Inevitably, no matter how smooth any road is, you will encounter a bump or two along your travels. I've definitely had a few to contend with on my recent journey. The most recent issue is in the form of a young adult soon to be street urchin. There's a mobile home park adjacent to where I'm staying, and where said urchin resided until the 1st of this month. She was evicted for a failure to pay rent. Somehow she managed to have enough money to secure a tent site here at the RV Park. Luckily there's a max stay of six days and she could only afford three of them. Today his her last day and many of us are looking forward to finally being exhaling.
I realize that what I'd just said may sound somewhat mean, but it isn't. A series of events have transpired over the last week which has left us feeling less than hospitable towards her; this was before and after her eviction. We came to learn that she and her boyfriend were both incarcerated for crimes unknown. She wouldn't say what the crimes were. The boyfriend was paying rent on what I can only describe as a travel trailer that has not traveled in at least two decades. The mobile home park isn't ghetto so much as half of the resident's rigs sport a very well worn look. For whatever reason she only spent five days in the slammer while her boyfriend remains on a very extended stay. A few have taken pity on her and therein lies the problem. Many of us were wary of her from the start with good reason.
Here's where it began for me. On memorial day (which also happened to be my birthday) the park held a pot luck BBQ get together. That was the day I met her. I was enjoying the good food and company until mingled into a circle she was in. It took me all of about three minutes when I picked up on something not being quite right with her. I left immediately and rejoined a prior circle. She mingled her way into it and I left again. It happened again so I left the BBQ altogether. The final straw was when another guest for some reason thought she was with me. My best guess as to why she thought that was because the girl is from Alaska and kind of Asian looking. I replied loudly "no, we just met today" followed with a mumbled "and I wished I didn't". The guest heard me and giggled.
I learned about a day or so later that one of the park managers thought she might have a crush on me which I quickly dismissed with a "don't say that, not funny!". It was also during the course of that same conversation that I'd learned how much the park managers knew about her and her situation. The girl used to work at a fast food restaurant across the street but lost that job. They'd also said that her short employment period was the only time she was seen walking around without a drink in hand. Everyone suspected it was a cocktail which was confirmed recently by a guest. Over the week she had taken to inviting herself to sit with any of the guests eating at the picnic tables provided. This included helping herself to the food at said tables. She's a bit of a manipulator but it wasn't long before guests started asking her to not sit with them. In the cases where someone was too timid to ask they would simply eat indoors to avoid dealing with her at all.
Her first forays with me were met with a one time offer of help followed up with a lesson on how to "do without" certain items. It became crystal clear that she wanted a handout, not help, when she stopped coming to me and pursued other guests instead.
During Bridgie's morning constitutional, we ran into the park manager. She was on duty last night when the urchin walked into the office as a customer was paying his bill in cash. She made an off hand comment about his change going to her, and then something to the effect that she and her dog would have to shoot him for it. He clearly did not appreciate her sense of humor or latter remark. He replied to her with "I shoot back, and I don't miss". The park manager was livid and immediately told her to leave the office.
I really want her gone and am counting the remaining 43 minutes until she has to vacate the tent site behind me.
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