Audrey Part IX

     It was a difficult decision for Audrey to move to the assisted living facility.  She was feeling a great sense of loss.  Her house was sold, her apartment was empty, and all her belongings were going to fit into the one room she would call home... for the rest of her life.

     I think if I could ask Audrey today if the move was a good decision, she would give me an emphatic "yes!".  My mom may not have been able to see Audrey every day after work, but I think she would see her a good 5 times a week.  On those visits,  Mom would take Audrey a little stash of things she loved.  Pepsi, fresh tomatoes, oranges, soup and an occasional pizza. Before she left, mom would always open a Pepsi and put it in Audrey's refrigerator. Audrey's old arthritic hands couldn't couldn't pop the tab on those cans.  And, heaven forbid Audrey would ever call the people she paid to assist her.  Hello!!  Assisted living.  They are there to assist you.  But, that was an endearing quality about her... she didn't really take advantage of anyone.  Remember when I first met her?  "Honey, when you get old just have to do what you have to do."

     Audrey was not demanding, but she did have one frequent request.  She asked that my parents take her out to dinner.  And, I guess one could argue about who was taking who.  Audrey couldn't drive, so, of course, mom and dad would pick her up, help her in and out of the  car and help her into the restaurant.  But, in a sense, Audrey took them because she paid.  And, they didn't argue.  They could only take so much Bob Evans.  Besides, it was not a line item in the budget for them to eat out that often.

     Going to dinner was definitely a highlight.  Another highlight for Audrey was when Shelby and I could visit.  Remember how hard it was for Audrey to hear?  I am sure it sounded, to an outsider or a child, like we were always yelling at little, old Audrey.   Apparently,  we would frequently ask Audrey if she wanted some juice.  We know it was frequently because there would be many times when Shelby would wander around talking to herself (when we weren't even with Audrey) and we would hear her yell, "AUDREY!!!  YOU WANT SOME JUICE????"  

Every once in awhile, just for the heck of it, we still yell it out.

     We always tried to get Audrey to come over for the holidays, but she wouldn't hear of it.  She told us it would make her too tired.  We would push her a little bit, but not too hard.   We wanted to respect her wishes.  We were afraid it might make her sad to see our family get together when she never had children of her own.  But, one Christmas, we had let her push us away enough.  So, we all packed up and showed up at her place.  Seeing her face, made me wish we would have done it more often.

     So, there were many pleasant times with Audrey, but there were still times that frustrated the life out of us.  Like the conversations that always wound their way back to getting her affairs in order.  Of course, her affairs always meant talking about Barbara and Barbara's son Russell and how she had to leave them her money.  This would be in the midst of a conversation about Barbara doing drugs and being in jail and sending her nasty letters.  Mostly, I just tried to listen, but one time, I had had enough.  So, I finally said to her, "Audrey, you don't have to leave them your money.  Why don't you do something else with it?  You love the Girl Scouts.  Why don't you leave a legacy for yourself and set up a foundation that gives away a college scholarship to deserving young lady?  I could manage it and your name would live on and deserving young girls would benefit in your name."

     She promptly told me, "Don't tell me what to do with my money!"

     "Audrey, I am not trying to tell you what to do with your money.  You were mentioning Barbara doing drugs and all kinds of other things you don't approve of.  I would just think you wouldn't want your money used for that."

    "Well!!  Maybe, I'll just leave it to the state!"

    That's a great idea Audrey!  We spend our lives paying taxes.  It would make perfect sense to leave your money to the state.  AHH!!!  

     I was so mad.  I would not entertain any other conversations about her money again.

Audrey Part VIII

     I can tell by all the comments....NOT.... that you understood Barbara's letters about as much as I did!

     Barbara was found not guilty on the charge of murdering her mother.

     There were many, many more letters from Barbara.  They were very difficult to sort through.  With little reference and no dates on the letters, it was hard to make sense of all the rantings.

