I have
been very careful not to beat up on anyone, no matter how much I think that
they deserve it. I, also, have not praised anyone, simply because this writing
is about me, and I don’t feel like I have the
right to criticize anyone, or even write any things that could be taken out of
context. There is one person that deserves a lot of praise, not just from me,
but everyone that has ever met him. My brother built a house next door to John,
and, Dale was going through one of the toughest times of his life, and John
said, “Dale was a good neighbor. Are you going to be a good
neighbor?” I certainly went through the hardest part of my life living
next door to John. He was so helpful in every way. When we were starving, he
brought food, and invited us to have meals at his church. I had been down so
far for so long that I was in the process of selling my property to my
neighbor, Susan. John could see my despair, and he offered to buy my dad’s
tractor for five hundred dollars. I didn’t think
it was worth anything, but I accepted, and that was all I needed to get going
again. So, between John and my cousin Diana, we were
able to stay, and eventually we recovered enough that, now, nothing could ever get
us out of here. I went to see him today, August 16, 2012, after meeting his
future son-in-law, yesterday. I met Robert yesterday, when he was mowing the
pasture adjacent to us. He told me that John had just had knee replacement
surgery. He said that John was getting forgetful, and I should go see him soon,
so this morning, I showered, and shaved, and I went up to see John. I had
forgotten how beautiful his daughter is, and how much she looks like Suzie, so
I was taken by surprise when she opened the door. They
let me in to see John, and we had a nice chat, but I could see the early signs
of dementia, as he was talking as though he was still in the hospital, and he
said as soon as they let him out, he would come and see me. I feel so bad for
him, but I want everyone to know that he was my best ever neighbor, and a best
ever friend, too!
The
Space Shuttle
It’s Steve East’s birthday, today. Here’s a birthday present photo for you, my friend.
http://youtu.be/IOsBuXUXX7c The Space Shuttle
zzzzzzzzzzzz
wwwwwwwwwwwwww
Here
we go again!
October 15, 2012
I went
outside to see who was at the gate, talking to Denise, and there was John, my
neighbor. He had brought avocados from his tree. He was riding his mower, and
when I watched him drive away, I was more than a little worried, as he really
was forgetful. We usually talk about my brother, and I was going to mention
that it was Dale’s birthday on the sixteenth. His mind was so confused
that I didn’t get a chance to mention it.
I did
send a happy birthday message to Dale on facebook,
and I got a response that has disturbed me very deeply. I want to write about
that, here, while I am still able to remember.
February
of 1996, my mother asked me to move into Dale’s house. She wanted a
“free” caretaker, and had paid Dale his inheritance, and forced him
to move out. She had married Richard Day, and we had several discussions on
what to do with the house. The design was poor, and there was
so much wasted space that it needed remodeling. It took me several
months to clean up the mess Dale had left behind, and once I had that done, we made plans to remodel, and sell the place, and
split the profits. Mom was in the process of changing her trust, to reflect her
wishes, but before she could get that done, she dropped, dead. I thought that
would bring the family together, not realizing how greedy my sister was.
I
continued to stay in Dale’s house, which had a mortgage, and I knew that
mom, not getting her trust changed, I knew Dale would be back to claim the
place. I had no income, so I kept the mortgage paid with money that Dale was
required to pay me, in order to claim his property. When that ran out, I was
hoping we could make some arrangement so that Dale could keep his place, but he
put it up for sale, and evicted me, without actually owning the property.
(Gloria delayed signing over our properties to us.) Dale got his money for his
house, a second time. You would think that would be enough, but then he turned
around and sued me for unlawful detainer. He’s
lucky I didn’t show up in court, because his case would have been
dismissed, and he would have owed money to me. I didn’t
want to make this a part of my biography, but now I feel it is necessary to
make sure the truth be known. See http://www.petesmemories.com/dale.html
.
I haven’t been in contact with any family for over ten
years, and it has been so peaceful. I hadn’t
realized how stirred up my family kept me. Now I wish my brother a happy
birthday, and here we go again. First, I hear about how he never sued me, then when I showed him the court papers, he said he never
saw those before. Then he wrote a novel justifying his actions, and already, I don’t want to hear from my family, anymore.
I hope I don’t have to add anymore to this chapter, but I am
leaving it open.