Even More

So, Mary shows up with the police, I'm not even here. I get the call - ladeedahdeedah - okay, I'll be home in 10 minutes.
Mary is standing out in the street - with a very foul look on her face.
Expected.
Police are congenial enough - sometimes expected, sometimes not.
They don't know landlord-tenant law, at least not these 2 individuals.
I did not try to educate them, they were saying things to me that I KNOW are not true.
They also said Mary can come back as many times as she wants to get her stuff.
Wrong.
In big, bold letters on the Order, verbatim:
LAW ENFORCEMENT STANDBY. Defendant may return once with law enforcement officer to obtain necessary personal belongings. Neither law enforcement nor this protective order can resolve conflicts over property, title, furniture, finances, real estate, or other ownership issues.

Pretty clear to me. My point: I don't want her thinking she can just show up and come and go as she pleases with police. She has had her one time, but the officers mandated that I agree to her returning again, next weekend. Just another issue to be brought up in court - but only if I win. If I lose, she can come back and occupy the room, legally. Which would be a horrific thought at this point.

Don't get me wrong, I don't want to keep her stuff from her, it's just that Mary has made a lifestyle out of doing things her way, always, all the time. Truth, morals, law be damned, she can have her way and if she doesn't get it, she blathers on and on and on. Mary owes me $200 rent right now - if this situation gets any uglier, I am going to take her to court for it. But, if I can ever find 99% pure rubbing alcohol somewhere, I am going to do the drug tests off the walls in her room, have the test done and see what the results are. I'm fairly sure she was doing it in her bedroom, I'm absolutely sure she was doing it in the bathroom. The bathroom would be a hard point to prove - everyone else uses it, anyone could have done it. Point - force her to pay for the removal of that contaminent off the walls - and I have absolutely NO problem taking her to court on that point.

Anyway, she was here 45 minutes or so. They had 2 police here, but one left shortly after arrival, it was obvious I wasn't going to start trouble - and Mary's a lady that the male officer could easily take down on his own if she started stuff, so - only 1 was necessary.

It's unfortunate but true - I need 3 tenants right now, absolutely MUST have 3 paying tenants. I can't read minds, I can get gut instincts and such - it's never easy to tell about a person until they're actually in here. I can do background checks - again - there is no absolute for determining what a person is REALLY like until they're flesh and blood in your house, living there. I have to be tolerant of some things, most things really, but definitely not when it comes to drug use.

So, I wrote a room rental ad up the other day - but - those are usually not very productive because I have it listed for move-in date of June 1st. Since Mary is obviously moving out of here regardless of who wins in court on Friday, I am going to plan on a move-in date of 2 Wednesdays from now. See what kind of replies I might get with that. That's 3 days to do whatever necessary in that room to get it ready for a potential roommate, if I can find one for such a time-frame.

I find this kind of stuff to be very draining, to be honest. It's a pretty simple thing for a person that is moving out on good terms, but this is - the third time actually - that someone has been moved out of here on police terms.

1st was the tenant-from-hades. Long, long story. 2cd was the tenant that Mary initiated the fight with - Mary got the right wording on her Order of Protection, the other tenant did not, Mary won. And now Mary. I have many more move out without any problems excepting maybe George - the slob who I gave a notice to that he could either start cleaning his own dishes; or; I would clean them for him and charge him for maid service; or; he could leave. He chose to leave. It wasn't really that bad of a deal - but my room rental ads specifically, clearly state that I do not want slobs moving in here.

Onto another age-old issue. Michael's mother lost her job - though not due to absences and such. Another victim of the economy, she was laid-off from work. Their predicament, I am assuming, is better than it used to be: their housing is now paid for by the Federal Government. They don't, therefore, stand to end up on the streets. However, electricity and water are not free. They get food stamps, but by this time of the month, I assume them to be gone - that from ample, prior, personal experience with these people.

I do NOT find anything entertaining about this woman losing her job, despite the unbelievable, horrid history with them. In fact, much to the opposite, I fear the same things that used to happen in the past. I'll have to keep my eye on Michael - I do not want him taking stuff out of here to give to them. That doesn't sound right for a Christian - the Lord commands that if any man asks of you, give to them freely. He also declares that we are to feed the hungry. So, if I were asked, I would not turn them down. I am sure that doesn't set well with particular people on here, but I take the Word of God very seriously in my own personal life, and I will follow after what I believe are the Lord's teachings and commandments over what mankind might have in forms of opinions about any given matter.

Remember, forgiveness is one of the great keys to eternal life. Christ forgives us, we forgive "those that have transgressed against us". In my case, even Mary. Though that really isn't that difficult for me, Mary has a serious addiction problem and if she ever got off of it, her eyes would be opened. Meth addicts in particular are known for living a life of lies and denial. No, if I had a problem in the forgiveness department, it isn't even Michael's family. My real issues, that I struggle with, is the church that shunned me. New reader? WAY too long a story to go into here. Trust me, to be shunned by a church, when you are a Christian trying to follow hard after Christ, is probably the most devastating thing that can happen to you in your life, ESPECIALLY with a whole congregation of people that you have known for a decade.

I have absolutely no desire to go into any of that here and now. As for Mary, she is a very troubled person - and most of that trouble undoubtedly stems back to her husband killing himself. I have learned - not in school but out of much personal experience - that there are always roots to people's problems. Many times a traumatic event, or a series of events that lead up to a person having serious trouble in dealing with life. I can't even imagine what it must have felt like for Mary to discover her husband was dead, and not only was he dead, he killed himself. The questioning of oneself - why did he do it? Was I THAT bad? that kind of thing could go on forever if you let it.

Ummm, I just remembered that I have a half ham in there that has a sell-by date of today. I must get that thing cooked, so, I must get off of here and get it into the oven. I refuse to lose good food to expiration dates. Anyway, I made my trip to Home Depot and got the new double-key entry. There was a woman there that was having a bad day. I don't know what happened to her, but - she was sitting on one of the self checkout counters, her foot covered with a cloth, blood spilling onto the floor. I am assuming that with all the employees standing around, they were waiting for paramedics/fire to show up and treat her wound. With THAT much blood, I would expect stitches. She was an older woman, too, I hate seeing people going through stuff like that.

That's it for me, for now anyway. I have been writing alot lately, mostly a release for me but I do appreciate the comments.

ben