Freeloading

I am having a bad hair day. I need a cut and I haven't been off this property in over three weeks. I am sleep deprived and irritated. I thought today was Monday. I thought I had until 11 am to linger over coffee and take my time waking up.

I thought wrong. I was all set to jump in the shower and leave here with my hair still wet and head to my favorite salon and get a haircut, then go on to buy much needed groceries. My garden has yielded a bumper crop of green beans and potatoes, but my pantry is bare and we are tired of green beans and potatoes paired with whatever meat I dig out of the freezer.

The good news is that I can lock the door at 5 o'clock this afternoon. Well, maybe. If someone is coming in shortly after, I will stay and register them. I can do it faster and more efficiently than they can use the night registration.

But all that is just icing on the cake. Against my better judgment I took a chance on allowing a tenant in with a promise to pay me with her first check. After two weeks I had to hunt her down to inquire about her rent. A long saga of all her woes and her meager pay check and a promise to bring the balance in four days netted me 40 bucks. I warned her that she needed to pay in a timely fashion and that if she did not get ahead of the situation she would never catch up and I would not let her continue to stay here.

I stay pretty busy in the front of the park. I have endless mowing and gardening chores to do, as well as all the office and store responsibilities. Most of my days are 10 or more hours and I am happiest when I am doing yard and garden work. When I lock up I am tired. I want to eat a meal in peace and linger in a shower, then play with my canine contingent and go to bed.

On Friday before I had to confine myself to the office until 9 pm, I rode to the site of the aforementioned tenant. I banged on her door, but she was not at home. The air conditioning unit was going non-stop and if not for the dog I heard barking inside I would have pulled her plug. Not only non-payment had me riled up, but the stench nearly blew me away. Pile after pile of dog poop had me traversing the site like an obstacle course had been set up. A dog kennel was on the ground next to her camper and it was full of what looked to be empty spray paint cans. There were articles of what looked to be discarded clothing on the ground near the fire pit and a large cushion and pillows graced the picnic table. I have rules!!! 

So I watched all the comings and goings of vehicles and alerted HeWho when I saw her car come in. I was stuck in the office at that time and offered to take care of her eviction and let him check in weekend campers. He chose the eviction. Too bad he did not carry it out. She assured him that the rent would be paid in full yesterday. Of course, that would still leave her a month in   arrears, since the next month's rent was already pending.

Yesterday came and went and guess who did not pay rent? Already in a not very good mood, I stuck a "be right back" sign on the door and went on my merry way to the site in question. HeWho warned her about the condition of her site, mainly the dog poop and the stench. In response, it appeared that she raked the dog poop into the fire pit. If she had any chance of appealing to me she blew it by not even attempting to clean up her site. I banged on the door with my fist. A small kitten appeared from under the RV. So, she apparently got a kitten and already has a dog to care for and she can't pay rent. By the time she came out I was pretty mad and told her she had to leave. This is when she told me she "never said that" to HeWho about having the rent paid on Saturday. 

Now, as I sit here taking care of tenants who actually pay to stay and field phone calls and wait to see her drivable camper exit my property, she calls to tell me she has nowhere to go. Although young enough to be my child, I respond, "I am not your mother and it is not my responsibility to find you a place to stay. You just have to go."

This is common around here. Get your foot in the door and refuse to leave. I know that I will still be dealing with this after I close down today. I can call the local law enforcers, but I have a feeling they won't do much if they answer the call. You have to file an eviction notice and I think she is savvy enough to know this, although she plays dumb. This is a way of life with some people. My anger and my harsh words did not faze her in the least. She did try tears, but they dried up quickly when she realized it wasn't working.

Yep, not a good day.