(This one will stay on top all day.  Look below for new posts – today only.)
(ED. NOTE:  The following originally appeared in this space a couple of years ago.  I’m reprinting it now, with appropriate tweaks.
And Skip – my son, you may not understand this now, but the reason I’m writing this has absolutely nothing to do with you, and everything to do with why you not only don’t get to ever spend any time with me, but also why you haven’t received a birthday or Christmas present since last year, thanks to your mother and your grandparents. (More on that later.)
And thanks to what they’re probably telling you about me, you might not even believe any of this – but it’s true, and I have the documentation to prove it.
I do love you, son.  I realize your mother and grandparents will try mightily to persuade you that I don’t – but I do, very much.  Someday – hopefully – I’ll get to tell you to your face.)
As most of you have probably figured out by now, this is my boy – or, as Denizen David Hartung has called him, “Spatula II”.
Hmmmm.  “Prince Spatula II”.  Kinda has a ring to it. (grin)
(Side note:  Certain excuses-for-humans in East Texas still  don’t know how I got ahold of this picture.  Bet it’d be a shock to them to know that some of their “friends” aren’t quite  as reliable as they’d thought… (snicker))
Anyway, today’s his 4th birthday.  It’s the latest in a series of birthdays I’ll never get to see.
It occurs to me that I need to again tell you guys what eventually happened with his *spit* mother *spit* not allowing me to see him.
That was resolved, and not necessarily for my benefit, either – but at the very least, neither will she  benefit.  In fact, if you get down to brass tacks about the whole thing, the real loser here is Skip himself.  Anyway, here’s the story:
The divorce was granted October 17th, 2003.  A visitation schedule had already been negotiated and agreed to – in fact, I’ve blogged on that already.
Picking the story up from there:  I started making the specified trips to Greenville, Texas, for the purposes of collecting Skip for his agreed-to visitation with me.  Collected evidence that I was there and everything.
Naturally, She Who Can’t Be Tasked To Obey Court Orders™ refused to show.
So I took my evidence and filed a criminal complaint against her.  What is not commonly known is that it’s a criminal offense to interfere with child custody rights in Texas.  It’s what they call a “state jail felony”, lodged right in there between a Class A misdemeanor and a 3rd-degree felony.
And, had the District Attorney of Hopkins County, TX, had the balls to pursue the complaint, things could have gotten very  bad for our favorite fat-assed bitch.  You tell me  what school district would’ve wanted to consciously hire a convicted felon?
But – as I had partially expected and fully feared – the good ol’ boy network in Sulphur Springs kicked in.  The district attorney not only sat on his hands regarding the case, but I strongly suspect he tipped off Steffi’s excuse-for-an-attorney about it.
Said excuse-for-an-attorney began to harass me concerning an obscure concept called a “transistion scheme”.  Theoretically, because of the so-called “estrangement” between me and my son, they wanted to get him “used” to having me around again gradually, in stages.
Of course, they failed to point out that: a) Her Doublewide Assness caused  any “estrangement”, and b) during the two times in 2003 this trollop was gracious enough to let me see him, he sure as Hell™ didn’t look  “estranged” from me.
But something else  they failed to do…is incorporate the words “transition scheme” in the final divorce decree.  As a result, what was  in there were dates specific and time periods specific when I was entitled to have my boy.
Dates and times specific which they ignored without fear of penalty whatsoever, as they had the district attorney in their back pocket.
Eventually, however, the evidence mounted to the point where they had to do something, else the DA would have no choice but to prosecute, lest someone in the media take note and launch an investigation (and yes, I was beginning to contact media types for just this purpose).
I was served in February with papers requesting that the judge in the original case modify the visitation schedule to include the words “transition scheme” and start with the gradual shit again.  In other words, Denizens – she wanted a do-over.
I hired an attorney in Sulphur Springs (who, thank Gawd™, was more competent than the loon I’d had previously), paid him another  year’s bonus, and got him to work.  We filed a counterclaim accusing her of contempt of court by failing to abide by the letter of the original agreement.
They countered with the only thing they could’ve – and the thing I was hoping they wouldn’t:  A contempt charge of their own for failure to pay support.
See, this loon I’d hired previously had assured me that the court would set up a garnishment schedule for the child support.  Naturally – maybe this is the good ol’ boy system, or just sheer incompetence on their part – the court never set it up.
As a result, Steffi the Doublewide Bitch Supreme never got a penny from me.  So yes – they had a case.
This put me in the position of very likely being found in contempt of court, put on probation, forced to check in with a probation officer every month (and pay a $40 fee for the “privilege”)…and, were I to miss checking in or paying the fee by so much as one day, a warrant could be issued for my arrest.
By this time, I’m making plans to marry the Lady Spatula and possibly move to Miami.  Therefore, I can’t have this hanging over my head.  And I’ll be damned  if I was going to let Her Bitchiness control me in this fashion.