    

     I do know that Barbara was married at least 4 times.  She claimed at least one marriage was just to keep her off the streets.  In another marriage, she mentioned her husband paying her for different types of sex.   One of her husbands did drugs all the time, but only the kind you smoke, was her report to Audrey. (Because, hey, if you're only smoking drugs, then it's a perfectly acceptable thing to do.)  She claimed she was raped frequently.  On one of those occasions, it was by four different men.  She was raped in the hospital and in jail.  In Barbara's world, there was a rapist waiting around every corner and they all wanted her.

    Another recurring theme in the letters was her desperate plea for money.  The house, the one with all the antiques, part of it belonged to Barbara.  It seems the three of them (Audrey, her sister Virginia and Virginia's daughter, Barbara)were bequeathed the house from an Aunt Helen.

     After Virginia's death, Barbara begged Audrey to buy her share of the house from her.  They mutually agreed that the amount would be $15,000.  Audrey's lawyer, Debbie, was supposed to send the $15, 000. From the letters it seemed Barbara managed to get $2500 of it.  The other $12,500... I couldn't make heads or tales of what happened to it.

     When Audrey asked us to help her get her affairs in order, she wanted a new lawyer because she claimed her old lawyer, Debra, was a crook.  This may or may not have been true.  From what I could make of the letters, Barbara should have received the remaining $12, 500.  Barbara even wrote a letter to the legal society of Audrey's city asking for an investigation of Debra.  I am not sure a copy of the letter ever made it to the officials, but Audrey did have a copy of the letter Barbara threatened to send. 

     

     Barbara claimed she was destitute.  There were times she didn't have a roof over her head or food to eat.  Living in the Florida Keys, she was severely sunburned.  Her feet were blistered from walking and walking with no shoes.  She ate one cup of oatmeal a day for 2 months because she didn't have any money.  She may not have had money to eat, but she sure scraped it together to buy postage to send nasty letters to Audrey begging for money.  That $12,500 was the difference between life and death, according to Barbara.  

     We all know that someone with Barbara's track record wasn't going to get far with $12,500.

..........................................................................................................................................................................

     By the time I met Audrey, the letters from Barbara had stopped.  

     Now there was only talk about Barbara.  The house had been cleared and the contents sold.  Audrey wanted to make sure Barbara got her share.  It didn't matter that in one breath Audrey would recall Barbara's antics, marriages and drug abuse because in the next breath, she just had to find her.  Maybe there was some guilt on Audrey's part.  Maybe Audrey didn't send the money.  If she didn't, she had a reason. Who knows?  We don't what changed that now made Audrey want to give her the money.   We just know Audrey begged us to find Barbara.

     My mom and I gathered up all the names Barbara had used.  We scoured the internet and called every number that came up listing a Barb/Barbara with any of her last names.   The phone calls always ended at dead ends.  We even paid a search service that claimed they could find anyone.  (I am hear to tell you...they can't find anyone.)  When that didn't turn up anything, we stopped the search.  To be honest, we didn't want to find Barbara.  We were scared to death of her.  If Barbara started coming around, we intended to do the disappearing act ourselves. We never let Audrey know we stopped looking.

.......................................................................................................................................................................

     After the sale of the house, my mom did work on getting Audrey's other affairs in order.  This time the affairs did mean cleaning up Audrey's apartment and giving away Harold's things.

     Once that was done, my mom convinced Audrey to move out of that apartment.  It was a good 20 minutes from my mom's house and it just wasn't convenient.  Besides, that once beautiful, safe part of town wasn't so beautiful and safe anymore.  Furthermore, because of my mom's own medical issues, she didn't have an abundance of energy.    Working from 7 am to 1:30 pm and being on her feet all day, she didn't always feel like driving, hanging out with Audrey and then driving home.  And, since it wasn't feasible for my mom to see Audrey every single day, we thought it would be a good idea if help were readily available.

 

     So, in 2000, my mom moved Audrey 2 miles from her work and 4 miles from her house to an assisted living residential facility.  We would learn later on, the year 2000 was significant far beyond Audrey's move.

     Stay tuned....

Audrey Part VII

*** If you are new or lost, this is a continuation of what I thought would be one post.  It is now the 7th post about Audrey.  To catch up, start with Audrey Part I.  

