1. Home to Contradictions, 2. Six Degrees from Home, 3. Welcome Back to My Therapy,
4. Lying, Cheating, Stealing and Intent, 5. Power of You, 6. One Split Second,
7. Marvelous Mistakes, 8. I made a choice to make a change, 9. Connections to the Farm,
10. Back to the Farm, 11. It's a small world after all, 12 Fair Weather Friends,
13. Ghost of Roommates Past, 14. You can never go to far, 15. Glamorous Life,
16. Double Standards, 17. Lazy? No Exhausted, 18. Crossroads of Life and Death, 19. One Last Time, 20. When Worlds Collide I, 21. When Worlds Collide II, 22. When Worlds Collide III 23. The Unwanted New World, 24. Means the Old World Must Go, 25. So Where was God in all this? 26. Where did you get that from?, 27. The Reason for My Season, 28. Was Always a Little Rascal, 29. Pictures and Quotes of the Little Rascal and final chapter 30. Closing in Contradictions. ~Use these links to read in order (some chapters have songs, new added content, pictures or all:) Volume 2 >>>>>
I wrote earlier about two of the people who turned into really good friends here. Late in November in 94? Sherri was able to get me the interview with the lawyers office because she baby sat (and later tutored) for one of the attorneys. It was an opportunity to learn a little about the real estate world and as soon as I got the job I began saving for a house. The lady that hired me was a little weary of hiring a girl to do the job because there was a lot of heavy lifting involved in running a firm. That job was so much more than delivering docs through out the city and lunch in the office. This was a pretty decent outfit with two offices one uptown and one in South Park. There were approximately 45 attorney's and staff total between both offices. The job required moving large amounts of paperwork in never ending cycles between the two offices and two off site storage areas and the one located in the basement of the building. It also required that I shop and stock for all the supplies needed for the break room and when we got large deliveries of paper I had to put it away and keep up in the copy room. I also filled in for the receptionist at breaks and after a while helped out the paralegals who spent much of their time in the courthouse... the end of the month was a usual mad house. I would have to run the docs from closings through the registrars at the courthouse and that was after parking several blocks away just to get there. I helped set up computer equipment and moved offices around when it suited them. I had also spent a good amount of time getting to know some of the attorney's families because if they needed something done they would call and ask for me. The attorney who helped me file for my divorce papers has a wife who was forever locking her keys in the car, or herself out of the house. I chased cats and picked up bottles of booze from the liquor store on a regular basis. Some things never change it seems ;) I was the only "courier" and looking back I think I did a pretty good job... at least at first because I stayed there for almost 5 years. The link back to the farm was the attorney they mentioned happen to work in the same building and from time to time I'd run into some of them coming to meet with him!
To say it was a big change from the other jobs as well as living with a whole new set of people again was an understatement... again. This time around at Sherri's there were just 4 of us, her, her long time boyfriend and later husband and their friend. Kevin was a really sweet conservative gay man and looking back it really was a great place to be. Sure there were minor problems but I know I was a pain in the butt sometimes so the fault is all mine. The first day I started at the law firm I was told that the company was having a Thanksgiving dinner at the big BBQ barn where politicians like to gather around these parts. They said it was a country affair and to dress appropriate. Check... I can do that! They also said to bring someone and I thought to myself... that might not be a good idea. As fate would have it I got a call from Willie's nutty friend Micheal and for some unknown reason I told him about the get together which was the next night and he volunteered to go with me... GREAT! The next night as we were getting to the place I had a little talk with Michael and told him only 3 beers and do not start making your weird noises, as was his normal habit. Maybe I should have gone alone, but there was so many people I didn't know, I felt like I needed someone to talk to. Things went okay and I was mildly surprised when the husband of the attorney that hired me wanted to shoot pool, because we were talking about it. At the time I didn't think anything of it but when we played I won most of the games. It didn't occur to me that maybe I should have let him win because although I had been practicing I didn't think it had made that much of a difference. Luckily he was a good sport and after Michael had reached his 3 beer limit it was time to go before anything stupid happened. After that though Michael tended to hang around like a lost puppy and I wondered how I got him in the split between Willie and me.
