New Family (edited and revised 1-28-2024)

 

Devastated

When I lost Pam, I was temporarily paralyzed, and I stopped participating in overtime, and started spending time with the boys. We were all, stunned, and confused, and I was unable to perform at work. Bud Gibson told me I'd get over it, but I know I never will. I take my leave, and go to spend time with my parents, who have moved to Antelope California, and they have a 4 bedroom house, on 6 acres, paid for in cash, from the proceeds of the berry ranch, in Snohomish.

I poured an R.V. pad for the folks' trailer, to redirect my angry energy. Dave Joyce stole my woman, and I can't stop thinking about it unless I drink a lot. So, I drank a lot, and I felt bad my folks had to watch this. My angry energy was sufficient to pour a 10,000 sq. foot circular driveway!

One day, mom told me that I had a cousin in the area. Her brother, Wallace (Uncle Bud) had a daughter that had married, and moved relatively close. Cameron Park. I was unfamiliar with the area, and when I went to look them up, I got lost, and had to go home without finding them the first night.

Mom said it was Diana, and I was anxious to meet her again, as a child I had a crush, and she was the finest looking girl I had ever seen. She was still beautiful, and she had a daughter, equally beautiful, and I playfully asked her to marry me.

Diana and Sherre0004

            Sherre                Diana 1-31-51    9-29-03

We hit it right off, and Diana, married to Steve East, became my best friend. Steve was a big shot, and was out of town a lot, and Diana, accustomed to being lonely when he was out of town, now had company. I spent time with them when Steve was home, and we went places together, when he was gone, and we became closer every day, and they put up with my beer drinking, and we always had a great time together.

Sherre felt so comfortable around me that she didn't realize how disturbing, when she hugged and kissed me like a brother. I felt equally comfortable with Diana, and pretty soon, I love both these girls, more than I loved my ex-wife, and it was so innocent, we had Steve's approval, and support.

The time I spent with the East family, helped to heal my wounds, and I start to accept responsibility for running Pam off. I still don't feel like I'll ever get over her, but the pain is subsiding.

Steve blew up his Toyota Celica G.T., a fuel injected rocket ship, and I tell him if he wants, we can fix it, so with way too much faith in my ability, we set to work, with beers in hand. Three days and as many cases of beer later, we got his fire breathing dragon fired up, and he took me for a test ride on Bass Lake Road, and made me pee my pants, by leaving earth for ridiculous air time, and four wheel drifting around corners that needed to be taken at walking speed.

We survive that and life goes on.

Bigger Shot

Steve climbs steadily in his career, always in the right place at the right time. They make a move to Miners Ravine, and I enjoyed them being close 'til they made a prestige move to Half Moon Bay. I helped them move, but now they are farther away from me, and I don't get to see them as often as before, but I make the trip, every chance I get. Sherre, bless her heart, is very possessive, and any girls that tried to get close to me, Sherre ran them off, so I go without the female contact I most desire, and I grow to love the East family.

I was separated from them when Lockheed called me back, and I missed them 'till my father passed away. Mom needs me a lot, and I travel back and forth, always visiting the East family, and they met Judy, when I remarried, and they met Barbara, when I brought her here, to Antelope, to work on Dale's van, and they met Denise when I brought her, and a couple friends, namely, Ben and Eve, to one of the crab feeds that I hardly ever missed.

Sherre and Denise clash instantly, but Diana is so cool, and soon she and Denise are friends, plotting behind my back. When I finally bring Denise to live here in Antelope, we saw a lot of each other, and I never dreamed how badly I would need her, (Diana) when the whole world came crashing down.

Another Death in the Family

When mom passed away, I was lost. The whole world turned against me, overnight, and the only friends Denise and I had was Easts, and we took a beating until we could pull ourselves together, and turn our lives around. We started with nothing, and took one day, and one battle at a time, until, with Diana's help, we finally had a good roof over our heads.

Even this distance apart can't stop us from seeing each other. Denise can see that I love Diana, but she soon understands why, and in no time, Denise loves her as much as I do.

