Taking Out The Trash

EVICTION TIME!

As daylight dawned on the day after the arrest I became obsessed with one thought. EVICTION. Todd’s, not mine! You see I own the home, all the contents and paid all the bills. Yep, he parasitically lived off me. I was his ‘cash-cow’ and there was not a damn thing I could do about it if I didn’t want my face kicked in. Over the years I had sent him several Eviction Notices but he tore them up, laughed and smacked me across the head. I never knew about something called a “Kick-out Order.” I wish I had known.

LESSON - I suggest you research how a “Kick-out Order” works and if it, or any equivalent option, applies wherever you live. 

 The most urgent matter at hand was to begin the Eviction process while Todd was still in jail. On Day One after the arrest I never imagined he would remain locked up for 7-months and that no one would step forward to pay his Bail. Not his family, nor any of his multiple ‘other women.’ Even though his family could afford it. It is ludicrous to plead poverty when you own a home with a swimming pool and a vintage car and a boat and a ‘business’ and vacation in the Caribbean. But leave him in jail they did! It speaks volumes that a financially sound family kept him locked up for 7-months! Thank you Kress and Movic family!!! 

Lesson – When debating Bail Reform I hope the ‘powers that be’ factor-in that there are times when the family WANTS their ‘bad seed’ to stay locked UP. Poverty is not the only reason for not paying Bail. Just saying!

I can no longer accurately recall the details of the Eviction Process, other than it was a laborious waiting game that played out over 21 (or 23??) days. I was assisted and supported throughout by my local Constable, Ron Hood; a truly honorable man. Before this I didn’t know what a Constable was, nor that they are an invaluable resource. I don’t know if the role exists Nationwide, but I suggest you investigate if your local Constable can help you. 

….. Need I finish this sentence?

After completing paperwork, paying fees, appearing in court and lots of waiting, the Police finally taped an Eviction Notice to my front door. What I now know is that I would never have survived the 21-day eviction process if Todd had still been living in my home. I would have paid the ultimate price.

With the Police in attendance Todd’s possessions were finally removed from my property and placed in a storage locker. I must point out that although I was legally entitled to put his possessions on the sidewalk for the taking, I had too much respect for my neighbors and neighborhood. So it was hauled away and the weight of a herd of elephants was lifted from my back. 

Lesson – Be damn careful about who you let move in with you! Getting them out is a nightmare that could become a matter of life or death.

 Many months after this Eviction process I found one of Todd’s lacrosse sticks in my garage. As a Lake Travis Youth Lacrosse Coach who taught middle-school boys, lacrosse sticks had always littered my home. It’s time to admit that I took great delight in putting it on the sidewalk with my garbage.
There is sublime pleasure in “taking out the trash!”