******** THIS IS A PG-13 POST.  THE LETTER WAS XXX BUT I SCALED IT BACK TO A PG-13.  PLEASE KNOW THAT IT IS SEXUAL IN NATURE AND CRUDE.  SORRY!  JUST WANTED TO GIVE YOU AN IDEA ABOUT THE LETTERS BARBARA WROTE AUDREY.

     

     Now....where were we....

     Barbara was sentenced to a trial by jury. She was implicated in the death of her mother.  While awaiting trial, she wrote lots of letters to Audrey. The letters were full of things that made me blush to read.  Here is one of them:

Dear Aunt Audrey,

      I was released from jail after a severe beating. I think they thought I was going to die. I forgive you for keeping me in jail- although it ended my life. I had a strong body before this happened.

Both the checks you sent went back to you. Cancel the endorsement. Alicia loaned me $230 for one week in one room. I have had no food since Monday.

     On Tuesday another $230 is due or I will be put in the street. You must mail express or wire to my bank. I will pay back. I will be arrested for vagrancy if I am on the street with no money.

A month ago, I had a job waiting. A free room for a month and I could have saved my car.

     Now, I am so badly injured I don't know what is going to happen. (On the side of this paragraph, in different colored ink, Barbara wrote: I have to go back to jail so don't worry about future rent.)

I am having to pay for the room. You didn't save my money

     What in God's name is wrong with you? The horror you put me through.

     There were women in jail who had their breasts mutilated. (This is the clean version of what she actually said.) There was one woman who dropped bowel movements all the time because she had been raped in her bowels. Woman stuffed pillows up in them so they couldn't be raped. Women scar and maim other women so they aren't attractive to men anymore. I was being tortured and I was too afraid to write to you and my father refused to call me.

     I have to go to court in a week so I don't know if I can work.

     I have pleaded with my father all I can plead.

     Tell him this much: unless he calls me and lets me explain what is going on, he is definitely going to be arrested himself for spouse abuse.

     The guard took his one letter and called for police to read.

      I need the money you told me was already sent - that is only FAIR. You didn't keep your word.

I promise you- you will get your blood money. I WILL PAY BACK EVERY DIME.

     I am sending you pictures of the jail. What we had was a little better- we had mattresses- but not much.

     I can not survive unless you get the money here by the 29th.  I will be charged with defrauding an Inn Keeper (Where is she?  The little town of Bethlehem?) if bill is not paid by 11 am. This is a felony charge.  But, dear God don't wait until after Tuesday and say Oh I couldn't get there before Tuesday.  I need FOOD and don't tell me to go to CHARITY they will send me to JAIL.

I have to go back to jail on the 12th. There was severe over crowding so they made deal to release me.

     Send me the money and both checks if you can or as much as possible. NOW. $230 pays rent. Need food and clothes.

     Don't hoard money because I will need next month anything I can do to help myself. It has to be done NOW. Dear God, PLEASE listen and don't make me suffer needlessly.

     Love, Barb

  I am not sure free-associating describe the letters Barbara sent.  Is there a word to describe Barbara?  

     I am tired from just reading and writing all that.  Plus, I know you need time to digest it.  More tomorrow.... I promise.

Working on it

     This is my really good friend, Jennifer.  She came over today to read these crazy letters and help me sort them out.  What you can't see very well, is that some of the letters are 20+ pages long.  Those letters are the most free-associating, schizophrenic, vulgar, mean letters... it's just hard to describe. 

     I have really considered trying to turn this story into a book.  But, after reading some parts to Paul, he informed me that there was no way I could ever associate myself with this stuff.  He said, "Maybe you could write it under a ghost name like, April Pisaacs."  To which I laughed for at least 20 minutes.  Actually, it makes me laugh every time I think about it.  It's really not that funny, I know.

     During our conversation about this, I also told him that sometimes I wonder if maybe Audrey was the crazy one because sometimes, sometimes Barbara sounds really intelligent. That's when he told me he didn't know who was crazier, Audrey, Barbara or me.  

