Sadly, this situation not only went on for years, it is also happening today. Joey took out several loans over the years in order to pay his bills. His expenses were the size of a large family because he was supporting these homeless people. Joey once found the courage to call the police for help which was a difficult thing for him to do. He finally had enough.
A local court issued a restraining order against the homeless people and ordered them to stay away from him. But guess what? They did not give a damn about the court or any authority. They kept going back to his house and continued to harass him. They would knock on the front door at any time of the day or night and would not leave until he could not stand it anymore and opened the door.
Had Joey continued calling the police, the ladies might have been put in jail for disobeying the court order. But unfortunately he did not do it. I believe that one of the major reasons is he was terrified of them. I also believe that had Joey not let these people into his life in the first place, he would have had a much better life. He would have lived in a house that he inherited with no mortgage, sitting on a large property, and had a good life. But this is all water under the bridge.
Nevertheless, Joey had a sister named Sarah. Sarah and her husband live in Los Angeles and have done well for themselves over the years. They have a huge house and a lot of space since all their children left home several years ago. Sarah begged Joey for years to move to LA and stay with them. But he constantly refused as he did not want to leave his animals. Sarah was worried about her younger brother but couldn’t do anything about it because he was really stubborn.
Sarah rarely went to visit Joey in Green Bay, but when she did she never stayed at his house as she couldn’t stand the smell. She tried to convince him to sell the house, but he wouldn’t listen to her. Later on she realized he took out a mortgage on the house because he owed a lot of money to Visa and his bank. Thus when he sells the house, he’ll get only half of the selling price as the rest of it will be used to pay off his debts. Also the house was in an uninhabitable condition as Joey became a hoarder over the years. The rooms in his house looked more like a warehouse than a place where someone lives. I wonder who would be interested in a house like this…..
Regardless, Joey has recently suffered from memory problems. One of his nieces who moved to Green Bay and worked as a lawyer decided to help him. Victoria spent hours trying to convince him he needed help. She wanted to take him to a geriatric specialist to have his mental condition properly assessed. After refusing for months to even discuss it, he finally said he would go with her.
She also persuaded him to allow a few real estate estimators to come inside the house to see what condition it was in, and what it could sell for. Unfortunately, the house was in very bad condition and it would probably be completely knocked down by whoever bought it. The fact that he even let people come inside the house at all is a huge change for him.
However, Victoria received power of attorney from Joey over all his financial and medical matters. One day she noticed his bank card was missing. Apparently, the two homeless women stole his card and withdrew thousands of dollars from his bank account.
Victoria was furious with the bank as she asked them a few weeks before to put a hold on any withdrawls from his account without her approval. Then she found out that he had more than one bank account and they didn’t put a hold on both accounts. She argued with the bank to be reimbursed for the theft of the money.
But the branch manager said that Joey used to come with these two women to the bank all the time and they seemed to be quite friendly. He added that it wouldn’t surprise him if Joey gave them his bank card and password of his own free will. Victoria would have to bring solid proof that Joey didn’t give permission for the women to access his bank account otherwise the bank wouldn’t consider the issue of compensation. Nevertheless, Victoria decided to press charges against the women with the police.
The two homeless women were kept under arrest only for a short time because they claimed that they didn’t steal his bank card, but that Joey willingly gave it to them. The police released them after a few days and said it was Joey’s word against theirs and they couldn’t prove any theft had taken place……
When Joanna asked where her brother was, the women said he went to the bank. Joanna introduced herself and asked who they were. They said they were Joey’s friends which surprised her as he never mentioned anything about friends visiting him at home. Besides, she knew all his friends…. Joanna was suspicious because they were older than him and weren’t anything like the people he was ever friends with. Therefore, she decided to stay there and wait for her brother to return.
Joey’s face turned white when he returned to the house and saw his sister sitting there. She knew right away that something was very wrong. She grabbed his arm and pulled him into the kitchen. Joanna asked him who these two women were and what were they doing in his house. In the beginning he was mumbling and seemed confused but he couldn’t lie to her. Then it suddenly dawned on her where she knew them from.
Her face turned red with anger. She was in shock how he let them stay in his house as they were complete strangers. She didn’t know that Joey went to the bank to withdraw money for them and it wasn’t the first time he did that. Joanna begged Joey to ask that women to leave immediately. She reminded him he wasn’t running a homeless shelter. And if they had nowhere to live, they needed to find a shelter to stay at, and not at his place. The ladies left Joey’s house after Joanna’s visit, but not for good.
