Well, I went to see the lawyer yesterday, and it was somewhat of a disappointment. For one thing, he did not seem very interested in wanting to talk to me and seemed anxious to have the interview come to an end. Probably because it was a "free" consultation. He did give me a phone number to call and some advice about reading the electric meter. But the questions he asked! At one point he asked me if I had written to a certain address on my rent statement. I told him, no, because that is not a valid street address in the sense that the PO does not deliver to that address. It was like "What part of I cannot get in contact with these people because I don't have contact information" do you not understand? THEN he tells me he represents trailer park owners as well as tenants. Wonderful. Strike Two. Why didn't he say that right up front and save me a trip downtown and parking fees? He thinks all I have to do is go to court, show the judge my statements and everything will be good, and that by writing a letter to management (even though I have no individual to address it to) I have covered my butt. I am glad I did not pay for that advice. By the way, he charges about $300 an hour but he will discount it to $175 in my case. He asked me if I was low-income. I said, well, I make about $19 per hour but if you saw where I am living, I am not living there because I enjoy living in such conditions, I am living there because I can't afford anything else. So draw your own conclusions. Anyway, according to him, I don't need a lawyer if they take me to court.
When I got home my neighbor Walt (the one who allegedly got the $600 electric bill, which I have not seen and which the lawyer told me was hearsay) was sitting outside. So I briefed him on what was going on and what the lawyer said. I told him and his wife Carol that they have to make their own calls and emails because I cannot speak for anyone else. I said, you guys are retired, I work full-time. I am taking time off work to handle this and I cannot do it alone.
Meanwhile the power company has been responding to my emails and it sounds like they are trying to be helpful. They were asking for a 10-digit number on my meter. Well, there isn't such a number. I asked Walt about it, and he pointed to a pole in the middle of the park with a meter and said, I think it is that meter they might be talking about. That is the meter for the entire park. What? Run this one by me again. HOW are they reading the meters and which ones are they going by? It was my understanding that Willy, the absent manager, came around once a month with a camera and took a picture of everyone's individual meter and sent it to California. Well, yes, but he also takes a reading off that meter, too. So we went over to see what numbers were on that meter. That's when we were joined by AJ, a belligerent drunk and his wife. "Hell no," says AJ, "that's not Indiana-Michigan Electric, that's Consumers Energy." Keep in mind, if you've been following this so far, is that we not only do not have any contact information regarding the park's owner, there is also no information on the rent statement about who the electric company is. I said, "look, I am in no mood to play effin' mind games. Who is our power company? Is it I-M or Consumers? If it's Consumers, then why did you (looking at Walt and Carol) tell me repeatedly it is I-M? I am trying to HELP you people here!"
At that point they changed the subject to the missing Willy and his alleged sex offender status. We were then joined by another tenant, Carrie, who saw us gathering by the power pole and wanted to know what was going on. And she starts in about Willy as well. That is when I lost it. I said, "I don't give a rat's ass about Willy! Willy is our ONLY human contact we have in this mess and our problem is not that he is in the park, but that he is NOT in the park." Carrie said, "Well, I was abused and molested as a child and if my boyfriend sees Willy, he will kill him." I took a deep breath and said, "Listen here, real hard. AND THINK! THINK! Willy is our ONLY contact. We cannot get ahold of him. Supposing Willy decides to quit and not tell anyone, Not tell us, not tell his boss. What is going to happen if our rent receipts stop coming? What is going to happen if we can't pay our electric? Or water? What is going to happen when that uninsulated water pipe in the old well house busts this winter? THINK, people, THINK!!! Do you realize that we may be well and truly F*CKED!!!" Oh, did their eyes open wide at that because I am not known for using the F-word. But if a situation ever called for using it, this is it. "We could end up all losing our homes because of this little stunt!" They said, "Ooh, she must be pissed to say the F-word!" GD'd right I am PISSED. You cannot look up state government numbers, you cannot google anything, you cannot make phone calls, you cannot go to the township and village offices, you cannot do a GD thing, by BY GOD, you CAN look up someone's name and run them through the sex offender registry and get everyone upset about that--WHEN HE IS NOT OUR PROBLEM, FOLKS! WAY TO GO! THAT IS REAL GENIUS THINKING HERE! We NEED Willy, and we NEED him HERE!
