I Am Done

I am Done.

A letter today from the California Department of Child Support Services reads "According to our records, your support obligations are paid in full ....Do not send further payment."

It is almost 23 years to the day since I was divorced. Along the way I have battled the Commonwealth of Australia, set precedent in the San Diego Appeals Court against the Dept. of Child Support, had my fight against the oppressive Child Support machinery published locally and in Australia, and been on radio talk shows.

I was fortunate that I knew how to read law, prepare briefs of evidence, compile witness statements, and handle a court room. I became schooled in the Hague Convention Child Support rules, and put a stop after their financial gang rape. But at what cost?

The swiftness of the system to take is not replicated on correcting their errors. I've not owned a house, but their mother bought a beach house with my child support. My credit report is obliterated, had my drivers license in peril, my passport attempted to be revoked by a foreign country not authorized to, and worst, emotionally hurt another women as I failed miserably in a relationship.

I was lucky - not everyone gets to win almost all their fights. Others may not have had the knowledge, or the staying power, or maybe they were beat down more than I was and could not go on. The one I truly needed to win though - is a loss. My daughters are now 31 and 25; alienated from me by their mother. I last saw my eldest when she was 18, her sister - when she was 12.

It's too late for my girls. I am done.

You Let It Be

     There will come a time when"those" will look upon the actions of "them" and ask themselves, "How did we let it get to be this way?"

     And those in the know will turn to them and say "You did it to yourself."

     As the plans commence from the Day of Righteous,  it is not without notice that another Date of Infamy arrives. Had not the loss been, I would not be the writer that I am now.  Someday, that story may appear in a book, maybe in a Chicken Soup for the Soul publication. They will read and wonder "How did we let it get to be this way?"

     You let it be.

On The Day of Righteous

On the Day of Righteous,
Look over the fence back at the barren earth.
Feel the grass between your toes,
Smell the fresh cut green.
Be gracious -
Your work is done.

 - a discarded paragraph from The Book of Pioneer.

Tacking

     Sixteen years ago today, I commenced racing in a catamaran series that would eventually produce the fifth of my seven championships. I won the fifth championships with a perfect score, in part, because nobody could "go to windward" better than I.

     The act of going to windward requires sailing in one direction, and then, changing to another direction. The act of turning, is called tacking. When going to windward, a boat may make several tacks, to counter tide, wind, and competition. Sometimes the fastest way to windward is to tack back and forth. Other times, it's two long treks separated by a single tack.

    Writers, like sailors, are often called upon to make decisions similar to those encountered in sailing. What's the best path to the next mark? What is the preferred tack? And most importantly, how to cover the immediate threat. Tacking, is about making decisions, and at times, the realization you have to go in the unfavorable direction, to come back on the preferred path.

    As an author, protecting your unpublished work prior to getting to the printing press, may require a different tack.

    Head to wind, loosening the sheets, pointing the boat through the eye of the wind and letting the sails fill on the "other side". Tacking.

10 Years On - Running the Gauntlet

You see we've got a problem, you and me. We don't like each other much but we have to take a trip together. Now you can come along peacefully or you can be a pain in the ass. But I'm warning you: You mess around and I'll put the cuffs on you. You talk dirty - I gag you. You run - I'll shoot ya. My name is Shockley and we've got a plane to catch. Let's go.