With that in mind, my attorney recommended – and I was forced to agree – to deploy what I call the “nuclear option” (a slightly more legitimate version of the “nuclear option” – not this bullshit the Donks are crying about up in Washington).  It’s so-called because it’s the option no one wants to see deployed, since it blows up everything.
The option:  Complete termination of all parental rights to Skip.  Meaning, I would no longer have any say in his upbringing, nor rights to see him any more…nor would I owe any child support, back or future.
My attorney explained it this way:  All that it amounts to is just a sheet of paper.  And whether I had rights to my son or not, Her Doublewideness would have him most of the time, and she & her family would constantly be poisoning his mind against me.  This way, the bitch would lose her control over my life – and, after a few years, if he wanted to seek me out, she would be powerless to stop him, and I could then tell him my  side of the story.
I deliberated for about half a nanosecond.
“Do it”, I said.
Termination – which the aforementioned loon in Forney, TX said I couldn’t possibly  get – was granted March 30th.
So that’s it, guys.  The bitch finally accomplished her objective – she forcibly extracted me from his life.
And it’s gotten to the point where I can’t even send him presents or cards any longer.  They have become so fucking small-minded that Her Doublewideness’ fat-assed son-of-a-bitch daddy is even refusing to accept the presents I send to him.
This week, he even had the gall to say to the UPS guy that he didn’t even know  a Stephen Crager, Jr.  And he sent back this:
No doubt the lot of ’em will lie to my son like they usually do and say that I don’t even care about him enough to send him so much as a card.  It’s what I’ve come to expect from a bunch of country hick-asses who were willing to lie to a judge and violate other Texas laws to get such a simple thing as a divorce.
Enjoy him now, O Fat-Assed One.  You’ll have a helluva  lot to answer for down the road – and not just with him when he grows up, either.
Chew on that  for a while, bitch.
Anyway, happy birthday, Skip.  I’m sorry you didn’t get a chance to enjoy the presents I’ve tried to send you.  Someday – when they can’t dictate to you where you can go and whom you can meet – I’ll get to at least give you some of them.
Always remember son – I love you.  And I will, forever.
Notice: compact(): Undefined variable: limits in /home/sysop284/domains/spatulacitybbs.net/public_html/wp-includes/class-wp-comment-query.php on line 853
Notice: compact(): Undefined variable: groupby in /home/sysop284/domains/spatulacitybbs.net/public_html/wp-includes/class-wp-comment-query.php on line 853
Notice: compact(): Undefined variable: limits in /home/sysop284/domains/spatulacitybbs.net/public_html/wp-includes/class-wp-comment-query.php on line 853
Notice: compact(): Undefined variable: groupby in /home/sysop284/domains/spatulacitybbs.net/public_html/wp-includes/class-wp-comment-query.php on line 853
Notice: Theme without comments.php is deprecated since version 3.0.0 with no alternative available. Please include a comments.php template in your theme. in /home/sysop284/domains/spatulacitybbs.net/public_html/wp-includes/functions.php on line 4027
5 responses to “Happy Birthday, Stephen Geoffrey “Skip” Crager, Jr.”
Leave a Reply
You must be logged in to post a comment.
I still think its sad your ex-wife is that much of a bitch.
It took 21 years after my first wife and I split up for my oldest daughter to get back to me. Then at her wedding (1995) my ex-sister in law came up to me and, on behalf of the family, apologized to me. Lord only knows what that wicked evil bitch told them. She then tore her sister a new one during the entire reception. My ex left the room in tears. There were three men at that wedding who she called a husband at one time or another and there is now a fourth. She is still a good looking woman and men like her, sorta like a Black Widow spider.
Hang in there Spats!!! Don’t ever give up. Give God a chance to work things out. It eventually does, but only in His time. My oldest daughter has given me three grandchildren so far and lives only eight minutes away. Her husband is a peach of a guy.
As I have said before, in situations like this the treuth *always* comes out, eventually. Spats, you keep doing the right thing and one day, your son will realize just how neat his Dad is.
Sorry to know the story. It is one of the many reasons I don’t do family law any longer. Texas actually links the concept of payment of child support to the execution of parenting plans? That’s rough, and it doen’t do the child any favors. As for the prosecutor not doing his job, that is what a writ of mandamus is for, assuming you have been in compliance with the law. Seriously, that just is not a cool story. I hope your son does come to see you later, and that he accepts what you have to say about it.
I am sorry that this happened to your son. Your last comment made me think. They may have changed his name. I would check the local courthouse and newspapers. I believe that they would have to advertise a name change. apparently your ex-wife thought enough of you to marry you, who is she trying to kid. Her actions scream revenge. She’s not fit to raise a dog, much less a child.
Probaly your cousin,
Cindy Crager-Lam