     He hasn't read all the letters... so there.

     Anyway, I am working on sharing a letter with all of you- piecing several together while still trying to keep my testimony in tact.  It's not an easy feat to undertake.  Come back tomorrow.

     

Audrey Part VI

     If you are new or haven't been here for awhile, start with Audrey Part I.  

    For some reason, I had a really hard time with this because the details were hard to piece together.  I hope it's not too confusing. 

     

     I remember sitting with Audrey while she told me stories about her sister, Virginia.  Oh, how I wish that I would have known then that I was going to love to write.  I would have written everything down.

     Virginia was born about 6 years after Audrey. Audrey was really jealous of her.  Audrey was used to being the center of attention. That all changed when Virginia was born.  Audrey grew up thinking that Virginia was prettier than her and better than her.  I know at some point they grew to be good friends and that Audrey really loved Virginia.  But, I wonder if that jealousy didn't resurface.  There were more reasons to be jealous in their early adulthood. Virginia was able to have a child, Barbara, while Audrey suffered at least 3 miscarriages.

      Since Barbara was the only child in the family,  Audrey doted over her.  She talked about her like she was her own.  Barbara had her own room at Aunt Audrey's complete with books, toys and a little custom made tea table (I have some of  Barbara's books and the tea table.  They were gifts to Shelby.) It was almost as if Barbara was the daughter of Virginia and Audrey.

     Despite the fact that Barbara seem well-loved and cherished, she didn't grow up to be a stable adult.  Maybe that is because all the influences in her life were unstable. I mean, not fixing the plumbing in a beautiful house and choosing instead to pee in bottles and leave them laying around... kinda screams unstable to me.  The thing that Barbara had going for herself ... she thought she was beautiful.  But, even that seemed to be a curse.

      In many of the letters that Barbara had written  to Audrey, she was always talking about how beautiful she was and how men were always in love with her. Maybe that is why Barbara couldn't stay married.  During Barbara's first marriage, she became pregnant.   She had a boy and named him Russell.  And, according to Barbara, the doctor that delivered Russell kept telling Barbara how beautiful she was.  He was so consumed by her beauty that passion took over.   So, he raped her. Barbara's first husband would not claim Russell as his own.  Anyway, by the time he was born, she was already living with what would become husband number 2.

     Virginia, along with her husband John, lived a thousand miles from Audrey.  Barbara lived with them, or near them... who knows.   But, the distance was the reason Barbara was always writing letters to Audrey.  And, in one of those letters, the instability of the other adults in Barbara's life, was further confirmed.  

     Barbara had written to Audrey telling her that her mother, Virginia, was not sleeping in the the same bed with John.  And, since Barbara called him John, I am going to go out on a limb and say John was not Barbara's real dad.  The reason Virginia didn't sleep with John was because she didn't like being looked at when she was naked.  Apparently, she liked to be naked a lot, or often enough that Barbara reported that John was always peeking in through the keyhole trying to catch glimpses of a naked Virginia.  

     And, since Virginia was practically raising Russell, who at this point was 5 or so, she slept in a bed with him, naked.   At some point in time, Children's services got word of this and Russell was taken away.  When Virginia and Barbara appeared before a judge trying to get Russell back, the judge told them it was the worse case of child abuse he had ever heard.  Apparently it wasn't bad enough,  Russell went back to living with his mother and grandmother.  According to John, Virginia fought tooth and nail so the state wouldn't take Russell away again.

     In  the early spring of 1993, Virginia became sick.  She had been sick with something similar prior to this particular episode and the sickness prompted them to call 911.

     However, this time when she became ill, she would not seek medical attention.  Despite John's prompting, Virginia insisted she just had a cold.  As her symptoms grew worse, she refused to call 911 and Barbara would not allow John to call either.

     If 911 had been called, the authorities would have seen the deplorable and unsanitary living conditions of the house and Russell would be taken away again.  The house was full of animals and animal waste.  It smelled to the high heavens.   The kitchen was full of dirty dishes caked with old food and mold.  The refrigerator was full of spoiled meat and soured milk.  There were mice droppings all over the counters.  Trash was everywhere.  It was certainly no place for a child to live.  So, instead of seeking medical attention for her mother outside of calling 911, Barbara let her mom die.

