The Roulette Wheel

So I had an interesting conversation with Jordan the other day.  Well, let me back up a little bit:  Jordan is one of my renters and one of my old friends.  When I took him on as a renter the year before last I actually had a lot of my other old friends warning me against taking him in.  He screwed them on rent, he did  lot of dumb shit things. This isn't a post about how I should have listened.  I knew what I was getting myself into.  He is no homeless mentally ill, nor is he one of my students.  As  a matter of fact, this is probably harder because he's neither of those.

Early last month his family cut him off.  They had been paying for his rent this entire time.  I knew that...but I didn't know about his parents cutting him off until yesterday...literally yesterday.  17 days after rent was due.

So I had to sit down and have a talk with him.  I had to tell a good friend of mine that I have known for a rather log time that I was going to literally have to put him on street if he didn't give me most of his paycheck for the next three weeks to make up for the money he owes me.  I know it's for his own good but it doesn't make it any less unpleasant.  I happened to catch him for the conversation moments after he read his newest "sorry" letter from his parents.  After our conversation I watched a grown man choke up and cry.  I made a friend cry.  It's for his own good and I'm strong enough to do it, but that doesn't make it something I have to enjoy.  The first due-date is Monday.  I really hope everything goes well.

Since this went down I have been having trouble getting my head around how someone spends almost $400 bucks a week when he has almost no expenses.  He gets most of his food from work for free, his parents payed for his rent, and he only really had gas to pay for.  Gas, I would like to point out, he's run out of twice and had to be bailed out of by me.  Reporting that he didn't have money to cover the one gallon he borrowed from me.  He also hasn't had a phone for a couple months because he reports not being about to afford it.  He doesn't seem to be on drugs, so that's good, but there are other things in his past that I have to worry about.  My current speculation is humorously, his porn addiction has resurfaced or seriously, his gambling addiction has resurfaced.  Either way...I might have to be the catalyst that makes him hit bottom.  Argh!  This isn't cool at all.  Gar!

Well alright...it would seem that no amount of talking is going to make me feel any better about this.  I guess I'll see if he can pull this off come Monday when the first payment is due.  Maybe I'll take five minutes and see if he's doing ok this weekend.  That might just help us both.

Tommy "does that right thing, even when he doesn't want to" Schubert