I remember when we got the trailer pulled together, but still had no power, and it was 110 degrees in the shade. Steve, Diana, and Sherre came from 70 degrees to visit us, and Steve suggests we go see a movie in one of the air conditioned theaters, close to the house, so we moseyed on over to Vernon Ave. The theater changes its name all the time, so I don't remember what they called it, but it's like 8 or 10 screens under one roof. Steve got 5 tickets to see Zorro, and we went in to sit down. It was warm in there, and we Watched Anthony Hopkins, and sweated profusely, and that's the kind of luck that plagued Denise and me.

Diana helped when she could, and we were invited, often, to crab feeds, and East feeds, and just to get out of the sun and the heat.

She realizes, one day, that my working days are over, so she gave me an opportunity to pay her back, and one time, Denise was at her mothers, and Diana invited me to come, and build a retaining wall, and excavate an area for a storage shed, lay a foundation, and erect the shed. Their backyard is steeply inclined, and the access is limited, so, excavation means shoveling dirt into the wheelbarrow, and moving the dirt into the low areas. once excavation was completed, and I looked back to see how many loads I had hauled, and I amazed myself.

I have picked up slovenly ways from Denise, so Diana has to remind me, that civilized people, don't do this and that. I wore out my welcome, and Diana credited me with most of my debt covered. I never thanked her as much as I needed to, and when she got sick again, I was crushed.

We quit seeing them as often as we were, and my contact with my soul mate diminished. We visited once or twice, but never stayed long, because we could see how uncomfortable she was.

I remember the last time Denise and I travelled that way, Diana was undergoing chemotherapy. She lost her hair, and she wasn't eating, and I had picked out a salmon fillet, and several loaves of fresh homemade bread, made from frozen dough, and real butter. It made me smile to see her scarf the homemade bread and butter, and enjoy some fish, and one more trip, to see us, very briefly, and the next time I saw her was the night before she passed away.

I was sick when Sherre called me, and I hung up on her without saying anything. She gave me a little time, and she called me back, to give me details. I felt lost. It has been a long while since I have seen Sherre, and I really didn't expect to see Steve much more, thinking he was probably relieved that I wasn't part of his family anymore. We have gotten even closer, and poor Steve really needs female companionship, and we watch him struggle to fill the hole that Diana left behind. I see that this chapter holds promise to continue, so I will leave the ending of this chapter open......................

A Replacement???

So, I was wrong. Steve didn't disappear. Sherre married Jesse England, and I hardly ever see her anymore, but Steve runs each new girlfriend by us, and some I like, and some are trouble, like the one that moved in with mom and two kids. I went to a birthday party for Steve, and as usual, I got the day wrong, so I arranged to at least say hi to Sherre, and while I was parked out front, waiting for her, and Steve's girlfriend's mother came out, and ran me off.

Several choices later, we meet Kimberly. Steve can't stop bragging about her credentials as a professor at  UCSF, the leading university in the bay area,but all she is showing us is that she is the most down to earth person we have met from the coastal area. She overheard me saying something about big shoes to fill, and I was shown what self esteem looks like.

Denise and I are really struggling, now. We have no income at all. We received a sum of twenty five thousand dollars on two separate occasions, a non-refundable deposit, for the sale of my property. When the sale fell through, we went back to wondering where our next groceries were coming from.

One time when Steve was here in 2008, he suggested a loan of 1500 dollars per month until I received my social security check, which was eight months away. I jumped at the chance, thinking what good fortune this was. Starting with the second check, I had to remind Steve to send me some money. He insisted I sign a contract with him, saying that I would pay ten percent interest, backed up by my property, and he would send me a check by the fifteenth of the month, so I set up my bills to be paid around the fifteenth.

I never received a check on time again, and all my bills got paid late, with a ten percent late fee, and when my plants caught the spider mites, I had no money for pesticides, and I lost over a hundred clones. I thought he was sorry he made the deal, so I quit begging for my check, and when he asked to come visit, I told him we couldn't have company, because we were broke, and out of food, and behind on our bills, and he said he would come right away, and he gave me a late check, and a little early check, and for one month, I was able to catch up my bills, and get far enough ahead, where he couldn't hurt me again.