During this time Scott and I had started to hang out a little more often and I learned several things about him. He was 31 or so at the time and still lived at home with his mom because it was convenient and he born on Christmas. He was the youngest of two kids and his parents had divorced when he was way younger but for the most part he did have a charmed life. He worked full time and was having a great time playing pool, traveling if he wanted to and he did play hard! Dear Scotty is the exception to many rules, I have found over the years and the differences between us were night and day. Michael was still hanging around and after every thing that had happened I was clear I was not looking for anything romantic from either one. Period. Again, I must point out that people don't hear me, even when I spell it out, draw the map or encase it in neon flashing lights. I had mentioned earlier that Scott didn't really believe me when I told him about my experiences at the farm until he met them. If fact when I was telling him about my ex husband and their family he could not grasp the concept that some of them just were not normal. During that first year at the law firm I got the divorce papers drawn up, located my soon to be ex and met him so he could sign the papers. At this time we had been married on paper for almost 5 years and he wasn't going to help pay for it. That day I met him at his dad's house along with his then girlfriend. My ex presented me with a do it yourself divorce kit and I said... just sign the paper and we will be done! You keep what is yours and I'll keep what is mine. Thankfully he signed and it was just in time so he could marry his girlfriend on her 18th birthday. Later that year at the holidays Scott and I went over to my ex's sisters with Trey and they were proud to show me the video from a Jerry Springer show that had one of the family friends in it! I never saw a guy laugh so hard in my life and as luck would have it Scott was usually around when one disaster or another happened in my life and I've provided much entertainment value for him over time.
Now the next part of this is pretty embarrassing on both of our parts because it was stupid but at least is was a new mistake for us anyway and I will never live it down as long as I live! Even though I knew many drug users, I can tell you I never wanted to use any of the hard stuff. Period. I saw what it did to my friends and that was enough for me but when this new drug called ecstasy came around we thought we would give it a try. Bad mistake from start to finish. It all started as we were heading up to a pool room in another county closer to the farm than our homes. I was driving and had the brilliant idea to take them while in the car just a little ways from where we were going. I figured nothing would happen in 10 minutes but within less than 5, I could feel the effects and after crossing the bridge I started to look for a place to pull over. I didn't want to be driving any more. That was when the blue lights came on in the rear view mirror and I knew we were screwed. The cop came up to the window and asked if I was drinking and I couldn't speak, only shake my head no. My adrenaline combined with this drug and being scared spitless caused me to be unable to form words. Scott however was holding his own very well but when the cop opened the car door and I fell out of the car, on to the ground he could only hang his head. The cop mentioned something about a sobriety test and I could only shake my head no... I was really fried in every sense of the word at this time. Cop #1 called in back up and had us get out of the car and searched it thoroughly finding long lost smoking paraphernalia from the move. He had one pill left on him and they found it. In the one coherent sentence I was able to get out when the cop asked what it was, I said " It gives you eennnneerrrgggy" like I was taking in slow motion. So we were both put into the back of separate police cars for a while. Miraculously the cops let us go after giving us both a ticket but told us not to drive the car, which we didn't. We called a cab and waited for a long time. Later many of the people at the bar that were expecting us said they saw all the commotion but didn't know it was us because we were in my car.
Now I'll admit I wish that was the end of the story but things didn't turn out that way. The next day I met Scott's mom for the first time and to say that I had made a bad impression under the circumstances again would have been another understatement of the year. She was not pleased at all and later Scott got a call from the SBI wanting to have a talk with him. They found out what that pill was and he was going to be arrested and it was all my fault! He said don't worry I got a cousin who is an attorney and my first thought was the movie "My Cousin Vinny'' and again I thought we were screwed. I told him I knew a really good one with many references but he wanted to stick it out with his cousin. The court day came and we were there on time and nervous as a long tail cat in a room full of rocking chairs. The first case being heard was something about dogs and lawns but I can't say I was paying attention. Everything was going okay until the doors opened and there was our attorney and his assistant wearing three piece suits. They didn't stick out among all the country people at all. They sat down on either side of us and then our case was called next. Well they called Scott's name not mine so I didn't stand up so both Scott and the assistant reached down and pulled me up to go with them. Up front in front of the judge. You could have heard a pin drop in the courtroom that day. The DA put on his case and couldn't even pronounce the legal name of the drug and things looked hairy for a minute. But they knew we both were working people with real jobs and not some drug king pin of the country so after some earlier negotiations in chambers we were given a fine to pay and then my case was dismissed. We couldn't get out of there fast enough! Whew, I thought we were really going to go to jail but things worked out. I later found out there was money that changed hands between our attorney and the justice system. That's when I learned for sure that justice could be bought... even if it is expensive. We learned both of our lessons that time and that's was it for our experimentation. Poor Scott couldn't even watch an episode of Cop's for about 5 years after and you could forget about Law and Order.