     Virginia died on a Monday in April of 1993.  On Thursday of the same week, Virginia's body was still being held under the order of a medical examiner.  John watched as Russell was hauled off screaming and crying by Children's Services.  And, Barbara was placed under arrest and sent to jail.

     Barbara was sentenced to a trial by jury.  While awaiting trial, she wrote lots of letters to Audrey.  The letters were full of things that made me blush to read.

     I am going to stop here for a couple of days. So sorry!  I am having trouble piecing together some things.  My mom has all the letters so I am going to get them from her on Sunday.  I can't do it before because Paul is marrying some people on Saturday and my mom lives 45 minutes away.  So, I am going to get them on Sunday.  I would love to be able to share some of the letters... they are pretty nasty...I am going to have to see what I can do.  

    Thanks for reading and hanging around here with me!  I may try to right about some lighter things, things that don't take hours to write over the next couple of days.

    And, you lurkers out there... what do you think of this crazy story?  I know it sounds made up, but... I am not that creative.

   

Audrey Part V

                                                      Antique hutch

                                                     Dovetailed drawers

                                            Pie safe
                                          Antique 3/4 bed

     Apparently, my mom did not communicate to me in drastic enough terms how much GORGEOUS furniture Audrey had in that decrepit old house.  She told me there was lots of things I would like, but for some reason it just didn't register.  So when I pulled up and saw enough furniture to fill about about a quarter of a football field, I couldn't find a parking place fast enough.  Yes, find a parking place.

     People come out in droves for auctions.  Did you know that?  Because had I known that...I would have done some thing differently!

      The house was swarming with people.  I began looking at the furniture and then I proceeded to wipe the drool off my face.  I made a decision right then and there, that I would bid on one thing.  I figured a couple hundred dollars would get me a nice piece of furniture.  I'd have to scrape that couple hundred dollars together but at least I would have something nice.  And, I would have something to always remind me of Audrey.

     Because as quirky as Audrey was, my mom and I had grown to love her.  It was very obvious how much Audrey loved us.  It seemed her body had found a miracle in the time between the congestive heart failure spell and the auction.  Her body found a miracle or her heart found a family.  I think the latter was true.  Audrey had a family now. When we (my mom and dad, me, Paul or Shelby) came around, she would light up. She told us we were her family. All of a sudden she had a reason to live.  She was alive and well the day of that auction.  

    I found her, hugged her and said 'hello' and then I made my way back through the sea of people to look at the furniture.  There were end tables, drop leaf tables, a pie safe, 2 hutches, chairs, beds and on and on and on.  All the furniture was in mint condition.  There were no scratches or missing knobs or rickety furniture.  There was only gorgeous cherry furniture, all wood furniture.  The kind they don't make anymore.  Furniture with tongue and groove drawers (or dovetailed drawers) and square nail heads.  One piece of furniture was constructed without any nails.  There were tables with the little wheels on the bottom and furniture with circular saw marks (indicating it had been made prior to 1850).  It was unbelievable.  I  set my heart on one of the hutches.

     It was time for the auction to begin.  All Audrey's old possessions were to the side of the house, toward the back and in front of a detached garage.  The auctioneer positioned himself in front of all the people sitting in the chairs and began to auction off a myriad of smaller items. Old Fenton glass, postcards, paper mache pumpkins, dishes, lamps and loads of other nicknacks.  

      Some of the post cards went for $40+  and one of the paper mache pumpkins went for $60 some dollars.  After both the postcards and the paper mache pumpkins sold, my mom looked at me and said, "Do you know how many of those things I threw away?"  

     I told you she had a hard time determining what was trash.    At one point, the auctioneer held up a one inch mohair monkey.  That little tiny, and  in my opinion, ugly monkey, sold for $80 some dollars.  I started to have a bad feeling about the furniture.