While waiting for my 62nd birthday, and the February after, I submitted a request for social security medical to my attorney, and he won some back money for me, so as soon as I had everything I wanted, I started to pay Steve back. He came for a visit, and brought an ipad. I asked how much he wanted me to pay him back. He said fifteen thousand would cover the ipad and the ten percent interest, so I sent him the fifteen hundred I had left from my settlement, and started sending five hundred per month. About a year into repaying, Denise volunteered to help, and I increased his monthly payment to one thousand dollars. I really expected this to go smoothly, but, pretty soon, Steve is saving the checks to cash two at a time, the ultimate kick in the balls, for paying him interest which he doesn't seem too interested in, now. Now I think he has lost one, and if he doesn't find it before 90 days passes, I will have to send it again, an even more ultimate kick in the balls. The only help he can offer is for me to "take your time".  I'm truly disappointed.

Just as I thought. Here's an excerpt from my bank statement

Payee (Payee Nickname): Steve East (Steve East) Payment Amount: $1,000.00 Payment Send On Date: 07/13/2011 If you did not place a stop payment request on this item, there are several possible reasons for the credit: - Is your payee account name and number correct? - Is the mailing address entered for this payee correct? - Was the payment made over 90 days ago? (Checks not cashed within 90 days are automatically credited back to your account.) - Has your account with the payee been closed or does it have a credit balance? Before scheduling additional payments to this payee, you may want to match the information entered on your payee list with your most recent statement from this payee and make any necessary corrections. Or contact your payee for the specific reason for this returned payment. Please select "Contact Us" from the top of any Bill Pay screen to send us an email if you have any questions or need further assistance. Or, you may call one of our Bill Pay Specialists anytime at 1-800-956-4442. Sincerely, Wells Fargo Bill Pay Customer Service

My feelings are truly hurt by his seeming indifference, until, one night when I was watching 60 Minutes on T.V., an hour dedicated to Steve Jobs, and they talked about a shoeless, un-bathed vegan, who was described by the people around him as being in a "reality distortion field", a creation of the creators of Star Trek. This makes things, at least, understandable, but no less painful. Then I realize how distracted by his job and his travels, and I promise to try to be more understanding.

As of Jan 4, no end is in sight. This will continue in another volume. I want to finish this before my 66th birthday. I will continue to write, but I want to call this, finished.

In Closing……

It is June twentieth, twenty thirteen. I have decided to make my autobiography available online, and this is the last chapter waiting to be uploaded.

Steve and Kimberly have become close friends, and they are of the few we look forward to seeing. Steve dropped the interest charges, and made it easier to pay him back. Once I got that done, I have found ways to pay the interest I owed. He had problems with others he had loaned money to, so he was grateful that I had done that.

When they come, we always have a feast. They bring fresh produce, and I usually cook up something.

They are both so busy with their careers that we are grateful for the time they spend with us.

New developments;

I will add excerpts from correspondence in the interest of brevity.

Email to Kimberly;

Dear Kimberly,

I hope you will take the time to read the document I have attached. I think of you as a friend, and I feel you have a right to certain facts which you may accept or reject, as you so choose.

Sincerely,

Terry

Attachment;

Dear Kimberly,

I am in a quandary.

I have wanted to share certain facts with you since 2018, but was

unable, as a computer glitch erased my entire address book.

Denise and I miss seeing you. We always enjoyed your visits as a

couple with Steve, and I know that Steve terminated our

relationship because he claimed the atmosphere was toxic,

because of a situation he claimed that I was responsible for. I want

to set the record straight.

At the time, in 2016, You and Steve had some differences, and

weren’t seeing each other. Denise and I were having problems also.

I had invited my very first girlfriend from my teenage years to come

and visit me from Newfoundland. Denise felt a need to find another

place to stay, and Steve was one of many people she shared her

sorrow with.