They would frequently come to his house and ask to stay there overnight. At some point, they brought some of their friends with them and even their pets. Many times they would leave their pets there for him to take care of. And unfortunately because he was so lonely, the pets became his only friends. Nevertheless, the ladies realized how naive Joey was and how easy it was to take advantage of him. They would often ask him for money which he would give them as he didn’t know how to say no. However, even if he refused to give them what they wanted (which rarely happened), they would not let go until they did.
Joey never shared this problem with his family so they weren’t aware of what was going on. The problem only got worse over the years. Joey’s parents died and his sister moved from Green Bay. He stayed by himself and couldn’t bring himself to have a relationship with any woman. The homeless women kept coming and going as they pleased. When he dared to not let them in, they would pound on his door and sit outside for hours crying please let us in. Joey was afraid they would freeze, and would always back down and let them in.
Before Joey met these ladies, his house was clean and neat. But since he met them and let them into his life, his house looked like a storage unit for homeless people. It also stunk from all the pets walking around. It was not just Joey’s house that smelled badly, his clothes did too. People who he worked with couldn’t stand being around him. They would complain to the management that they couldn’t tolerate being in the same room with him which cost him his job.
One day his boss called him to his office and said he was being let go as he wasn’t following company procedures…… After working there for more than 10 years, Joey found himself without work. Joey was unemployed for a long time, going from interview to interview with no luck. But his homeless buddies couldn’t care less. They saw him as an ATM machine and kept coming to his house asking for money.
They would also take his cell phone without his permission and make countless calls which cost him an enormous amount of money. They started doing that years ago when cheap cell phone calling plans weren’t available like they are today. You would pay a monthly fee for limited calling with a certain number of minutes. The cost was very high if you went over your limit.
Joey was living on unemployment benefits since he stopped working, and barely had enough money to get through the month. Yet, as I said before, his homeless buddies didn’t care. They assured him they would pay him back, but they never did. Well…..what did you expect from these people who are not only homeless, but also drug addicts.
Joey never asked for any help from his family or anybody else for that matter. The man was afraid of his own shadow…… The truth is that I am really aggravated writing this story. All the person wanted to do was to help them, and instead of appreciating his help, he was exploited. I feel like saying to Joey, why didn’t you say no to them, why didn’t you disconnect the cell phone, and why didn’t you break off all contact with these people who were manipulating you………
The date was a disaster. Joey didn’t say much while Elaine kept talking and talking. She called David’s wife Celia when she came home that night, even though it was late. She told her how awkward the date was. She said she felt embarrassed and didn’t think he was right for her. Celia told her friend that Joey was a great guy but it takes him a long time to warm up to people. She said she would talk with him, if Elaine would give him a second chance.
In the end, Elaine agreed to give him a second chance but he needed to make the first move and call her. It took Joey a week to call her….. As this was something he had never done before, and it needed a lot of courage on his part.
This time they went to a restaurant. Even though Joey was more talkative then before, still there were many awkward silences which Elaine found very uncomfortable. Elaine knew Joey wasn’t for her because there was no chemistry between them and that was something she would not compromise on. Therefore, at the end of the evening she directly told him they weren’t a good match, and Joey was clearly disappointed.
A year later, David had some financial problems with his business. He had to close it and declare bankruptcy. As a result, Joey was left without a job. He tried to find something else that was suitable for him and went from interview to interview until he gave up. Joey did not have any luck either in his professional life, nor in his personal life 😦 After some deliberation, he decided to go back to Green Bay, the place he lived all his life as he thought maybe he would have better luck there.
Joey needed to earn a living immediately after he returned to Green Bay. He decided to apply for a job in a local Walmart until he found something better. After working at Walmart for approximately two months, he bumped into Neil, one of his ex-classmates from high school. Neil told him he wanted to open a food truck business and he needed someone to help him. He wanted to sell sandwiches which was his dream for as long as he could remember. But he needed help.
In addition, he did not have a truck driver’s license so he could not drive the truck. When he was talking to Joey, he remembered that Joey had one. Thus, he offered him to be his business partner. Joey wasn’t enthusiastic about the idea at first. But Neil convinced him that the cost to get started wasn’t very high and they could make a lot of money going from place to place in the high traffic areas. He also told him this way he would meet a lot of people and possibly meet “the one” for him.
Neil managed to persuade him and Joey decided to take the bull by the horns and agreed to go for it. For a while it was both interesting and challenging. But then Joey became bored because he had to cut up all the vegetables for the sandwiches and was on his feet all day. He did all the grunt work while Neil was busy socializing with the customers and taking the payments. It goes without saying that Joey didn’t meet “the one” for him.
