I don't consider myself an overly magnanimous person, but if I see someone in need I try to help. I did this in school when a kid was mistreated by other kids even when I was always the littlest. I did the same in the military against a big Southern "Red Neck" twice my size who was picking on a little guy. I also helped many customers who were down on their luck and needed repairs, I fixed their cars at cost or gratis. Even my Mother and brother who has a Masters in business finance. I bought my mother a home and supported both of them until my brother got tired of living with her and asked me to help him buy a Duplex. When my mother died and I was dealing with my own set backs, he took advantage of me. I've even helped a recent person out who unknowingly over extended his budget, I voluntarily gifted him funds so he could purchase a safe vehicle for his family and what did I ask any of these people for in return, a lot, FRIENDSHIP, nothing more or less, just be my friend and treat me nice. I get none of that, my brother never even calls me on Holidays or invites us over for a dinner or a drink, I can't tell you how many times we waited for him and his wife because she wanted dinner with her family first, Even the person I gifted money to doesn't have 30 minuets for me to talk a couple times a month when I go up there to shop.
Yeah, I bitch about this a lot because it means a lot to me, I feel my wife and I give from our hearts and souls, the least others can do is respect us for what we've willingly offered. We ask for nothing material and believe me, NO ONE, NO ONE EVERY GAVE EITHER OF US A THING, even when we needed it too. Like my long time lawyer (ha ha) friend who I had to sue because he way over billed me, lost the case on top of it and the arbitration board could have disbarred him for the way he treated me but didn't charge him with the last count of taking funds for a different case I had with his firm, TOTALLY a disbarment offence, he paid up the very next day, fucking crook. I'm just trying to prove a point.
So here is the current "Every Thing I do Right Turns out Wrong" situation.
This was a first for me.
My brother-in-law aka "BIL" and his GF (both widowed) came down from Burlington
Vermont to share Thanks Giving with us. I thought it would be nice to take him
out for a holiday drink.
Some background about him, so you understand the way this situation came
down. He's about 66 I think, he was only with one woman from about age 16 and
married when he enlisted into the Navy. He's not the brightest bulb in the
package, but just a really nice guy, he actually looks almost like Alfred E
Neumann from the old Mad Comic books.
After his wife died from a late and misdiagnosed rectal cancer, he just
stayed home but worked at entry level jobs. He drove down a few years ago to see
visit us and since he had NEVER driven on the NJ Parkway he just drove though
the speed toll lanes, when he got home he had a few hundred dollars of toll
evasion tickets in the mail, so now you can understand "the rest of the
story".
We leave the lounge and he reminds me that they wanted Ice Cream, so we
stop at the local WAWA, as we drive up I see a 16-18 year old kid (I assumed was
a boy) standing by the comer of the store dressed in a very thin sweat shirt and
pants shivering, we go into the store and I'm debating if I should ask if this
kid needs a ride, as my BIL is paying for the Ice Cream I go out and walk over
and ask if he had a ride coming soon, he said my Uncle was supposed to pick me
up, BUT, it turns out he's a girl. Oh well she's freezing. She says yes that's
kind of you.
My BIL comes out and I tell him we're giving this girl a ride just down the
road in the same direction we're going. He pulls out and has to accelerate to
beat the Yellow light and just makes it. I turn to ask if the girl has a cell
phone and to call her ride to tell them we're taking her and before I can a cop
cars lights come on and we're pulled over. Well all I can think of is my BIL
running the Yellow light.
The cop comes to the drivers side and asks for credentials and I hear a
knocking at the rear door behind me and another cop has the girl get out of the
car. The first cop comes back and says, OK, here's the story, we've been
watching this girl for 2 hours, she just got out of jail for prostitution, what's your
story.
My BIL is FROZE, he's gripping the steering wheel for his life, he's in
shock, all he can say is we bought Ice Cream and my GF is at my house, he's like
babbling and sees visions of spending the night in jail for soliciting. Then
the cop says, I don't know if I believe your story, now he's really shaking, I
said, Officer, I'm the one who asked if she needed a ride, I though she was a
young kid.
You have to appreciate this scene, I'm wearing riding boots and a Fedora
hat, I look like a Mobster as Lou, my BIL looked like a "John" so this
was really difficult. In the mean time the Ice Cream is going to melt in the
back seat. The cops talk with the girl and she confirms our story and they tell
us she's going back to jail and tells us to move on.
Happy Thanks Giving.
Louise
"Every Thing I do Right Turns out Wrong"