We left the courthouse and stopped and had lunch at the farm on the way home. Krystal was happy we were in the clear and things sort of returned to normal. Well as normal for me anyway. Scott and I were shooting pool one night and I got a page from an oddly familiar number. After a moment I called and heard... Mecklenburg County Intake Center which was the jail. I was scanning all the possibilities in my mind on just who it could be when I asked... "Do you have a Krystal Smith in custody?" I heard typing and then a moment later she said, "Why yes we do." I asked what are the charges? She said... " Open container, driving without a license, DUI, causing an accident, assault and assault on a cop." Swell! I thought about it and decided I couldn't go and bail her out because she just would NOT show up for court... otherwise I would have in a minute! Another thing was to watch these guys save up then spend thousands of dollars, time, energy and attorney's visits just to get their drivers license back, only to lose them in a very short period of time. Seemed like a moot point to me. So I called Ryan and told him what was happening. He said, "Oh, she'll be alright... we'll get her in the morning!" Later I found out the story which was she was driving to a bar, had an accident, got out to talk to the other driver and when she was talking to them one of the other passengers stole her purse. So when the cops roll up there is a fight going on and when the cop tried to separate her from the group... he got punched square in the face. Can I get a Yee Haw!
Later that year again at the company holiday function Scott and I attended he met the attorney who filed my divorce and low and behold if they didn't know each other from the dealership Scott worked for at the time. Still later I would find out that the lady who brought pound cakes to the shop was the mother of Bonnie... formally of the Bonnie and Clyde team mentioned earlier. He also knew one of Blondie's roommates from school that she pawned off on me to go to a Lynyrd Skynyrd concert because she didn't want to deal with him. And finally Scott was looking through my old pictures and saw one and screamed... "You know 3 beer Willy?" It seems I did because we went to school together, and that's was his nickname. Seems like it is a small world after all.
12. Fair weather friends >>>>>
4. Lying, Cheating, Stealing and Intent, 5. Power of You, 6. One Split Second,
7. Marvelous Mistakes, 8. I made a choice to make a change, 9. Connections to the Farm,
10. Back to the Farm, 11. It's a small world after all, 12 Fair Weather Friends,
13. Ghost of Roommates Past, 14. You can never go to far, 15. Glamorous Life,
16. Double Standards, 17. Lazy? No Exhausted, 18. Crossroads of Life and Death, 19. One Last Time, 20. When Worlds Collide I, 21. When Worlds Collide II, 22. When Worlds Collide III 23. The Unwanted New World, 24. Means the Old World Must Go, 25. So Where was God in all this? 26. Where did you get that from?, 27. The Reason for My Season, 28. Was Always a Little Rascal, 29. Pictures and Quotes of the Little Rascal and final chapter 30. Closing in Contradictions. ~Use these links to read in order (some chapters have songs, new added content, pictures or all:) Volume 2 >>>>>
I wrote earlier about two of the people who turned into really good friends here. Late in November in 94? Sherri was able to get me the interview with the lawyers office because she baby sat (and later tutored) for one of the attorneys. It was an opportunity to learn a little about the real estate world and as soon as I got the job I began saving for a house. The lady that hired me was a little weary of hiring a girl to do the job because there was a lot of heavy lifting involved in running a firm. That job was so much more than delivering docs through out the city and lunch in the office. This was a pretty decent outfit with two offices one uptown and one in South Park. There were approximately 45 attorney's and staff total between both offices. The job required moving large amounts of paperwork in never ending cycles between the two offices and two off site storage areas and the one located in the basement of the building. It also required that I shop and stock for all the supplies needed for the break room and when we got large deliveries of paper I had to put it away and keep up in the copy room. I also filled in for the receptionist at breaks and after a while helped out the paralegals who spent much of their time in the courthouse... the end of the month was a usual mad house. I would have to run the docs from closings through the registrars at the courthouse and that was after parking several blocks away just to get there. I helped set up computer equipment and moved offices around when it suited them. I had also spent a good amount of time getting to know some of the attorney's families because if they needed something done they would call and ask for me. The attorney who helped me file for my divorce papers has a wife who was forever locking her keys in the car, or herself out of the house. I chased cats and picked up bottles of booze from the liquor store on a regular basis. Some things never change it seems ;) I was the only "courier" and looking back I think I did a pretty good job... at least at first because I stayed there for almost 5 years. The link back to the farm was the attorney they mentioned happen to work in the same building and from time to time I'd run into some of them coming to meet with him!