     After several hours of auctioning off the smaller items, the bidding for the furniture began.  The auctioneer started with the largest items, the hutches.  My heart hit rock bottom as the auctioneer began.   The bidding for the hutches.... started at $1200.  Twelve hundred dollars!!  I couldn't even start the bidding.  I believe they sold for between $4000 and $5000.  

     "That's okay I thought.  A table would probably be better and more functional.  Yeah, I'll just get one of the little end tables."

     The bidding for the tables began between $300-$500.  I couldn't start the bidding on those either.

    The last thing auctioned off was a 3/4 bed that my mom desperately wanted.  She bid until she won.

     When the auction was over, I went up on the porch and sat by Audrey.  It must have been a really hard day for her.  She had to sit and watch years and years of  hard earned money used to accumulate treasures go to complete strangers.  It was a reminder that we can't take things with us when we are leave.  It was also a painful reminder that Audrey was alone.  Her things were gone.   There were only a handful of people that cared about her.  We were present that day... me,  my mom and dad, and Betty and her husband.  There were no other relationships to speak of.   Her mentally unstable, drug abusing, mean niece was no where to be found.  Audrey didn't have any one to leave her things to.  There was no one to treasure those things and remind people of Audrey and Harold.  

     I learned another lesson that day.  A lifetime can be spent accumulating things.  Things can't love you or help you, hug you or encourage you.  There isn't a value one can put on relationships.  Rather than being surrounded by furniture and things, I hope when I am Audrey's age, I am surrounded by people that love me.   People that love me because I have served them and loved them well.  People I have invested in and prayed for.  

     As I sat contemplating these thoughts, Audrey spoke to me.  And, what she said all of a sudden stirred up this sinful person in me and made me rage with anger on  the inside. She said to me, "Were you able to get anything?"  She would have had no indication I was angry because I just responded sadly and quietly saying, "No.  I didn't have the money to even begin bidding on most things".  Her response, "Oh, you should have told me."

     I was so angry.  When I met Audrey, I assumed she was very poor.  Judging by that apartment, I thought they were rubbing nickels together hoping to be able to eat from day to day.  And, even when the house was discovered and the treasures were revealed, I didn't think much about them.  But, when the auction was over and I was walking away empty handed, I was ticked.  My mom and I, but mostly my mom, and Betty had spent years and countless (and sometimes thankless) hours helping Audrey.  When the house was discovered, we could have went in and robbed it blind.  You would think the least she could do was offer us our choice of something we wanted from her house.  And, it wasn't like she needed the money.  Because she had also asked us to help her find a lawyer, we knew that, even without the auction, she had enough money to live for 10 more years.

    I was angry because I would have loved to have had something of hers. I would have treasured it and displayed it in my house with pride.  But rather than Audrey being thoughtful and giving to the people who had given to her without expecting anything in return,  Audrey remained consumed with Barbara.  The auction wasn't about getting money so Audrey could live.  The auction was getting rid of her things so she could die and give more money to Barbara.  

     By that time, I had learned that Barbara was not just a mean.  Barbara was worse than a drug abuser.  She was worse than mentally unstable.  Barbara was a murderer.

     I really don't long to leave people hanging.  I didn't set out to write a novel.  But, since that is what it turned into, I just can't seem to get it done.

     ***These are not actual pieces of furniture from the auction... just examples.  

Audrey Part IV

     First of all.... sorry, sorry, sorry!  I was a single parent from Friday morning until Monday afternoon... Paul was out of town (although, I did have lots of help from my mom, thanks mom)  Then, yesterday and today has bee full of appointments.  We had a post-placement visit from a social worker, (I can't believe we have had Emme six months already), 2 doctors appointments and a dentist appointment.  Big surprise!  AND, HELLO!  I am supposed to be teaching my girls in the midst of this chaos!  They are going to be dumber than a box of rocks!

     So, back to Audrey and her house.  If you are behind or new... read the 3 posts prior to this one.

     Audrey's illness brought on an urgency to get her affairs in order.  And, like I said earlier, I thought "affairs" meant cleaning up a cluttered apartment and getting rid of Harold's clothing, etc...

