My track record with jobs was looking pretty bad, I had been in Washington for just over a year and had gone through 5 different jobs and a 6th was going to be difficult. I was not too stressed to begin with as I had made good money at the Galley 5 and had about a grand for a nest egg. The first month was great, my only responsibility was the Saturday night tourney at Hooligan’s and that was just plain fun. I was also playing in a couple other local tournaments and adding a bit to my income but soon even that was not enough and the money was running out rapidly. I was getting no offers for jobs from anyone and the desperate thoughts returned. I still had a few things back home that could bring in some dough so I asked my parents to sell my golf clubs and my car. The golf clubs sold immediately and I had a bit of a life line but the real money was in the car. A ’71 Pontiac Catalina with no rust and a good motor, I figured it was worth a few thousand and thought it would sell quickly. One week went by and no interest, after 2 weeks, the same. I began wondering what had happened to my car since I had been gone? After a month and with rent due, I received a call saying that the only offer they had was for 300 dollars take it or leave it. I couldn’t believe it! I had spent much time and money restoring that car and in my desperate situation I was now going to accept the meager offer for it. After paying rent I was near broke again but now with no job and no goods to unload back home, things were starting to look very bleak.
During this time I was hanging out with Kyra more and more as she was treating me like a king. She would pay for everything and then take me home for some late-night fun. i really liked Kyra and had great fun with her but I was determined not to become emotionally connected and told her regularly. She said that was fine however the tell-tale signs were beginning to emerge. She started to get possessive and jealous anytime I would look at another girl. In hindsight I probably led her on to an extent, I enjoyed hanging out with her and having everything bought for me was a nice bonus but I had a screaming voice in my head telling me that it will not work out now or ever with the situation I was in, so slowly the glaring looks turned into arguments and eventually we split completely. I gained another valuable insight with the experience, that even the friends with benefits route would be difficult to keep emotions out of and with one night stands becoming less appealing, I was feeling lost in how I would interact with women in the future.
Lucky for me I did not have time to dwell on it as I had more immediate concerns on my mind, mainly how to generate some income to stay afloat. During the summer I had been making 10 and 20 dollar bets on baseball games with a guy I knew from Draft Pic’s, when the playoffs rolled around we decided to up the ante and each take a team to win it all, I can’t remember who he even picked but I do know that I took the Yankees and when they lifted the pennant, I was very relieved as I now would have a vital 200 dollars to keep things going. I did not want to seem desperate so I waited a few days for him to call me and say congrats and tell me to come pick up the money. After a week I was starting to get concerned and after a couple of no answers on his phone, I went to look for him. I found him at Draft Pic’s as usual and cozied up next to him at the bar. I said hello and how about them Yankees! He grumbled something about them being lucky and overpaid and when I asked for the money for our bet he turns to me and says “I’m not going to pay you because you don’t have a job and so could not have paid me”. I was floored, we had bet all season with never a dispute, every bet paid in full and now he tries this? I told him that was bullshit and a real dick move and he just smirked and said “so sue me”. I was furious. half of me wanted to drag him off his bar stool and beat it out of him, but the other more restrained side said it would only get me arrested so I stormed off telling him that it was not finished. I was able to slide on rent with Carrie telling her that I had a bunch of money I was waiting on and would pay her soon. It was a lie but I didn’t know what else to do, I had no other options when it came to housing, it was this or jail. I thought about my friend Bec in South Carolina but with no money to get there, it was a non-starter. I spent the next several weeks on what would be considered borderline stalking. I would go out looking for him and when I found him I would ask for my money and he would always say he wasn’t paying then we would get into an argument that would get us both kicked out of the place. Fine by me as I had no money anyway but it was not getting me any closer to getting paid and probably making it even harder. It all came to a head on Christmas eve at an annual party thrown by a friends family in the area.
it was a big affair with food, drink and gambling going on. The place was packed with people having fun and I joined right in. It was nice to get out and see some friends that I had not seen for a while since I was not going out much. after some nice food and a few drinks i found myself out in the garage where they had a big dice table set up and about 20 people betting on it. I watched with a disappointed, somber feeling knowing I could not join in and feeling jealous when I saw someone win a big pile. My feelings turned to rage when I see the guy who owes me for the baseball bets come in and plunk down some money to play. I was mad as hell but was not about to start something at this nice holiday party so I left the room saying nothing, I could almost feel the steam coming out of my ears as I went. I retreated to the living room where I proceeded to get very drunk. I was sitting on the sofa alone when my friend comes over ( it was his parents party) and asks me what was wrong? I told him the story and when I was finished he says “if it was me then I would go out and take the money from him”! It was the green light I was looking for, I thanked him for the advice and snuck back into the garage to make my move. With twenty people it was fairly chaotic and I had no problem getting right up behind him without being noticed. The next time he pulled out his money, I struck. I reached over him, got a hold of his wad and yanked it out of his hands. He turned to see what was happening and I told him that if you want to do something then I will be outside and went out the side door into the backyard. When he emerged from the garage with a big steel pipe I knew that he was determined to get it back so being much faster than him, I ran around to the front of the house. While in the front yard I was able to count the money, 187 dollars, it was 13 short but I was content to call it even. When he got to the front yard I told him as much and to let it go, he was having none of that as he screamed incoherently raising the pipe as he approached. My friend who told me to do it had seen the whole thing and not wanting a big fight at his parents house was in his car and yelled for me to get in. I jumped in the car and off we raced, after s few tense moments we both busted out laughing saying how crazy it had just been and continued laughing all the way to town. When we got into Mount Vernon he asks where I wanted to go? Since it was still early and I now had almost 200 dollars in my pocket, I said Cascade Pizza. It was the only bar open and it was packed. This was shaping up to be a great Christmas.
A Continuing Story About Life On The Run