Never-ending Sagas
Ask any senior citizen and they’ll tell you a never- ending saga. There are the boring ones like the “organ recitals.” I am interested in fifteen minutes of ailments. After that my sympathy meter starts to run down. Or “I haven’t got enough money”.as their ordering a shrimp cocktail. Most of us don’t have enough money, so we cut frills and work part-time.
The other never-ending sagas pique my interest. I have one friend who loves her job but there’s political intrigue in the work environment. It’s a non-profit organization so the bosses (and their quirks) change.
I’m also nosey enough to be interested in “you won’t believe what my mother (brother, husband, sister, etc.) did now.” I’m baffled and amazed at the way people treat each other. It makes good fodder for fiction.
I know people like to hear run-downs of my never-ending dating saga. I find my married friends are particularly curious. And I find other single people’s trials and tribulations of dating fascinating.
Most seniors have a never-ending child saga. You don’t get to hear them in polite chit-chat. Those stories are saved for after a few glasses of wine or heart-to-heart talks. There are people whose daughters live with or marry abusers. The grandparents feel helpless to rescue their child or grandchildren. Lots of people have adult children who are substance abusers. That saga never ends. Others have children in jail or prison, some guilty some not. Unemployed children, ailing and fragile parents, disabled adult children, spouses that bankrupted them before a divorce, etc., etc. etc.
My never-ending saga has to do with my youngest son. He has been caught in the web of the Maricopa County Criminal Justice System. He was arrested in 2008 for trying to buy drugs. He was charged with twelve felonies which were plea-bargained down to one felony and Drug Court. People who have no experience with the prosecutors, jails, or public defenders are shocked at what he was required to do: 360 hours of community service, three and a half hour drug classes three times a week (which cost $50 a week,) $100 a month towards his $3700 fine, and about $200 a month for probation fees, and twice weekly random drug tests. Oh yes, and hold down a full-time job or be a full-time student. This saga has had many twist and turns, but my friends are always interested in the latest news.
I thought the saga was nearing its end. My son turned himself in for probation violation and was sentenced to six months for the original crime. Since he’s already served seven months over the four years, I thought he would get out right away. Silly me. Maricopa County kept him for an extra week because there was a hold on him because they thought he didn’t attend the August 31 hearing. Ridiculous, since he was in their custody and they transported him to it. Then he was transferred to the Department of Corrections processing at the Alhambra Center in Phoenix. It took three days to process him. I agreed to have him spend his 30 day parole time with me. I need a lot of work done on my cabin.
But no, I had to return to Scottsdale because he has to be in Maricopa County. I sure hope he can make it through the next thirty days. (And I can.) Of course they expect money from him two days after he was released for parole fees and a payment on his fine. Where the heck is a newly released prisoner supposed to come up with a couple of hundred bucks? I refuse to pay. And so the saga continues. . .