Steve offered to rescue her from me, in a telephone conversation I

overheard. He offered to take her home with him and informed her

he was “on the way”. This was late in the day, and Denise said he

could spend the night, but would have to share her bed.

Undeterred, he arrived very late, and we had a conversation, ( one-

sided, I.E. him offering me a lot of uninformed, unwanted advice, as

usual.)

After listening to him rant, Denise set him up with her bed, and

slept with me. He left angrily the next morning, alone, of course.

I rescued Denise over 30 years ago, with honorable intentions,

unlike Steve. She was homeless. I lived alone, and had a spare

room with a bed, which I offered to her with no strings attached,

and she accepted. We lived together 6 months before we ever had

a sexual relationship. When I discovered that she was cognitively

impaired, I made a promise that she could stay with me as long as

she wanted.

We have had serious differences through the years, and several

times she has wanted to move out, but I have never, and will never

“kick her out”. Every time we have problems, at least a dozen guys

offer to rescue her from me, but, in the end, she realizes there is no

better place than right here.

We are NOT a couple, and she is free to have a relationship with

whomever she chooses. As such, we lead separate lives as “best

friends”.

Several years ago, I inquired of Steve was there some reason I

hadn’t heard from him in a long while, and he replied, and I quote;

That and uncertainty in my relationship with Kim at the time,

apparently convinced both of you the solution was for Denise to try

to jump in to bed with me.

Allow me to bore you with all of the details.

On September 30, 2018 at 10:34 AM Terry Peterson <          

pete@thepetersonranch.com       

> wrote:

Hello, long lost friend!

I have been thinking about you a lot lately, wondering how you are doing. We would love to see you again

if you are in our area.

As a fellow science fiction buff, I couldn't pass up the chance to share this delightful sleeper. I think you

have AMAZON PRIME. If so, paste the title "kin-dza-dza" in the search box. My face is tired from smiling!

Tell everyone we said hello!

Terry and Denise

After no response:

On Oct 3, 2018, at 2:24 AM, Terry Peterson <  

pete@thepetersonranch.com       

> wrote:

IF YOU ARE MAD AT ME, YOU COULD JUST SAY SO!

On October 3, 2018 at 8:11 AM Steve East <   

quasimodality@icloud.com

> wrote:

Hi Terry,

Not mad, but sad that our last interaction was so disturbing that I doubt I’ll ever be

back.

Last I saw you, you were making plans to bring an old girlfriend into your house, in

essence telling Denise she’d be on her own. That and uncertainty in my relationship

with Kim at the time, apparently convinced both of you the solution was for Denise to

try to jump in to bed with me.  

Wrong on so many levels.

Kim and I reconciled, addressed the issues that were driving us apart and got married

in Jan 2017. We’re enjoying the stability of a committed relationship and I cannot bring

her back into the situation, regardless of how you and Denise have resolved your

issues.

I wish you well and hope you have gotten healthier and more clear headed.

Steve

 

Re: Repeat: thinking of you

Terry Peterson     

<pete@thepetersonranch.com>

10:26 AM

To

Steve East

Wow! Wrong on so many levels. 

 I thought you were a bigger man.

I'm so sorry! I will really miss your friendship!

End email

 

Had Steve been as honorable as he would have everyone believe, he could

have come in the morning, and returned without spending the night here.

(Just saying.)

I can’t tell you how disappointed I was that he was unwilling to acknowledge

his position in the situation, and chose to “throw me under the bus”.

I am dreadfully sorry to reveal the truth, but I know Steve has spread this

story to people I care very deeply for, Sherre, being one of them.

I recently contracted covid and was very near death. I have come to terms

with my mortality, but feared passing, knowing people had wrong feelings

about me, and I am in the process of setting the records straight. Steve’s

word would always be accepted over mine, and I don’t really care if anyone

believes me.

I hope this doesn’t cause you too many problems, but I thought you should

know that you married a weasel!

You are always welcome here. We would love to see you again.

Your friend always,

Terry

The correspondence speaks for itself. As of 1-28-2024, this is where we are at. I will leave it!

                                                                end