To say it was a big change from the other jobs as well as living with a whole new set of people again was an understatement... again. This time around at Sherri's there were just 4 of us, her, her long time boyfriend and later husband and their friend. Kevin was a really sweet conservative gay man and looking back it really was a great place to be. Sure there were minor problems but I know I was a pain in the butt sometimes so the fault is all mine. The first day I started at the law firm I was told that the company was having a Thanksgiving dinner at the big BBQ barn where politicians like to gather around these parts. They said it was a country affair and to dress appropriate. Check... I can do that! They also said to bring someone and I thought to myself... that might not be a good idea. As fate would have it I got a call from Willie's nutty friend Micheal and for some unknown reason I told him about the get together which was the next night and he volunteered to go with me... GREAT! The next night as we were getting to the place I had a little talk with Michael and told him only 3 beers and do not start making your weird noises, as was his normal habit. Maybe I should have gone alone, but there was so many people I didn't know, I felt like I needed someone to talk to. Things went okay and I was mildly surprised when the husband of the attorney that hired me wanted to shoot pool, because we were talking about it. At the time I didn't think anything of it but when we played I won most of the games. It didn't occur to me that maybe I should have let him win because although I had been practicing I didn't think it had made that much of a difference. Luckily he was a good sport and after Michael had reached his 3 beer limit it was time to go before anything stupid happened. After that though Michael tended to hang around like a lost puppy and I wondered how I got him in the split between Willie and me.
During this time Scott and I had started to hang out a little more often and I learned several things about him. He was 31 or so at the time and still lived at home with his mom because it was convenient and he born on Christmas. He was the youngest of two kids and his parents had divorced when he was way younger but for the most part he did have a charmed life. He worked full time and was having a great time playing pool, traveling if he wanted to and he did play hard! Dear Scotty is the exception to many rules, I have found over the years and the differences between us were night and day. Michael was still hanging around and after every thing that had happened I was clear I was not looking for anything romantic from either one. Period. Again, I must point out that people don't hear me, even when I spell it out, draw the map or encase it in neon flashing lights. I had mentioned earlier that Scott didn't really believe me when I told him about my experiences at the farm until he met them. If fact when I was telling him about my ex husband and their family he could not grasp the concept that some of them just were not normal. During that first year at the law firm I got the divorce papers drawn up, located my soon to be ex and met him so he could sign the papers. At this time we had been married on paper for almost 5 years and he wasn't going to help pay for it. That day I met him at his dad's house along with his then girlfriend. My ex presented me with a do it yourself divorce kit and I said... just sign the paper and we will be done! You keep what is yours and I'll keep what is mine. Thankfully he signed and it was just in time so he could marry his girlfriend on her 18th birthday. Later that year at the holidays Scott and I went over to my ex's sisters with Trey and they were proud to show me the video from a Jerry Springer show that had one of the family friends in it! I never saw a guy laugh so hard in my life and as luck would have it Scott was usually around when one disaster or another happened in my life and I've provided much entertainment value for him over time.
Now the next part of this is pretty embarrassing on both of our parts because it was stupid but at least is was a new mistake for us anyway and I will never live it down as long as I live! Even though I knew many drug users, I can tell you I never wanted to use any of the hard stuff. Period. I saw what it did to my friends and that was enough for me but when this new drug called ecstasy came around we thought we would give it a try. Bad mistake from start to finish. It all started as we were heading up to a pool room in another county closer to the farm than our homes. I was driving and had the brilliant idea to take them while in the car just a little ways from where we were going. I figured nothing would happen in 10 minutes but within less than 5, I could feel the effects and after crossing the bridge I started to look for a place to pull over. I didn't want to be driving any more. That was when the blue lights came on in the rear view mirror and I knew we were screwed. The cop came up to the window and asked if I was drinking and I couldn't speak, only shake my head no. My adrenaline combined with this drug and being scared spitless caused me to be unable to form words. Scott however was holding his own very well but when the cop opened the car door and I fell out of the car, on to the ground he could only hang his head. The cop mentioned something about a sobriety test and I could only shake my head no... I was really fried in every sense of the word at this time. Cop #1 called in back up and had us get out of the car and searched it thoroughly finding long lost smoking paraphernalia from the move. He had one pill left on him and they found it. In the one coherent sentence I was able to get out when the cop asked what it was, I said " It gives you eennnneerrrgggy" like I was taking in slow motion. So we were both put into the back of separate police cars for a while. Miraculously the cops let us go after giving us both a ticket but told us not to drive the car, which we didn't. We called a cab and waited for a long time. Later many of the people at the bar that were expecting us said they saw all the commotion but didn't know it was us because we were in my car.