After two years Joey wanted to break up the partnership between him and Neil. But unfortunately before he had a chance to discuss it with him, Neil got sick and couldn’t work anymore. They closed the business and went their separate ways.
It took a while until Joey found a new job, but in the end he found a job in his field which was in computer programming. The very few friends Joey had before he moved to Minneapolis didn’t live in Green Bay anymore. Because he was so introverted, he had difficulty making new friends. He didn’t go out and socialize with people, and the only one he was in touch with was his sister Joanne.
Joey had another problem. He didn’t know how to say no to anyone, and because of that some people took advantage of him. However, Joey would go shopping at the grocery store in his area several times a week. There were always two ladies standing outside the store asking for money. Every time Joey saw them he always gave them money and sometimes bought food for them too.
One winter day, when the two ladies saw him in the grocery store, the told him they had nowhere to sleep and asked if they could stay at his house overnight. Although Joey didn’t like the idea of two strangers staying at his house, he felt sorry for them as they were homeless, and agreed to take them home with him that night.
But they didn’t leave after one night, and stayed a whole week. Joey would cook for them, as well as buy them food and clothing. After a week, his sister came to visit him because he didn’t come to her house as he usually did. Nobody answered when she rang the doorbell so she used her key to open the door. When she stepped inside, she saw two women sitting in the living room. They looked familiar but she couldn’t place them…….
How many times have you heard people that you know say the phrase if they only went back in time, maybe they could have altered their destiny for the better. But unfortunately, it is impossible to do so. It is true that with experience comes wisdom, yet we cannot change the past. But we should learn from our mistakes. Yes, this is a cliche…….so what? But it is still quite true…….
Anyway, I met Joey once in my life. He barely looked at me and it felt as though I didn’t even exist. After he left, I told my friend who he came to visit that I never saw such a weird person my entire life. My friend’s answer was “the guy is an excellent person with a big heart, but he is very shy and introverted.” Here is his story.
Joey is the youngest son of Richard and Helen. He has three sisters and when they were younger, they lived in Green Bay, Wisconsin. The state is famous for producing dairy products. Wisconsin has cold winters with a large amount of regular snowfall. Joey’s father Richard worked in a dairy plant while his mother Helen was a housewife.
Richard had an average income and they lived a modest lifestyle. When Helen found out she was pregnant with Joey, she was concerned about her pregnancy due to her age as she was 41. On the other hand, she hoped she would have a son this time. Fortunately, Joey was born healthy and he brought a lot of joy to the family.
Richard, who loved baseball, could not wait for him to grow up to take him to baseball games. But unfortunately for Richard, the boy wasn’t interested in baseball or any other sport. As a child, Joey was very quiet and shy. He did not have many friends and he could sit for hours in his room and read books. He also used to daydream a lot instead of playing outside with other kids in the neighbourhood which concerned his parents.
Joey felt as though he was an only child most of his life. His two older sisters left home by the time he was born and the youngest sister left for university when he was 7 years old. When Joey was 20 years old his parents decided to move to Florida because they couldn’t tolerate the winters in Green Bay anymore. They tried to persuade him to move with them but he refused. Joey was in university at the time and he had very few good friends left who he grew up with and did not want to leave them.
One of his sisters Joanna lived nearby with her family, and he would go over to her house to eat on weekends and sometimes during the week too. While Joey’s friends were busy dating women, he didn’t have the courage to take the initiative. Slowly all of his friends got married. Some of them left town and moved to large cities and he was left behind.
Joey studied literature at university and wanted to be a teacher. This was his dream since he was very young. However, he soon realized that he wasn’t comfortable standing in front of a class, especially a room filled with teenagers. So he decided to change direction and took courses about computers. Then he started working as a computer technician.
Joey was a good looking guy and women liked him. But every time one of the women took the initiative, he backed off. He wouldn’t let any of them get too close to him. As a young man, Joey was very lonely and spent most of his free time reading books and watching TV. Anyway, he had a cousin David who moved to Minneapolis and opened a business there. David suggested that Joey move to Minneapolis and work for him. He also said that Minneapolis is a much bigger city and there are more opportunities to meet people there.
David offered Joey to stay with him and his family. He told him if he liked the city and his new job, he could then rent an apartment. David also said that his wife has a nice single girlfriend who he would like to introduce him to. It was not easy to convince him but in the end Joey agreed to his cousin’s suggestion, and moved in with him and his family. He liked the city and all it had to offer. He also liked the job and the people he worked with.
