Tuesday, April 29, 2008

In the continuing tales of my son.....

As most of you know by now, my son and granddaughter moved in with me TEN months ago. It was only supposed to be for a very few short months....like maybe three.....four, tops. Needless to say, we have surpassed that and my patience is frog hair thin. My main goal is for them to get their own place. Of course a few things have to happen before THAT can happen. He has to find and hold a job so that a landlord will approve him. He has to save money for the security deposit. He has to find a place that he can afford. He's found the job and its one he likes. He's experienced in that type of work and good at it. Hopefully hurdle ONE was cleared. Ahhhh..not so fast. The company he works for wants him to drive the "service" truck and for that he has to be insured by their company insurance. Before the insurance will cover him, they send for his driving record. He has told them that he has one offense on there....a drunk driving from 10 years ago. He holds a valid driver's license with no restrictions.

Life is never easy in our household. Things always have to have that extra little twist thrown in. Its like LIFE wants to make sure that you're paying attention. His driving record is requested and it comes back. It not only has the drunk driving from 10 years ago, but it also has a "Open intoxicants in vehicle/driver" from 2006 on it, and that's worth 2 points. Yes, he remembers the ticket. He was with his friend, in his friend's vehicle. It was a hot summer's night and his friend was feeling his oats and squealed his tires, attracting the attention of the local police. Not smart. Both his friend, who was driving, and my son, the passenger, had open beer in the vehicle. Double not smart.

The friend was arrested for drunk driving, had his vehicle impounded and the police were kind enough to transport my son home. He did NOT live with me at the time. My son paid the ticket and was told it was a misdemeanor and would go on his criminal record...not his driving record because he wasn't driving. He didn't think any more about it ..... until now. It has reared its ugly head. Maybe we now know the reason why it took him so long to secure employment....were these places where he applied checking his driving record and then dismissing him as a bad risk?

His employer has stated that if he can't drive the service truck, then he can't be employed by them. So...if, indeed, there is a mistake, then it must be fixed and pronto. I have a friend who is an attorney and we call to ask him what to do. He tells us that this is fixable and how to do it. If we run up against a dead end and no one will cooperate...then call him back. He will handle it (for a fee of course). My son does what he says. He is, at first, refused the copy of the other guy's arrest report and he has to request it under FOIA. (Freedom of Information Act) After a week of waiting and paying out $14. for the copy, it does show that he was telling the truth. Now...to get it fixed. The court clerks argue why he didn't protest this 2 years ago. SIMPLE. He never knew it. You know getting your own driving record is not that easy. And he took the judge's word for it. It would not be on his driving record. The judge did not account for human error.

After talking with the prosecutor for the Township, he was assured that all would be well and his driving record would be repaired. So we are waiting. I told him to wait for five business days and then go see the prosecutor again and ask for a copy of his driving record. I know they are available to law enforcement online....I used to do that stuff. I also know that we could never give them out. But this guy is the head honcho. Hopefully he's authorized to give it out, especially under the circumstances.

Tune in next week...same time...same place to find out if the driving record has been repaired or if he was just told "what he wanted to hear". Find out if more funds will be requested to fix an error that wasn't his fault. Will the precious JOB survive all this chaos and foolishness? Find out if I will get rid of my boarders before we pass the ONE YEAR mark. Lesson learned....don't have open intox in a vehicle or even BE AROUND anyone who does. Second lesson learned....don't offer to have someone come live with you for "just a little while, until they get on their feet". HA.

16 comments:

Anonymous said...

what a lousy break. I guess this is a lesson for people who think they have a clean driving record, when they get a job that might require they drive for the company, to check their own driving record to make sure there are no problems. Hope it works out for him (and you)!

Anonymous said...

yeah lousy break...but i guess they're your kids...what can you do eh?
our neighbor...a middle aged guy married to his second wife..new house..everything... all of a sudden..his kids from his FIRST marriage comes back..not only the divorced daughter and her kids..but the SON as well! 2nd wife gets mad and moves out..hasn't been seen since...go figure.... happens here too...not sure about the circumstances that brought all of this about..but now there are three families living in a house made for that couple...a bit crowded i think.

Betty said...

Personally, I think that misdemeanors of that type should be expunged from the records after a certain number of years, if the perp has a clean record since. A kind of statute of limitations on keeping records. Even corporations can purge their files after so many years.

Karen said...

I know this isn't supposed to be a funny post so let me just say up front that I do sympathise with your son who seems to be trying to get things right and I certainly FEEL for you, but by crikey you're funny Val.

That last paragraph sounded like one of the old Batman series wrap ups and I was cracking up. You just kill me.

fiwa said...

Oh Val - I'm keeping my fingers crossed that it will all work out for him for YOUR sake.

In our house the term for this kind of crap is "I just can't catch a break." I hope your son catches a break.

lovins,
fiwa

Brad said...

Hon - contact your state rep and get them involved. Hell - send me the name and 'uncle' Brad will call and bitch from here. You never know, it can work for us sometimes.

Jamie said...

I have been down this road more times than I can count Charlotte, with the driving record problems and the issues that just having semi-adult SONS brings about. And daughters, let's don't forget about them. Also, the problems with the jobs and the past transgressions that pop up. Also, I KNOW ALL ABOUT "just a few weeks Mom, until I get on my feet". Yep, been there, done that. Probably will somehow be there and do that again. UGH.

Hang in. They do progress and move on. I swear.

Mary said...

"Just a few weeks, Mom" did not make number one on the charts but what ya gonna do when the song is sung? Kids - even half-adult kids - can get in some real pickles and then wonder what happened.

I pray everything works out with the driving record and that the job is there when the problem is solved.

Cheryl said...

Yup, I'm with the others here. I hope it all works out and the record is fixed, the job is secured, money is saved, etc. and you get your home sweet home back. I'm sure it won't happen soon enough. I'll be waiting to hear more.

boneman said...

yes, the "friend" who wants to stay is one thing, but, I'm assumming that he is your son will get him way more leeway than a friend.

Hope the best for ya

Moohaa said...

Oy. I'm sorry. I let a gal live with me and ended up booting her just cuz I couldn't take her "oh, i'll move out next month" song. I understand. I hope it gets changed and hopefully he will keep the job.

Be back next week! :)

Joy Des Jardins said...

Hi Val...this is my first time visiting your blog so I'm not up on a lot of what's been going on at your place; but I see that you're a pretty generous and understanding mom....and certainly one with a lot of patience.

Sounds like your son got mired in a lot of 'red tape' crap....Gee, how unusual. I sure hope it all turns out for him and for you....good luck....

I really like your site...and your humor....I'll definitely be back....

Mama Llama said...

You are amazing. I don't think I would have had the patience...you are sure an example of the adage "Once a mother, always a mother."

Hoping all settles soon...I'm staying tuned.

Happy Thursday to you, Val! Be well.

Jenny said...

Perhaps this would be the time to give them YOUR two month notice?

With a clear driving record and ten months to get those feet straight.... I think you've earned a break.

P.S. I think you're a wonderful Mother.

SOUL said...

holy cow-- what a mess-- i do hope it all gets worked out and employer is understanding about it.

and yep-- who could turn away their kid in time of need-- especially with a kid of their own.. not charlotte--
well-- you could always keep the youngster-- and boot out the big boy?
:))

happy friday!

Anonymous said...

I don't understand the difficulty in seeing one's own driving record. At least we, in Kansas, just go to the licensing place, fill out a form and give them a few bucks, and are handed a copy of our driving record.
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