Dear Adri,

I love you. You know that. But you've left Dad in a fine mess.

The house in Cleveland still hasn't sold and the cost of it is sucking away more than his social security and his retirement pension brings in. He makes draws from what he has left in his savings to make up the difference so that he can pay his bills and no go deeper into debt. But the savings will run out. The house will need significant roof work before winter and that will likely leave him with almost nothing to live on for the rest of his life. The price of the house has been reduced again to get him out from under it. If he breaks even with the mortgage at this point, I'll be impressed.

In the meantime, Bill and I have not been paid the more than $6000 it cost to move him (not including our time and energy). He lives with us and we pay 95% of the food costs. We have not accepted any money in rent, nothing towards utilities, or otherwise because we know how dire his finances are. He is doing well, but still, his health is not great. Even he says it is likely that it won't get better.

And yet once again, the greed of some people does not cease to amaze me.

I got a call today from a check cashing company in Cleveland asking if he has written a check for $900? I said I did not know but he didn't have the money in the first place to be giving away. While he may beg to differ, since he has withdrawn money AGAIN from his dwindling savings, he is a 73 year old man who is digging himself into debt at my expense and yet he sends cash to two people too lazy to get off their fat asses and get to work.

Sure I know it is hard. I've been there. I've been so broke I couldn't afford to pay attention. I know how frightening it is not to know if I could pay rent month to month or buy groceries week to week. But I also know that when there are wolves at the door, it is a great motivator to deal with it, myself and on my own.

But how dare they even approach him for money when their own parents make a decent living? Why do people who have no relation to my father perpetually think that he is their personal cash machine and yet they would not life a finger to get the house ready to put on the market so he could sell it. For that matter, it cost us an additional $1000 just to pay a professional cleaning service to clean their part of the house after we had to get all of their trash out of it.

It is absolutely SHAMEFUL that anyone would do that to him. It is an absolute embarrassment that my father would let people who would no more lift a finger to help him drive him even faster into financial ruin. Especially since once he has no more money, my brother and I will be the only ones responsible for him. That is what children do. They take care of their parents. But that in no way means that I am willing to let other people leach off of him. I don't care how bad their conditions are. If they have to live in a car, in a homeless shelter, on the street and scrounge in dumpsters to feed themselves. I do not care.

I am furious with him, for being so gullible. I am absolutely disgusted with them for being so selfish.

Oh, and as for the adjunct teaching he'll be doing, it will barely cover his expenses. If that. Much less anything like car repairs, vet bills, additional medical costs, insurance.

Adri, I love you. But you've left a fine mess.