One evening David invited his wife’s girlfriend Elaine over for dinner. It was a nice evening and even though Joey didn’t participate in the conversation much, the lady liked him. She thought he was a bit quiet and shy, but was very cute. Joey liked her too and was staring at her all evening. Yet it wasn’t enough for him to take the first step. Elaine understood that if she wanted a relationship with the guy, she had to take the initiative otherwise the opportunity would slip away from her. As a result, she invited him to meet her for a drink, and he agreed………..
Laura and Diego attended the same high school. They started dating when they were 15 years old and were together for about 10 years with short breaks in between. Laura tried dating others but always returned to Diego. They were drawn to each other like two magnets, although they had nothing in common other than the fact that both of their families emigrated from Peru to Canada.
Laura and Diego would fight a lot and disagreed with each other most of the time. Even when you looked at them years before they got married they looked like an old married couple who did not get along. So one day when they announced they were getting hitched, everyone raised their eyebrows. Laura’s family and friends tried to talk her out of it. They told her that the two of them were incompatible, but she dismissed their objections.
Laura and Diego never showed affection towards each other in public which was strange. In fact, it looked like they did not even respect each other. I know it sounds awful but this is how it looked. Anyway, they got married and it was a very happy event. A few months later, the couple had a big argument and Laura expressed her desire to end their marriage.
Diego was the kind of person who never held a job for too long. He also never had a fixed monthly salary. Over the years he opened all kinds of small businesses like a pizza place, a courier company, and for a while he sold children’s clothes. But all those businesses were closed shortly after they were opened, due to poor management. Diego did not know how to run a business and didn’t even have basic management knowledge. As a result of financial difficulties, he was sometimes unable to pay his employees their salaries. Yet it did not stop him from opening the next business.
Every time he would come up with an idea for a new business, it did not work out. This increased the tension between him and his wife, because he would lose a lot of money and couldn’t contribute towards paying the household expenses. Laura was never enthusiastic about Diego’s ideas. She would plead with him to find a normal job with a fixed salary so that they could make some progress with their lives. But he was too arrogant to admit his failures and thought he knew better than her…….
Nevertheless, Laura and Diego reconciled after having the big argument. Their first baby girl was born a year later. For a while everything was OK with them, or at least it looked normal. And then you would hear complaints not only from her, but also from him.
Laura was very close to her family. She has two sisters and they used to hang out together a lot. They visited each other on a daily basis and when Diego came home, her sisters were frequently there. Diego felt he didn’t have any privacy and that he was a guest in his own house. When he expressed his discomfort, Laura ignored his protests.
However, a few years after the first child was born, the second child was born, and Diego still didn’t have steady employment. On the other hand, Laura had a steady job for many years. Every time Diego’s businesses went into debt, she had to give him money to bail him out. And every time he would tell her “this is the last time this will happen, I’m going to get a real job.”
Laura and Diego bought a house after her parents contributed the down payment. Laura ended up paying the mortgage because of Diego’s financial problems. When they didn’t have the money to pay the mortgage payment, Laura’s parents would step in to help them out.
Laura and Diego would constantly fight over money problems as well as the fact that her family was always over at the house. At some point, Laura got fed up and told Diego she couldn’t keep going this way anymore. Even though they had two young daughters, she told him she wanted a divorce. She asked him to leave the house immediately as she was the one who was paying the mortgage plus most of the other expenses as well.
In the beginning, he tried to convince her they should go together to see a marriage councillor to work out their problems, for the sake of their daughters. But Laura didn’t even want to hear about it. Her parents supported her decision and told her they would help her get through it.
When he saw she was stubborn and refused to budge, he changed tactics. He told her if she want him to move, she has to sell the house and divide the money equally. He didn’t care that they had two small children who needed a roof over their heads. He threatened to make things difficult for her and would not agree to a divorce so quickly. He said he would fight her every step of the way. In addition, he would tell his lawyer he did not want to agree to a settlement and would drag out the process as long as he could.
Laura was naive. She thought since she paid the mortgage and her parents paid the down payment, she could easily throw him out of the house. But when she hired a lawyer, she quickly learned that Diego had the same legal rights as she did. Nevertheless, after a several year of legal battles and making their lawyers wealthy, Diego regained his composure.
He finally agreed that Laura and their kids would stay in the house while she continued to pay the mortgage, which she did anyway….. He left the house and moved in with his parents. Diego’s financial situation was much worse than before because of the large fees he had to pay his lawyer……. In the end his desire for revenge did not lead to anything except anger and resentment……..
So far the plagues that attacked the world have shown how much vaccines have contributed to humanity. They prevented the mortality and morbidity of millions of people around the world.
Before Covid entered our lives, I knew there were anti vaccination people out there. I was also aware of a trend among parents in Western countries who refuse to vaccinate their children for various reasons. But what I didn’t know is that the anti vaccine movement is as large as it is. In addition, they have members all over the world. They support and encourage each other and they also spread disinformation and lies.