     However, unbeknownst to us, Audrey had a house about 3 minutes from her apartment.  She wanted to sell the house.  This was to be the first thing she wanted my mom to help her with.

     Picture any town USA.  Full grown trees shading and lining a wide street.  Old houses with inviting front porches, neighbors chatting on the porch while swinging  on a porch swing, screened doors that squeaked when they were opened and slammed when they were shut, manicured lawns, beautiful flowers, kids playing kickball in the street while flags adorning the houses flapped in the gentle summer breeze.

     Well, that's how I pictured Audrey's house back in the day.  Even though her street was still beautiful, her house had become an eye sore.  Someone, I believe some old friends down the street, still mowed the grass.  However, the bushes were overgrown.  The lawn was full of weeds.  The house and the yard surrounding it showed no signs of life.  It was a dreary, depressing sight... to say the least.

      And, that picture I painted earlier, with the neighbors all hanging out, I am not so sure the neighbors were hanging out with Audrey and Harold.  I think the neighbors who mowed the lawn were two of a very, very small handful of  friends.

      Despite the potential beauty of this house, it was never cared for properly.  At some point, the plumbing in the house quit functioning and for whatever reason, they never fixed it. Without proper plumbing, it's hard to go to the bathroom and then flush the toilet.  So it seemed,  Audrey and Harold decided jars and bottle would double as toilets.  Therefore, there were jars and bottles of urine laying all around the house.  

     The bathroom was disgusting.  The bathtub was black from years of not being cleaned as was the toilet and the sink.  As a matter of fact, at some point the bathtub doubled as a closet for more loads of toilet paper and paper towels than you can imagine.  When nature calls, nature doesn't care nor does it know whether there is a proper place of disposal, so one better be prepared.  I guess.  I have tried not to spend a whole lot of time thinking about it.

     Because the plumbing didn't work, they also did not have running water.  Through reading letters, we figured out that Harold used to take the bus to the YMCA downtown and take a shower.  And, Audrey, as best as we can guess, would take what my mom calls "whore baths." And... I'm going to leave that one to your imagination as well.

     Moving on...

     The rest of the house was trashed.  There were dead raccoons lying around.  They had crawled in through the chimney and  apparently could not get back out.  Because of this the house had a thick rank stench about it.  Plus, it was full of dust, trash, papers, books, furniture, dishes, beds, nicknacks and on and on and on.   Don't forget about the bottles and bottles of urine.  Are you kidding me??!!

     My poor mom didn't even know where to start.  And, honestly, for awhile, she resented me getting her into this mess.  But, in my wildest dreams, I could not have envisioned anything like this on that winter night when I met Audrey.

     I may have taken one look at that house and walked right out.  But, not my mom.  She has a fierce determination when it comes to starting something and finishing it.  If something is broken, she will fix it.  With my mom, where there is a will, there is a way.  Audrey didn't have anyone else.  So, combine that with my mom's huge soft heart and.... challenge on!   

     So, my poor mom and Audrey were like the bling leading the blind trying to work their way through that mess.  My mom has had a lot of health issues in the past plus she has a bad knee.   Her and a 90 year old woman trying to clean up a mess like that....  See, the blind leading the blind!!

     They decided to take one area and a time.  They would work for as long as they both had energy.  

     My mom started by throwing away all the trash.  Some things, we found out later, weren't trash, but one has to start somewhere.  As she moved through the house, some of the "trash" was money waded up and stashed in odd places.  My mom would bag it up and hand it to Audrey.  I think it amounted to several hundred dollars.  

     After months and months of cleaning, it was time to call in an auctioneer.  He came in and accessed the items, tagged them, etc...

     The auction was held in October of 2002.  I had mentioned earlier in the story that I was surprised and blessed with an unplanned pregnancy.  And, because of feeling sick and living 45 minutes away, I had been unable to get to the house until the morning of the auction.  

     I will never forget what I saw when I pulled up.  I had absolutely no idea.....

     So sorry AGAIN!  I have to sleep!  I PROMISE more tomorrow!!