Rob Paul
I learned some hard but good lessons about people, friendships, and helping others from Tracey Claybon that definitely benefited me later. My family and I attempted to help her many times and believed her stories about how stingy and mean everyone else had been to her. All her problems were other people's fault or "racism." Getting evicted multiple times, her cars getting repo'ed, skipping out on bills and rent, problems with her family, trashed apartments and storage units in multiple states, hoarding problems, IRS and student loan fraud allegations, getting fired left and right? Never her fault! She actually betrayed me a few times over the years and I should have wised up earlier.
Lots of sacrifices were made on my family's part to try to help Tracey, and we were about to make a huge one. Then I had an unplanned, one-time conversation with someone she'd been trashing for years, and learned that Tracey had been lying to me all along about that person. That individual had actually been helping Tracey out. I also learned how much she'd been lying about others, including about my family and me. She was on-the-take with everyone. I finally wised up to her, as did the other person apparently. No more.
I also learned and confirmed that Tracey, the so-called cat-lover, had a history of being cruel to them. I knew she'd been neglectful with hers, but it turned out she also had a history of violence. I suddenly remembered a mysterious permanent injury that had happened to someone's cat when she'd been around. I recalled Tracey's strange behavior around that time. It's bizarre that I'd never made the connection before then. She really did pull the wool over my eyes.
My family did not come from wealth - no inheritances, affirmative action, nepotism, fallback crash-pads at Grandma's, or special affiliations. Fewer advantages than Tracey Claybon. We've worked hard for what we have but we still remember where we came from. People ask for help sometimes. Because of "that final time with Tracey," we've pulled in the welcome mat drastically. I've known what to look out for when people look for the same assistance from me that she received. If you want some type of assistance - a place to stay, for example - I want to know why and how long you've been in this situation and will verify your story's legit. My family subsequently dodged some major parasites who went on to criminally harm those who weren't as cautious. Thank you Tracey Claybon, for those lessons.