If you are deliberating whether or not to be vaccinated and you read their material, you would probably be reluctant to get vaccinated. But you would also never know if they are telling the truth or spreading lies. However, it’s not that I don’t understand people concern about being vaccinated, especially if you are getting a vaccine that was only produced a few months before. The truth is, I was concerned too.
On the other hand, every time I remember what I went through when I got the measles, I wish I had been vaccinated back then. There was a small measles outbreak in the 1980’s, and I got sick. I was really a mess. I had a high temperature (40 C for approximately one week) and was covered in red spots all over my body for more than two weeks. I had spots in places you would never think would be affected.
I also lost my appetite and was very weak. Everything I ate suddenly tasted terrible. I was in isolation for a week and this was a very traumatic experience for me. In fact, I had no appetite for a long time even after I recovered and the spots all disappeared. I lost a lot of weight and didn’t feel well at all. I do not know why I wasn’t vaccinated against the measles although the vaccine against it had been available for many years. When I asked my Mom she didn’t remember why.
Nevertheless, I recently read about someone who was anti vaccine. He was an active member of the anti vaccine movement and would regularly protest against them. Obviously he wasn’t vaccinated but surprisingly the rest of his family was. He was well known for his views and journalists covering anti vaccine protests would frequently ask him for his opinion or comments. And the man wasn’t shy about expressing them publicly.
The guy suddenly collapsed while being arrested at one of the provocative demonstrations a few weeks ago. The police who were keeping order at the event took him to the hospital and the doctors diagnosed him as having Covid. His situation rapidly deteriorated and he was put on a ventilator almost immediately. Even so, he kept publishing posts on social media against vaccines along with all kinds of nasty messages from his hospital bed. For example, he was convinced the police poisoned him and this is the reason he was sick.
I don’t know if the guy was regularly wearing a mask or if he was keeping himself safe. But unfortunately he succumbed to the disease a week ago and he left his wife and small children behind. Who knows for sure, but had he been vaccinated, he may have only had a mild case if he had been infected at all. In that case, he would still be alive and with his family today.
However, anti vaccine people are challenging the system. While some of them are satisfied with expressing their opinion just on social media, others resort to using violence. One of the most troubling protests recently took place in Canada on the campaign trail. The Prime Minister has been tracked by angry anti vaccine protesters. They were swearing at him and made Nazi references, which was really ugly.
At another campaign rally, he was hit with gravel thrown by an anti vaccine protester. This is unheard of in Canada. Even if you don’t like the Prime Minister, you should not treat him this way or blame him for trying to stop the spreading of the damn virus. This is a globaI problem and I don’t see any country that has succeeded in eliminating this scourge so far.
Anyway, you can’t force citizens of Western countries who are anti vaccine to get the shot. Yet the people who weren’t vaccinated have to know there is a price to pay for it. The latest news I heard in Canada was that residents will soon have to show proof they’ve been fully vaccinated against Covid in order to dine indoors at restaurants, and go to gyms or theaters. I would not be surprise if more establishments refuse to allow unvaccinated people onto their premises.
I have to mention that I heard quite a few stories lately about people who were anti vaccine, were infected with the virus, and then regretted that they hadn’t been vaccinated. Unfortunately, some of them died, while others suffered from long term side effects. Some of these side effects are losing one’s sense of taste or smell. People complain the food they eat tastes like mould or cigarette ashes. As well, people suffer from fatigue, memory problems, anxiety, depression, etc.
In conclusion, just the thought of being unable to breathe on my own and needing the help of a ventilator to stay alive freaks me out. That alone should convince anyone to get vaccinated as soon as possible………………..
After trying to get the vaccine for several months, eventually I received my first vaccine in mid June at a pop up clinic, and the second one at a different clinic three weeks later. I was happy as it was exactly as I wanted. I thought to myself now I can finally go to visit my family overseas. A few hours after the first dose I had pain in my arm and shoulder which lasted three days, then it went away. Two and a half weeks later I tried to book an appointment for the second dose, but that was impossible. The pharmacies did not have the vaccine and each one of them put me on a waiting list.
I was frustrated as everywhere I looked there were roadblocks…… Twenty days after my first one I found out there was a pop up clinic offering the Pfizer vaccine and I was able to book an appointment. Everything went smoothly and I was inside the building in no time. I was quite content as I did not have to wait like the first time.
