The Story of Marshawnda

I never regret being generous to people. I only regret not reacting quickly enough when they take advantage of me. And (sigh), such is the case with Marshawnda. I kept hoping in the back of my mind that she would somehow turn her life around. There is a letter that I wrote to her that I posted on this blog but it does not tell the whole story. This whole ordeal started back in September of 2016.

Marshawnda Blackwell

I had posted a casting call for female wrestlers in a number of different places, including Craigslist, ExploreTalent and Casting360. Marshawnda contacted me through Casting360. I actually interviewed her at The Olive Garden across from the Arden Mall. She presented herself as an aspiring model but someone who was most definitely struggling financially. She was studying to be a social worker and taking online courses in pursuit of a two year degree. I found out that she was also living out of her car  and recently arrived here in Sacramento from Minnesota via her boyfriend who just dumped her here and then disappeared.

I have not spent much time with people who live on the edge like this and honestly felt sorry for her plight. I thought I could help her get on her feet and seeing how diligent she was about studying, I felt that helping her out with a car would enable her to find a job. I justified doing something like this by imagining the worst case scenario. If she couldn't pay me back, I would just take the car back from her and keep it for myself.

In the middle of October, we checked out cars together at Harrold Ford on Howe Ave near Arden. There was a particular car she liked - a 2011 Ford Fusion SEL. Suddenly in a split second I decided to buy the car and rent it to her with the understanding that she would pay me back once she found a job.

So much for plans. As it became painfully clear, Marshawnda was either striking out and not finding any meaningful employment or she was just plain lazy. I began to suspect the latter. She kept insisting that it must be because people don't like to hire black people but that argument only goes so far. There are plenty of people of color who are working and I see them everyday with my own eyes.

By this time, I knew that Marshawnda was a habitual liar. The problem then became how to get the car back from her. However I knew that if I took the car there was no chance at all of getting anything from her. My thinking was that at least if she had the car, I had some leverage over her. In February, she finally paid me for one month by borrowing from her friend, but not until I had threatened to confiscate the car from her.

By this time, I was getting tired of her ambivalence and laziness. I decided that I would make one last attempt to help her find a job so she could pay me back. I started searching Craigslist for any part time jobs and that is when I found Rent a Whip.

This story continues in the next blog posting titled "Rent a Whip"