Ok so where was I? Oh yeah, I was about to mention that as a perfectly able-bodied young adult couple, my ex-wife and I could have possibly made ends meet on our meager wages. Neither one of us had a marketable degree. I didn’t have one and she didn’t have a marketable one (biblical studies). However, it was my contention that ANY degree is good for getting a job paying more than mine was at the time.
With both of us working, there is no reason we could not have continued to build on my little nest egg. Then, tragedy struck. This is hard to talk about in the context of this blog because of the serious nature of it all. But just as we were getting on our feet as a new couple, my ex-wife was struck with a debilitating and profoundly severe case of laziness. She sincerely believed that the man should work and the woman should stay at home. Not that she was completely old fashioned though. She did not believe that a woman should solely be responsible for cooking and cleaning. She felt that the man should help out. Oh yeah - and by help out - she meant do all of it.
I felt that if she had this 50's sort of "Honey, I'm home!" attitude, she should get her June Cleaver ass in the kitchen and cook me up some damn meatloaf or something.
But I seem to have digressed ...
Back to 1992:
We had been “borrowing” a car from a friend of Wisa’s mother. His name was Wussell. It was a 1986 blood red Ford Tempo. Much more than we could afford. We borrowed it for about 3 years. Then one time, the headlight broke or something and I took it to my mechanic, let’s call him “Wandy”, who worked out of his home. He was the nicest guy ever (as far as mechanics I barely knew go). Very helpful and friendly. I had been having him fix my cars for years and had always been incredibly happy with the work and the price. It was a very casual arrangement.
“Hey Wandy, my car’s making a noise”
“bring ‘er down!”
“Thanks, man”
So yeah I took Wussell’s car to Wandy. Now here's the best part and it is absolutely true. I felt no need to include Wussell in any of this. I was just going to take the car to Wandy and pay to have him fix it. Wisa felt that Wussell should pay for it since it was his car.
A huge fight ensued which ended with me calling Wussell to tell him that I was getting his car fixed so he should pay for it. I was extremely embarrassed. I was also a big huge pussy. I still am, but I like to think it's by choice.
Well, Wussell paid for it alright. He also required a written estimate of the work done from my mechanic friend. He also took his car back after it got fixed. My mechanic didn't really care to deal with me anymore because of the whole thing. I never talked to Wussell again. I lost many friends during that time in my life. I got most of them back later. Did I mention I was in agony, by the way?
So yeah - now the car search was on. The car I ended up getting was the focal point of what I was reminded of yesterday morning. But really, I have to get up early tomorrow, so ...
4 comments:
Gee Fred. That reminds me of the time right before I met you when I was miserably married to my first non-bill-payin' credit-lovin' wife. It also reminds me of the fact that you didn't try to kill me when my soon to be second non-bill-payin' credit-lovin' wife turned out to be just like your "Wisa" -- Satan's life coach. You are such a dick! A real friend would have at least cut my nuts off to spare me the pain of paying child support!
I tried to kill you and you know it. I was just too weak because I couldn't afford food. It's funny you should read this story because you know most of the rest of it. What you don't know is how it relates to yesterday. Well, maybe you do.
Hey Fred, this is some Grade A stuff. Would you mind if I used it for my English class? No? Okay, well it's a good read anyways.
Oh yeah, this blog. Thanks Peter. I appreciate it. Are you blogging again, yet? (I'll check). That reminds me ... I should continue this story. I have to go to school now, but I think I'll submit the last page later tonight (if I can find some beer).
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