But this time I immediately felt pain in my arm and shoulder as soon as I received the injection. I could barley hold onto the steering wheel while driving home, and a couple of hours later I could not move my arm at all. My husband had to help me take a shower and helped me to dress afterwards. As well, I felt nauseous, muscle pain and chills. I had severe pain for one week and then I had some relief. I was sure the pain would slowly vanish, but it didn’t.
As recommended, I wrapped an ice pack over the area a few times a day. When it didn’t help, I put a heating pack on my arm and took pain killers, which finally gave me some relief for a short time. It’s not that I couldn’t move my arm, but I was feeling sharp pain while making certain movements.
I called my doctor after three weeks and told her I’ve been suffering from a lot of pain. She asked me if I could touch the opposite shoulder using the injured arm and I said yes, I could. She then said there wasn’t much she could do about this. She added that this sometimes happens. However, she suggested I do some arm and shoulder exercises, which I did. She wanted me to keep using my left arm (where I got the shot) to keep the blood flowing and increase the circulation as much as possible. She also suggested that I wait for 2 weeks and if I still feel pain, she would send me to get an X-Ray.
I did some reading about my situation. I found out there are quite a number of people suffering from pain in their arm after being vaccinated. This occurs not just from getting the Covid vaccine, but from flu shots too, etc. This means it may not be caused by the vaccine itself, but by the injection. The reason for that is because the person injected the needle too high up on the arm or stuck the needle in too deep.
Here is the difference. If the vaccine is administered in the muscle where it should be, this is an area where there is good blood flow. But the shoulder joint doesn’t have good blood flow and the body isn’t able to deal with the components found in the vaccine. So it fights the vaccine which leads to inflammation and excess fluid where it doesn’t belong (the shoulder area) and can sometimes lead to even more severe damage to the tendons and bone.
In the beginning I did some exercises that I thought would help. I lifted my arm over my head, to the side, etc, and did 3 sets of 10 repetitions a day. I guess I was too eager because I aggravated the area and had more pain. My husband looked for a solution on YouTube and found some videos by sports medicine specialists and physiotherapists which I hoped would help me as I was still in pain.
Nevertheless, six weeks after I was vaccinated, I was sent to have an ultrasound. The results showed that I have inflammation in my arm. My doctor said the good news is that it is reversible and she suggested I go for physiotherapy. I didn’t take her advice because I was afraid to be in close contact with anybody. But I still kept exercising which helped a lot.
Now it is the middle of September and I still have pain while making certain movements. I have seen some improvement, but it has been inch by inch.
I want to say that even though I have been suffering from arm pain for more than two months now, I am still in favor of getting vaccinated. Over the years history shows that the only way to fight viruses is with vaccines. Today many people who are against being vaccinated spread all kinds of disinformation and lies on social media in order to influence those people who are afraid of getting the vaccine.
Unfortunately, the anti-vaccine people manage to cause unnecessary anxiety and panic among quite a number of people who are reluctant to be vaccinated in the first place. All it takes to change people’s minds is to hear one or two stories of those that got sick and never recovered. Or hearing about people who lost someone dear to them due to their making a fateful decision not to be vaccinated………..
The gap between Perla and Don was apparent when they were looking for a place to live. He was down to earth and she was anything but….. In the end Don conceded and they bought a condo in a very exclusive area. Perla’s father gave them some money, Don’s parents added a little bit more and they took out a mortgage for the balance.
After the couple moved to their condo, Perla’s father made it clear he would not subsidize her exorbitant lifestyle anymore. He told her that as a married woman and a mother, she had to handle her money responsibly, otherwise they would not be able to keep the condo.
Don wanted to enjoy his marriage and his newborn son before bringing any more children, while Perla wished for a larger family as soon as possible. But hey, he wasn’t the one who made the decisions…… As a result, the second child was born approximately one year after the first one, and the baby girl was born 18 months later.
Perla stopped working after her first child was born. She was a devoted mother and did not want to leave her son with a nanny. Perla and Don had three children in three years which made it difficult for them financially. Don was the only one who supported the family and over time he had to get a second job to pay their bills.
Anyway, Perla adored designer clothes and when she was working she would spend almost all of her salary on them. This habit did not change after she stopped working. Not only that, but from the time her children were babies she would buy them designer clothes as well, particularly for her daughter. This meant they would wear the clothes no more than a couple of months as they would quickly outgrow them which made Don very upset.
At some point Don was fed up with working so hard and having no money left at the end of the month. In addition, the apartment wasn’t big enough for them anymore. They had to look for a bigger condo or house which caused many disagreements between them. They would frequently fight in front of the children. They also stopped talking to each other for several days at a time. Although Perla’s father said he wouldn’t give her money anymore, he never said no when she came crying to him and asked for his help.
