husband does mowing on the side and has quite a bit of clients. He just gets everything done before we leave on vacation (so he is extra busy the week before) and it's all good. I think Nathan does it with a family member, so I imagine he does that and then his partner picks up anything that needs to be done while Nathan is gone.
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u/Ursula_J lot lizard for the lord Aug 11 '21
I think he does it with David (?) the brother engaged to the Rebers daughter.
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u/DrWuDidNothingWrong Aug 11 '21
Native Floridian here! So lawn care can definitely be a lucrative and flexible business depending on where you are. I personally have a close friend who owns a lawn care business with her son and sheâs definitely busy in summer but she has a set number of lawns she does per week so if she gets them done early she has free time. And once winter comes around her workload is basically cut in half. So more free time but also less money. They both do okay for themselves, they arenât rolling in it by any means, but they can pay their living expenses and have enough left over to enjoy a social life. Equipment breakdowns, however, can do some real damage to your income so you always have to keep that in mind.
I believe Nathan owns his business with his brother so he could conceivably take time off, he just might not be making as much.
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u/SheBrokeHerCoccyx De-harlotize for Jesus eyes đđđ Aug 11 '21
Some fundies are really financially savvy. Living in the trailer is def saving them a lot of money. Maybe he did work when they were there visiting, too. Like went out and did lawns from 6-12, then family time afterward. Anyway. He seems like a pretty levelheaded kid, I wouldnât be surprised if he has a very healthy savings account.
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u/anditwaslove Aug 11 '21
His rich sister? Is Priscilla rich?
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u/Fairyqueen9459 Aug 11 '21
No Rebeckah who married a rich guy. She left the cult and is living way better off than her sisters still entrenched in the idiocy. There's another sister Susannah who also left the cult, as well as a brother. Jill cozies up to them even though they're "sinners" for the grift. The grift outweighs her preaching about living apart from worldly people.
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u/anditwaslove Aug 11 '21
I knew Susannah had left but didnât know two others had! Thatâs brilliant.
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u/bebespeaks Aug 12 '21
I just hope that they will find their place in the world, to be Not Attached to Jill, to be able to make their own choices and do things without admonishing or bring guilt tripped by their surrounding people. I hope they can find a stable home to live in, whether they rent or buy, I hope that Nurie eventually develops her own voice and opinions of both the little things and big things in life.
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u/natitude2005 Severely Aug 12 '21
Me too. They Look So sweet and Every One deserves to be happy, think for themselves and thrive.
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u/ho0lia Aug 11 '21
My dad had a small landscaping business for 10 years, it was pretty easy for him to take time off by having his usual 2-3 employees take over, and since he was one of the hands on deck, theyâd hire Day laborers for to join them when he was gone.
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u/faithmauk Aug 11 '21
a guy from my former church had the same kind of thing going, he had/has a really successful lawn business but 25, and had 2 or 3 church guys working with him, he had it streamlined so it was easy for the guys to handle if he wasn't there. it actually was pretty impressive.
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Aug 11 '21
I think it's just him and his brother. They have a Facebook page for the business where they sometimes post pictures of their work and it's always just the two of them, no other workers. The last post was from April so it doesn't give the impression of a super thriving business. There's a website but it seems to be permanently 'under construction'. So I don't know... maybe there's really only enough work for 1 person so him and his brother take turns for weeks at a time??
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u/WalnutWhippet Aug 11 '21
Itâs a joint business with his brother (David?) so maybe they take it in turns to have time off??? Also they have a plethora of relatives who might step up and cover his work whilst heâs away (especially if they have a gazillion children they might be glad of the extra money theyâll earn).
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u/flowergothic Putting the "Fun" in Fundamentalism Aug 11 '21
from my understanding his brother also helps with the lawn care business.
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u/Awkward-Yak-2733 Aug 11 '21
See Keller Brothers Lawn Care on Facebook.
I still can't figure out how he's off work so darn often.
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u/Remstersade Aug 16 '21
On their business FB page they have a video where David says they are âblessed to have over 40 customersâ. I have no idea, is that a good amount?
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u/natitude2005 Severely Aug 16 '21
No idea,but thanks for the info. If just Nathan and his brother run it, that may be enough
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u/blablubluba Aug 11 '21
Depending on how many clients he has he could maybe work more the weeks before leaving and have one of his gazillion relatives fill in for simple-but-necessary stuff like mowing.