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"

Meeting a Female Bodybuilder

Yesterday, pumpkin and I stopped off at Absolute Auto Care on Sunrise Blvd next to Brake Masters to get an oil change. I usually go to Brake Masters but they pissed me off because they lost one of the hubcaps on the car and denied that they had anything to do with it. Absolute Auto Care opened up a few months ago and now was a good time to try them out. They looked pretty empty for a Saturday afternoon. Since there was no one ahead of us, I decided to just sit in the waiting room and wait for him to be finished. A few people came and went while I watched TV and pumpkin played on my phone.

Leticia Jackson

After a while a black woman came in to pick up her car. Her car wasn't quite ready so she sat down across from me. CNN was on with a large map of the U.S. displaying all the rising gas prices across the country. The woman looked up and exclaimed, "Oh, my God." That got my attention and I looked up at the map again. Oil and gas are usually pretty close to being one of my favorite topics so we started talking about how well the oil companies are profiting at our expense and how it is that oil prices are rising when demand is down. She seemed to relate to what I was saying about climate change and the need for alternatives to oil. The conversation drifted over to how time flies and how quickly kids like pumpkin learn the computer. I told her I worked out of my home and designed websites. She introduced herself as Leticia Jackson and said that she was a personal trainer. I told her about my other business and how MA might benefit her business. She seemed a little hesitant because of her prior network marketing experience. In any case, I suggested that at least she check out www.tlsslim.com. She told me about her website which she said needed some TLC. I gave her my card and she tore off a piece of paper and gave me her phone number and website address.

We said good-bye when she left and as soon as pumpkin and I got home, I went to check out her website, www.luvyourselffit.com. It definitely was an amateur job, hastily put together. I looked at some of the pictures and saw what looked like a female body builder doing incredible things with her body. No, that couldn't be her. I tried to think back to the woman I met at the auto repair place. There was nothing about her that suggested that she was muscular. Now that I think about it, she was covered from head to toe with clothing which was not out of the ordinary because the weather was kind of cool yesterday. Now I was staring at a body builder and olympic fitness expert. This woman is pure muscle. I have seen pictures of muscular women before but nothing like the definition on this woman. 

I am completely in awe of what Leticia has accomplished. This woman is amazing. She can do things that few people can do, men or women. That takes a tremendous amount of dedication. I hope we can stay in contact because I do want to help her in any way I can.

Getting Rid of the Olds Cutlass

It was time. The time had come to get rid of El Palomo, alias 1988 Olds Cutlass Cierra. It was about 3 months ago and I had just barely passed the smog test and had to spend mucho dinero just to get it that way. I had pulled into the BofA on Taylor Road and after I got back in the car, it just wouldn’t start. I took it into Speedee oil change to see what the hell was wrong and turns out it needed a new fuel pump. Upon hearing the news, I decided that I had to get rid of it. I knew I couldn’t just sell it cause who would want an 88 Olds Cutlass anyways? I decided to save myself the hassle and just donate it to some charity which I did and it worked out just fine.With El Palomo gone, I needed some wheels to get to work down in Rancho Cordova so wifey and I decided to lease a new car. After a few searches online and in the newspaper, the best deal turned out to be Melody Toyota down in San Mateo. Shit that was far! Now I get the Mitsubishi and wifey gets the new Corolla that gets 34 MPG highway.

Rear View Mirror

The rear view mirror dislocated itself from my car’s windshield so it swings around when I drive. At first, it was a nuisance but I realized that now the cars and trucks behind me can’t bother me while I am driving. Now I drive in bliss. If I want to look back, I hold the mirror up with my right hand. Usually, there is nothing to see but headlights behind me.