The burden of earning a living as well as the daily arguments he was having with Perla changed the way Don felt about her. He didn’t try to please her anymore and in fact, he didn’t want to be around her at all. He finally realized that she really didn’t love him and she didn’t appreciate what he did for her and their children. All she wanted was to have children, and that’s what she cared about.
Don left Perla five years after they got married, and moved in with his parents. Both sets of parents tried to mediate between them at least for the sake of their children, who were very young. But Don decided he didn’t want anything to do with Perla and refused to budge. He wanted a divorce and to be rid of her.
The divorce process wasn’t pleasant to put it mildly. After it was finalized, Don stayed with his parents as he couldn’t afford to rent an apartment. As part of the divorce agreement, Don was supposed to take the kids twice a week. But because he was putting in many hours at work, he wasn’t always able to do it. Perla claimed he was neglecting the children. She said he wasn’t looking after them when they were with him, but that his mother did.
Perla had to find a job after the divorce. This wasn’t easy as she wanted a part time job which would allow her to also look after the kids. Perla never knew what it was like to be out of money. She suddenly understood that she had to find a way to support herself and to pay part of the mortgage.
She had to sell her fancy car and some jewelry she owned to raise some money. Her father got back into the picture and was helping her financially as much as possible. She couldn’t find a suitable job but instead worked at a number of temporary jobs. After a while Don moved on with his life. He started dating again and with a lot of hard work, he managed to rent an apartment.
He also met a very nice lady who was suitable for him and they got married after dating for approximately two years. His wife appreciated him for the hard working and sincere person he was and was very supportive of him. She had a child from a previous marriage and they had two children together.
However, the last I heard Perla stayed single. She dated a number of men but none of the relationships lasted too long. I always felt bad for Perla and Don’s children as they had to pay the price for their parent’s failed marriage. The relationship between the two of them was doomed to fail right from the start. No matter how hard he tried, Don couldn’t provide Perla with the lifestyle she wanted…..
The fear of loneliness many times pushes couples into each other’s arms even if there is no match between then. Sometimes you come across married couples who are so unsuited that you say to yourself oh God…. what were they thinking when they exchanged vows? Why do they treat each other with such hostility?
A few years ago we were invited to a relative’s wedding in the middle of nowhere. We did not want to drive there as we were unfamiliar with the area. Since we had to go we thought of taking a taxi which would have cost us quite a bit of money. But then one of the guests who lived not too far from us offered us a ride and we gladly accepted her offer.
The lady came with her husband and he was driving. They started arguing the minute we got in the car. There was so much tension in the air that you could cut it with scissors. We sat in the backseat and nobody talked to us or said anything as though we weren’t even there. Being in the car with them was painfully awkward. We counted the minutes until we arrived at the wedding and were sorry that we did not take a cab.
The truth is that I have never seen such hostility between spouses in my life. The weird couple was supposed to give us a ride back home and I told my husband over my dead body…… Instead, we took a cab which was quite expensive but was worth it. Even today when I think about it, I ask myself what the hell happened there? But myself had no answer to the question…. 🙂 🙂 Anyway, if you want to give each other a piece of your mind you are entitled to do it. But why would you do it in front of complete strangers?
I have a friend name Perla who I’ve known for almost 20 years. She was spoiled for as long as I have known her. Her parents never said no to her or her brother. Her father was working like a dog in the family car repair business, just so his wife and children would spend his money overseas. The father rarely joined them on their trips abroad. They would leave him alone while they explored the world……
Anyhow, money wasn’t an issue in this family, but when Perla grew up, she had difficulty finding a soulmate. She was a tough cookie and wanted everything her way. She wasn’t willing to compromise so most of her relationships were short. As time passed by and she turned thirty, she felt her biological clock was ticking. Besides, she very much wanted to be a mother.
Perla met Don at some party. He was part of a band that performed that night, and when he saw her he liked her right away. However, he wasn’t her type but he vigorously courted her and she had a goal to be a Mom as soon as possible, so she started dating him. Don knew that the feelings between him and Perla were not mutual, yet he was determined to do whatever it took to please her as he loved her and was attracted to her. Don hoped that over time Perla would fall in love with him which didn’t happen, even though he was a wonderful person.
Nevertheless, a short time after they started dating, Perla got pregnant. She was thrilled as that was what she was aiming for in the first place, and her dream came true. The news also pleased Don who wasted no time and proposed to the woman he loved. Perla lived in her parent’s house until she got married. Although her parents weren’t wealthy, they lived in an upscale neighborhood. They did well for themselves as Perla’s father worked from morning till night to provide his family with a high standard of living and Perla loved to show off.