Oh, but it is all good. Because if our water pipes burst, or if the park shuts down, these owners, who up to this point have shown not one bit of concern about us will miraculously have a Come-to-Jesus moment and make things all right. They will put us up in housing or they will reimburse us for our homes. And until that happens everyone can have a good time playing mind games with the one person who is actually busting their ass. This is my vacation, I am supposed to be spending it relaxing, not on the computer and on the phone trying to get answers. Well, to hell with them. Because I know who will be having the last laugh when the notices go out that you have 30 days to get out. And they will--eventually. This place has been living on borrowed time since at least 2008.
When I got home my neighbor Walt (the one who allegedly got the $600 electric bill, which I have not seen and which the lawyer told me was hearsay) was sitting outside. So I briefed him on what was going on and what the lawyer said. I told him and his wife Carol that they have to make their own calls and emails because I cannot speak for anyone else. I said, you guys are retired, I work full-time. I am taking time off work to handle this and I cannot do it alone.
Meanwhile the power company has been responding to my emails and it sounds like they are trying to be helpful. They were asking for a 10-digit number on my meter. Well, there isn't such a number. I asked Walt about it, and he pointed to a pole in the middle of the park with a meter and said, I think it is that meter they might be talking about. That is the meter for the entire park. What? Run this one by me again. HOW are they reading the meters and which ones are they going by? It was my understanding that Willy, the absent manager, came around once a month with a camera and took a picture of everyone's individual meter and sent it to California. Well, yes, but he also takes a reading off that meter, too. So we went over to see what numbers were on that meter. That's when we were joined by AJ, a belligerent drunk and his wife. "Hell no," says AJ, "that's not Indiana-Michigan Electric, that's Consumers Energy." Keep in mind, if you've been following this so far, is that we not only do not have any contact information regarding the park's owner, there is also no information on the rent statement about who the electric company is. I said, "look, I am in no mood to play effin' mind games. Who is our power company? Is it I-M or Consumers? If it's Consumers, then why did you (looking at Walt and Carol) tell me repeatedly it is I-M? I am trying to HELP you people here!"
At that point they changed the subject to the missing Willy and his alleged sex offender status. We were then joined by another tenant, Carrie, who saw us gathering by the power pole and wanted to know what was going on. And she starts in about Willy as well. That is when I lost it. I said, "I don't give a rat's ass about Willy! Willy is our ONLY human contact we have in this mess and our problem is not that he is in the park, but that he is NOT in the park." Carrie said, "Well, I was abused and molested as a child and if my boyfriend sees Willy, he will kill him." I took a deep breath and said, "Listen here, real hard. AND THINK! THINK! Willy is our ONLY contact. We cannot get ahold of him. Supposing Willy decides to quit and not tell anyone, Not tell us, not tell his boss. What is going to happen if our rent receipts stop coming? What is going to happen if we can't pay our electric? Or water? What is going to happen when that uninsulated water pipe in the old well house busts this winter? THINK, people, THINK!!! Do you realize that we may be well and truly F*CKED!!!" Oh, did their eyes open wide at that because I am not known for using the F-word. But if a situation ever called for using it, this is it. "We could end up all losing our homes because of this little stunt!" They said, "Ooh, she must be pissed to say the F-word!" GD'd right I am PISSED. You cannot look up state government numbers, you cannot google anything, you cannot make phone calls, you cannot go to the township and village offices, you cannot do a GD thing, by BY GOD, you CAN look up someone's name and run them through the sex offender registry and get everyone upset about that--WHEN HE IS NOT OUR PROBLEM, FOLKS! WAY TO GO! THAT IS REAL GENIUS THINKING HERE! We NEED Willy, and we NEED him HERE!
Oh, but it is all good. Because if our water pipes burst, or if the park shuts down, these owners, who up to this point have shown not one bit of concern about us will miraculously have a Come-to-Jesus moment and make things all right. They will put us up in housing or they will reimburse us for our homes. And until that happens everyone can have a good time playing mind games with the one person who is actually busting their ass. This is my vacation, I am supposed to be spending it relaxing, not on the computer and on the phone trying to get answers. Well, to hell with them. Because I know who will be having the last laugh when the notices go out that you have 30 days to get out. And they will--eventually. This place has been living on borrowed time since at least 2008.
