Journal mcgrew's Journal: Black Friday 4
What a shitty day. I woke up feeling alone and blue, despite the fact that I have three women living with me.
This was one of those days when I tell myself "if I knew then what I know now", well, I'd probably make the same stupid mistakes. I think I was smarter when I was young, before I got married, raised a family, and got divorced. There weren't any computers like now, so I'd sit in my room all day and read. Sometimes I'd write - in longhand, because we didn't have computers.
When there's a woman involved, there's drama. Always. Why do I have to keep chasing women? I could go traipsing across the galaxy, lost in my own mind, like I used to. But Evil-X hated books almost as much as she hated me for reading them, and she almost got me broken of the habit. Almost. When the kids came along I started reading again.
Evil-X hated anything that meant freedom for me. Books are freedom. I'm a hyperlex, and get completely immersed when the author is any good. Last night I escaped to some wierd planet that was so technologically backwards that they didn't even have sandwiches, and when I put the book down, Arthur and Ford were riding of into... not a sunsut, but something, on a Perfectly Normal Beast.
When there's three women involved, there's three times the drama. Especially if they're feuding.
Charlie had gotten thrown out of Ralph's when Ralph was in the hospital, thanks to Tami (AKA "Lucy Furr") and Linda, but mostly because Ralph's daughters and granddaughter hated Charlie's guts. She moved in with me when she lost her home at Ralph's; somehow it was all MY fault that she became homeless. Then when Ralph died, Tami asked if she could move back in, and her estranged husband, the military alien, was going to be paying me two hundred bucks a month rent to keep her for him, and I agreed. Then Linda offered fifty bucks a week rent that her middle aged boyfriend, who lives with his mother and never had a girlfriend before Linda, would pay.
Needless to say, Charlie's feud with Tami and especially Linda was not pleasant. Charlie'd been gone most of the week. She'd stopped by one evening and I smoked a bowl of hemp with her, but she's been staying with a partial cripple named Todd. Todd was in a car accident a few years ago and busted himself up pretty bad, he walks funny and can hardly talk at all, as he'd had massive brain damage in the wreck.
Linda was spending the night with her boyfriend, and I was alone with Tami. We'd all been drinking heavily, as I'd had a six pack of Busch, and Linda had a twelve pack of that nasty Steel Reserve and a fifth of Hot Damn. After finishing the Bush I started on her Hot Damn.
Linda went to her BF's house for the night, and I finally left the drunken Tami sleeping on the couch and went to bed.
When I got up, badly hung over, Tami was gone and Linda was in her place. I woke her up.
"Whare's Tami?" I asked.
"Don't know, she took off walking last night. I got court today".
"For what?"
"I'm giving the baby up for adoption."
I didn't ask. I presume that just visiting her for two hours twice a week was too painful. Or maybe she figured forty seven was too old to raise a child. "That damned Tami was supposed to take me."
"I thought you were staying at Dane's last night?"
"He pissed me off so I came home."
I let her go back to sleep and went to work. Amy called; she'd been doing well, going to her AA meetings and had been sober a whole week. But Connor had gone off on her for wearing makeup when she went to the meeting, and for not being home when he got off work. Apparently he was pretty uncomfortable with the situation. I let her cry on my virtual shoulder over the phone, and I think I got her cheered up.
Then Linda called. "Can you take a break and give me a ride to the courthouse? I can't get ahold of Dane."
When I got back, Tami called. She'd be home and have lunch made for me.
I picked Linda up at the courthouse on my way home for lunch. "Didn't you see Brian?" she asked. Apparently Brian had been to court for something or other, probably got busted for heroin or something. Brian's in a bad way.
"No, but then I didn't expect to."
"He wants us to bring him some toothpaste and deodorant at ARC. I told him we would."
"Sure, of course."
Tami wasn't home, and Linda complained bitterly about her not being there for her. I sympathized, and told her that if I'd known, I'd have taken off work to be there with her. I cooked a hamburger and some potatos, ate it, and went back to work.
Linda called about half an hour before I went home. It seemed things were getting to her.
As soon as Tami came home, Linda shut herself off in the middle bedroom, apparently mad at Tami for not being in court with her. I went in and checked on her - as a parent, I knew she had to be hurting, but she was bearing up well. I stuck my head in the room. "You ok?" She assured me she was.
I watched My Name Is Earl with Tami, and I don't know if it was the down mood or if it just wasn't that funny. Actually I think it was the mood; it should have been hilarious. I'll have to buy season four and watch it stoned.
Linda came out and sat at the table. I walked over and rubbed her shoulders, and she started crying. I hugged her, not knowing what to do or say. Her boyfriend came over and the two of them fought, and he stormed out burning rubber as he left. Tami disappeared about the same time. I read a while, and went to bed.
When I got up this morning, Charlie was sleeping on the couch. Tami and Linda were nowhere to be seen.
I'm an idiot. I'm almost as dumb as a stock market gambler.
Two Things... (Score:2)
The first is that I'm also reading HHGTG, the big one with Young Zaphod Plays it Safe.
The second is you have way too much drama. I don't think I could cope with that very well. I have a current and an ex-wife with two kids, a small place in the country, and don't have to get off my ass to go to work. That's actually about enough drama for me right there.
Re: (Score:2)
the big one with Young Zaphod Plays it Safe
That's the one I'm reading! My daughter got it for me for Christmas last year, it's a really nice hardbound tome with a built-in cloth bookmark like they put in bibles. I've been reading it slowly, savoring it. It's a shame I've almost finished it.
The second is you have way too much drama
No shit.
Re: (Score:2)
I remember picking up that version when I was on a trip back to the Bible Belt. The number of people that asked me what Bible passage I was reading was more than I can count on one hand. Needless to say, the Gospel of Marvin The Paranoid Android was...underwhelming for them.
Re: (Score:2)
Jesus: "For whosoever will save his life shall lose it"
Marvin: "Life, hate it or loathe it, you can't ignore it. Don't talk to ME about life!"