Perla worked for years in a fancy clothing store but kept living on her parent’s expense. In addition, she never saved any money for the future. She always relied on “pappy”who would pay for almost everything. However, Perla accepted Don’s proposal but did not agree to move in with him as the place he lived in wasn’t fancy enough for her.
Their wedding was ostentatious even though Don wanted a more modest event. They had about a thousand guests and most of them were from the bride’s side. As a result, Perla’s father paid for most of the wedding expenses. Perla’s dress was designed by a well known designer, which was very expensive. Everything at that event was over the top including the bride who was a beautiful woman and looked like a million dollars in her wedding dress.
The newlyweds moved in with Perla’s parents after they got married until they found their own place. Besides, they wanted to save some money. After their first child was born, Perla and Don started looking for a condo. Their search was unsuccessful as they couldn’t agree on almost anything. She wanted to buy a condo in an expensive area and he wanted to buy a place in a modest area. He knew they couldn’t afford anything lavish, while she lived in la la land……..
If anyone had told me a year ago that Covid would still be with us in July 2021, I would have thought the person lost his mind. On the other hand, if someone would tell me in July 2021 that Covid would be with us for another year or two I would believe him. I’m not an expert but I think the bloody virus is here to stay and we all have to learn to live with it.
However, Canada has finally woken up from it’s sleep and started substantially vaccinating the population. I still think it is a little bit too late. The reason is because the longer the virus is with us, the bigger the chance it will develop a different mutation. And that can put us at increased risk even if we are vaccinated. The mistake that Canada made was in delaying buying the vaccine. When the government finally bought them, they couldn’t buy enough as the supply wasn’t available.
Due to the lack of vaccine, the authorities decided to get as many people vaccinated with one dose which gives you 45% protection and the second one four months later. This delay between the two doses is against the pharmaceutical companies protocol. Meanwhile it has recently taken a turn and the Ontario government is now accelerating second doses (this information is correct as of July 2021).
Anyway, before the authorities decided to accelerate the second dose, my husband and I looked at an option to get vaccinated overseas. I objected to getting the first dose unless I received the second one after three weeks. However, my husband got the first dose in May and was booked for the second one in September. We debated for a couple of months what to do to complete the process.
I thought since I had not seen my family for almost two years maybe this was an opportunity for us to visit them and be vaccinated there if we are lucky. But this was impossible. I don’t know what I was thinking…… In order to travel overseas and be vaccinated, you need to take at least five weeks vacation. People who travel out of the country and weren’t vaccinated go into quarantine between 10 days to 2 weeks.
Let’s assume you would get the first dose after 2 weeks, then you have to wait three weeks for the second dose. It was too complicated so we decided to give up on this idea. Then someone told my spouse he could be vaccinated in the States. He said he did it there. Once we heard this, we started chasing our tails. We wanted to cross the border in Buffalo by car, be vaccinated, and come back the same day.
We tried to receive any information we could get. But we soon learned that this option was out of the question for us. Canada and the US decided to close the border in March 2020 and extended the directive on a near monthly basis since then. The only people who are allowed to cross the border are essential workers such as healthcare professionals and delivery drivers, etc.
Anyhow, if we were able to cross the border even for several hours, in addition to PCR tests, we would have to go into quarantine for 14 days. Until a few days ago, if you arrived on a flight to Canada, the government forced you to quarantine for 3 days in a government approved hotel at your expense, while waiting for the test results. You had no say in it and it was non-refundable. Meaning if you don’t want to go to the hotel, you pay anyway plus you would be fined.
Thank God they cancelled the requirement for quarantine in a hotel at the beginning of July. This occurred after many people complained about it, and after experts maintained that it was unnecessary. Nevertheless, experts recently claimed that the effectiveness of the Covid vaccines has already decreased, despite the fact that some countries only started vaccinating their populations in December 2020.
But still the vaccines have helped to break the link between catching the disease and dying from it. We are all fed up with Covid and it looks like we cannot get rid of it anytime soon. There are countries like England that even though the delta variant has rapidly spread throughout the country, the government is considering lifting nearly all of it’s restrictions by the middle of July.
The reason for that is the decline in morbidity and severe illness. Furthermore, Pfizer is about to apply for US authorization for a third dose of it’s Covid vaccine. They said another shot within 12 months could dramatically boost immunity and possibly protect from the latest Coronavirus mutation. In the end, we will probably treat the Coronavirus like the flu. Yet in my opinion, many of us will maintain wearing masks in public places (I know I will) which has a huge benefit not just against Covid but for other diseases as well.
With Experience Comes Wisdom 