A Story for Later

Chapter 8

          "For what you are going through, you hold yourself together well." -Dragon

          "You are even keel, and always seem very well put together." -My Boss

          My mentor, my coworkers, my boss, my partner, my friends, my acquaintances, and even strangers are the people who keep me held together most days. Yes, life is hard, but people can make it better if you surround yourself with supportive, caring, or loving people. There are lots of outlets as well, such as activities, hobbies, work, or art that keep me going as well. I would like to focus on my mentor today. He has done so much for me over the years, and more than anyone may ever know. He has been like my father since I was 14 years old, ever since I realized my dad didn't give a crap about me. So my uncle essentially was there for me and has listened to me for years now. I have talked to him about everything a normal daughter would talk about with her dad. He has helped me obtain normal things that a parent should provide. He gave me a functional phone, and I have paid him back for the internet usage every month. He has even been nice enough to add way more hotspot to my plan so that I could connect my computer and partner's video games to the internet for a small fee per month. It will be practically an infinite hotspot now. I'm excited for it. I have talked about anything and everything with him, except for stuff that is too personal obviously, like what I do with my partner for example. LOL, that would just be awkward. Even though he is my mom's brother, he is polite and a gentleman who has standards. My dad never really liked him much, and my dad would say shit like "He is just a bored drug addict who is looking for anyone to talk to." I am here to say that my dad is wrong about him, and he is probably just jealous because my mentor knows how to treat me better than my own dad. My dad is also wrong about him because my mentor works hard to take care of my great grandmother, who passed away around 2023, along with my current grandmother. I am sure that it is not easy to take care of older people who have essentially lost their mind. My mentor, who I will call Dragon, has so much more patience than people could ever imagine. He is very scheduled and is reliable as well. Dragon has put up with more than people could think of. 

         I went to visit him one year by myself because my parents hardly let me see him during our regular visits. I drove over 17 hours by myself to see him. First of all, he was coming up to Michigan from Georgia on a bus so I wouldn't have to drive alone, but his bus got delayed for 24 hours, then it got delayed for like 2 more days, and I had enough of it and just went there to get him myself. It was like a 15 hour drive, and when I finally got to him, he gave me a humongous hug, and I got him situated in my car for the ride back to where he lives. He seemed to relax a bit, then he told me that he saw someone get shot at the bus station he was waiting at... Like that was scary as hell for him, and he was shaken up over it. Our time together started off a bit rough for sure, but I was so glad to have him safely in my car now. I can tell that Dragon has some social anxiety just because I can see it in his eyes. As we drove back to Georgia, I hoped he felt at ease in my cozy car and I played soft music in the background. Soon, we were stuck in an hour traffic jam, and I turned off my car and rested for a bit after I pulled off the main road into the grass on the side of the highway. My car was over-heating anyways from all the stalling. As soon as we got to Macon, I let him drive the rest of the way because I was far too exhausted. We had a good time together that week. I got to see my grandma, my great grandmother before she died, and my great grandfather before he died. I was so lucky to have gone when I did because I wouldn't have seen either of them ever again. Dragon and I explored Central State Hospital as well in Georgia and even got into one of the buildings which was really cool. My favorite memory was having lunch at a gas station with him and my grandma. It was peaceful and memorable for some reason. Dragon and I also went to the mall, which was a lot of fun, and we walked around for awhile. 

          It was the first time I was not being dictated by my parents where to go or where to stay the whole trip. Trust me, if I went with them, I would've not even been able to see them for more than a day. Tops. It was cool though, because this time I did what I wanted, and visited my family for as long as I could. I even bought them pizza near the end of the trip, and got to watch a movie called "Christine" by Stephen King. It was so much fun. <3 But yeah, this is to say that I am so grateful for my father figure, because without him, I wouldn't have had a dad in my life essentially. My real dad didn't care about me, he only ever cared to judge me harshly, and I didn't care to try to talk to him because anytime I did, he would use stuff against me. I am not gonna harp on that though, because I am talking about how great my mentor is right now. Without him, I wouldn't have had someone to help me understand things growing up, such as why I shouldn't smoke, drink, gamble, or vape for example. He also helped me with practical things such as understanding cars, and I go to him to ask about cars sometimes. I mostly just talked about things I felt I didn't understand growing up, or I would talk about how bad my house situation was mostly, or how bad the economy is. We both agreed that it is not smart to bring children into the world anymore because the world is only getting worse, and we both thought it was smarter for people to just adopt if they want kids altogether. The way I see it though, people will continue being dumb, and there is nothing no one can do about it, even though things are obviously coming to a conclusion here on earth. 

          I have another mentor, and her name is Jeanne. She turned 100 in the year of 2023. She was born back in 1923, and she is a fascinating woman for sure. She lived through the Great Depression of 1930, and her and her family lived off the produce at her farm during that time. Jeanne is a feisty woman who enjoys her cup of wine a day and gardening as well. Her lawn was featured in a Hastings newspaper once for how nice she kept her garden. I remember her for maintaining her lawn well into her 90's, and she drove until she was 96 years old. She wrote me a letter one day, and told me she had to give up her car because she felt that she was too old to be driving still. Jeanne was one of the coolest women I ever met. She once told me that she could no longer handle watching the news because it was too depressing for her. I agreed. I knew here since I was 8 years old, and she has made a lasting impression on my life. I will always remember her orderly and well decorated home, books, and bedroom. I remember her jewelry and a stuffed animal cat she had as well that she tried to give to me. I also remember her real cat, Colby. Colby was violent and bit me once, but Jeanne loved that cat. She rescued him from some mean kids in the neighborhood who were throwing him into a pool over and over. That was her cat, and she was his caretaker from that point forward. I remember one day we brought her blueberries, and she said that it gave her the runs. I also remember the warm light from the lamps and the dark stormy skies out one evening while we were visiting her. Jeanne told us a story about how men in the workforce used to go around and pat women on the butt or shoulders without thinking about it back in 1950. Now a days, that is a big no-no, but to her it was normal, accepted even. Jeanne said she got married and had two boys who later became lumberjacks essentially and moved to Canada. After her sons grew up, she later divorced her husband and told me it was the best thing she could have done. Jeanne has a distinctive laugh, and she just always seems so happy. I remember when she told me about how she had the hots for some guy who worked on a farm. I also remember her house parties she would have. She had cars lined up on the street outside her house some evenings. I love her personality and energy. 

          When Jeanne caught on to how my parents were treating me, she became livid and very opinionated. She began to say things to me like "Your parents kept you from some of the best things in life, such as a normal highschool experience, (Because I was homeschooled most of my life), and she was mad that I was being taught such opposing views to what is normally accepted. Jeanne told me it wasn't fair for me to be held back from life like that, and she encouraged me to get it back somehow, which I have luckily. 

           I am so glad to have people like Jeanne and Dragon in my life. They have made a lasting impact along with some other people. <3