Now I'll admit I wish that was the end of the story but things didn't turn out that way. The next day I met Scott's mom for the first time and to say that I had made a bad impression under the circumstances again would have been another understatement of the year. She was not pleased at all and later Scott got a call from the SBI wanting to have a talk with him. They found out what that pill was and he was going to be arrested and it was all my fault! He said don't worry I got a cousin who is an attorney and my first thought was the movie "My Cousin Vinny'' and again I thought we were screwed. I told him I knew a really good one with many references but he wanted to stick it out with his cousin. The court day came and we were there on time and nervous as a long tail cat in a room full of rocking chairs. The first case being heard was something about dogs and lawns but I can't say I was paying attention. Everything was going okay until the doors opened and there was our attorney and his assistant wearing three piece suits. They didn't stick out among all the country people at all. They sat down on either side of us and then our case was called next. Well they called Scott's name not mine so I didn't stand up so both Scott and the assistant reached down and pulled me up to go with them. Up front in front of the judge. You could have heard a pin drop in the courtroom that day. The DA put on his case and couldn't even pronounce the legal name of the drug and things looked hairy for a minute. But they knew we both were working people with real jobs and not some drug king pin of the country so after some earlier negotiations in chambers we were given a fine to pay and then my case was dismissed. We couldn't get out of there fast enough! Whew, I thought we were really going to go to jail but things worked out. I later found out there was money that changed hands between our attorney and the justice system. That's when I learned for sure that justice could be bought... even if it is expensive. We learned both of our lessons that time and that's was it for our experimentation. Poor Scott couldn't even watch an episode of Cop's for about 5 years after and you could forget about Law and Order.
We left the courthouse and stopped and had lunch at the farm on the way home. Krystal was happy we were in the clear and things sort of returned to normal. Well as normal for me anyway. Scott and I were shooting pool one night and I got a page from an oddly familiar number. After a moment I called and heard... Mecklenburg County Intake Center which was the jail. I was scanning all the possibilities in my mind on just who it could be when I asked... "Do you have a Krystal Smith in custody?" I heard typing and then a moment later she said, "Why yes we do." I asked what are the charges? She said... " Open container, driving without a license, DUI, causing an accident, assault and assault on a cop." Swell! I thought about it and decided I couldn't go and bail her out because she just would NOT show up for court... otherwise I would have in a minute! Another thing was to watch these guys save up then spend thousands of dollars, time, energy and attorney's visits just to get their drivers license back, only to lose them in a very short period of time. Seemed like a moot point to me. So I called Ryan and told him what was happening. He said, "Oh, she'll be alright... we'll get her in the morning!" Later I found out the story which was she was driving to a bar, had an accident, got out to talk to the other driver and when she was talking to them one of the other passengers stole her purse. So when the cops roll up there is a fight going on and when the cop tried to separate her from the group... he got punched square in the face. Can I get a Yee Haw!
Later that year again at the company holiday function Scott and I attended he met the attorney who filed my divorce and low and behold if they didn't know each other from the dealership Scott worked for at the time. Still later I would find out that the lady who brought pound cakes to the shop was the mother of Bonnie... formally of the Bonnie and Clyde team mentioned earlier. He also knew one of Blondie's roommates from school that she pawned off on me to go to a Lynyrd Skynyrd concert because she didn't want to deal with him. And finally Scott was looking through my old pictures and saw one and screamed... "You know 3 beer Willy?" It seems I did because we went to school together, and that's was his nickname. Seems like it is a small world after all.
12. Fair weather friends >>>>>
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