Wild Kingdom....

I've come across many animals while out serving... and these aren't even the one's that I've had to serve. From barely missing a deer while driving in a wooded residential area at dusk, to waiting on a gaggle of Geese to slowly walk across the street in the early AM. They always make me think of the Allstate commercial where all of the animals start screaming after the squirrel almost gets hit, then I hear Mutual of Omaha's Wild Kingdom song in my head....

Early one morning I was serving someone in an apartment complex near a local lake. I finally located the apartment which was on the second floor, so I began to head up the steps. It was eerily quiet... and before I knocked on the door, I glanced to my right...back down the stairwell, to see a large raccoon just standing there on his two hind legs looking up at me. It appeared as if he were standing there with his arms crossed looking at me as if to say... "Where ya gonna go now, huh?" one way up... and only one way down. All I can think is... this SOB is gonna come charging at me, and this big strong guy is gonna scream like a little girl..... "RABIES!" waking the person that I needed to serve along with ALL of their neighbors. Finally, after about 10 minutes of curiosity the masked bandit finally moved along. No one was even home where I needed to serve. Oh well.

Another late evening... on a very dark street, the house that I pull up to has zero lights on outside with waist-high hedges on both sides of the sidewalk. I get out of the car, walk around the front of the car towards the house and I see an opossum walking on the left side of the hedge but it begins to run into the hedge. As I begin to walk up this dark sidewalk, I'm thinking that it's just a straight, smooth sidewalk... but to my surprise it has steps. I begin walking.. missing the first step, but kicking the second step and falling face forward. I caught myself with one hand since the other had the legal documents, but came face to face with the largest, ugliest rat (opossum) that I've ever seen. Don't let 'em fool ya... oh no.... they don't all play "possum." I obviously scared it, cause it scurried away... and I think I jumped up just as quickly to get away from it myself. I did get that serve... after all of that, I better have.

And finally, last but not least would you believe I came face to face with an actual beaver. Well, ok... not face to face... but close enough...and well, not an actual beav...well you'll see. Was on my second attempt to a guy who was being served with divorce papers. He supposedly just moved in to this apartment a week or two earlier, and I was unable to reach him after 6pm on a weekday, so I made my next attempt at 6am on a Saturday morning. Got up really early for a long drive... I wanted to be there when the sun came up and before he had a chance to go anywhere. I get to the address, which is a set of nice apartments near another local lake... I park and I wait as I enjoy a little breakfast in the car. The sun begins to rise and I walk up the stairs to the servee's apartment... knock on the door... knock on the door again... and to my surprise a young lady answers the door with only a shirt on.. scratching her head from just waking up, making the shirt play peek-a-boo with, well you know. I had to explain to a half naked young lady that had just woken up, that I needed her boyfriend to come to the door for legal documents. She slowly wandered back into the apartment, waking my servee to come to the door and be served. Done.

Wild Kingdom I say...... Wild Kingdom.

Man Up.....

As a Process Server you tend to see a lot of things that can totally break your heart. Yes, beneath this hardened exterior is a soft and caring heart, and serving in some of the areas that I have had to serve makes you very thankful for everything you have and thankful for the way that you were raised yourself. At times I feel almost like a Social Worker. I get a lot of work from the family courts, and a bulk of that would be for Child Support. I know I have to be strong and a professional while out in the field, but seeing the living conditions of some of these people tears me up. Whether it's kids running amuck, appearing unbathed for days in front of a house with no adults around, asking to take a ride in my car... to a woman that is a girlfriend of someone you are trying to serve reeking of pot, begging you for money because she needs food for her baby. Most of the time I have to look past all of the poor conditions and just do my job... but I can't say that it doesn't bother me.

I really get tired of having to chase down adults that should know right from wrong, and are constantly avoiding me because they think that if they don't get served, they don't have to deal with it. But at the same time I make it my mission to serve them when they don't pay their child support, have left their spouse or girlfriend alone with a child (or four) because they are so selfish and immature to handle the responsibilities that come with unzipping their pants and having sex, and/or have another girl on the side that they will just do the same thing to. I know I should keep my opinions to myself while out in the field, but there have been a few times where I have told the servee..."Man Up! If I have to pay child support for the beautiful child that I helped bring into this world, then so should you."

Yes, there are instances like my own, where I had a child in marriage but unfortunately the marriage did not work out because my wife at the time had extracurricular activities and left me. So, yes there are times that the servee is not entirely at fault... there are always two sides to every story, but once again if you play the game and have a child (or children) and you are not raising that child... it is YOUR responsibility to pay child support for them. It's not the child's fault, so not paying your child support isn't getting back at your ex-spouse, but hurting the child. Man Up.... hell, Woman Up as well.... because I'm starting to see a lot more papers on women that have had children, left the children with the father and don't do anything for the child or children that they have given birth to.

The system isn't perfect.... I actually have a friend that has two children that live with him, and for the past two years he has been paying child support, despite being laid off, to the mother of the two children who lives a block or two away. He is raising them, cares for them, does the best he can to provide for his children... and yet she is receiving child support which she lives off of not even to support the kids, but herself and her habits. Is this fair... Hell No. Luckily he's doing his best now to get this reversed... he's a good soul and shouldn't be taken advantage of.

Ok... off my soapbox for the day... off to do the good job.


Late.