5/7/00 Tension

Ted is my father-in-law, you gotta meet him to really get what that means. Ted is currently employed as a long haul truck driver, a job he is well suited for since it seldom brings him into contact with humanity. Gruff, demanding and foul-mouthed; Ted has an answer for everything, making negotiation impossible.

Ted is like a Greyhound on amphetamines. Running in place, but not really getting anywhere. He spent the majority of his day on Friday "reposessing" a car he sold to a friend that he never recieved payment for. Saturday, he slept in, and argued with my mother-in-law. Today, one day before he hits the open road for another month, he spent the day throwing everypiece of debris he could get his hands on into the 20 yard dumpster the contractor parked in front of my house for construction purposes. Decaying lumber, rusted chicken-wire, an old vacuum cleaner as well as other bits of floatsam and jetsam started filling the assigned seating designated for the carpet, linoleum, windows and drywall. I asked Ted not to do it, but in his non-negotiable style, he explained that the contactor knows that people will throw stuff into an un -guarded dumpster, and it's built into the builders margin of expense and profit.

For the past few hours, it's been like the border between North and South Korea around here. Ted's constant domineering swagger and Patty's constant badgering, is the equivelant if sending jets into the no-fly-zone. A few times the cold war has gotten a little too warm for me, so I have made myself scarce...mowing the lawn, or going to the store for milk.

UPDATE:
You might be wondering about the outcome of Monica's confrontational appointment with her doctor. Well, the the results were mixed... a psychologist was present, and Monica was made to agree to go to a psychologist, as well as a pain management clinic. Monica was also put onto a contracted budget of painpills to be filled weekly rather than monthly. Unfortunately, she has gone from a prescribed amount of 90 pills per month to 120 pills per month. (Although she has hounded her way into getting 180-200 pills per month for the past four months.)
I'm hoping for the best, and I'm glad that the problem is out in the open, and the goal is clear to all involved.