Flying Home From Australia To California: Next I Face The Judge!

I arrived back to a life of hell! It was all starting at once...Issue #102

ifOnlyi…had learned not to trust people, even if they are Attorneys and City Councilmen to whom you paid a lot of money. I would have questioned everything again and never found myself in this situation. In life, I was always too trusting, yet my Mom seemed to have a hard time trusting me.

I left Melbourne Airport just hours before my visa was due to expire. What I didn’t know was that the airport has what’s called a “Departure tax.” I had zero money on me, and as you may have read, my American Express card was taken from me and cut up right in front of me as well, in the first six days I was in Australia. Thanks Mom! Even though it was my personal card, she wanted to ensure I would suffer at the highest levels possible. She called AMEX and had it cancelled.

I told the Immigration people I was broke and was going back home. For three grueling hours, I underwent a comprehensive background check. There wasn’t one orifice they didn't check or go through for the lack of 20 Australian dollars.

I convinced them that my Dad travels here often and will pay the fee. I was intentionally humiliated by having two police officers walk hand in hand side by side to the Airplane door, as they told as many people as possible that I did not have the money to pay for the departure.

Created for the Author with Provenance and Copyright.

Now I had the flight to contend with, knowing I didn’t have the taxi fare money either when I landed in Los Angeles.

Once through customs, I was thinking about how I could pay for this journey; it would cost around $45 US dollars to get me home. I thought I would stop off at friends' places to see if they were home, and after three stops, the Taxi driver asked, “Why all these stops?” Oh, I’m just letting people know I’m back home and to come and visit me today.

Image Created for the Author with Provenance and Copyright.

I arrived at the front gate of our home, and once the cab driver stopped, I got out. As I walked to the gate speaker to push and have someone open it and let me in (no joke), my sister happened to be driving out and opened the gate. She stopped, and I went over and said hello. After six months, I thought she would be elated to see me, and I asked to borrow some money for the taxi, but she said she had no money. Bullsh@t, she’d always be given money, but she wanted me to suffer.

Just then, the taxi driver, weighing in well over 350 pounds, jumped out of his seat and yelled, 'You have no money! ' There I was, shaking, and my sister was smiling. I said, “I will go get it right now.

That second, my Mom’s car pulled into the driveway, and I was told by my little sister, who was sitting as a passenger in the front. Mom asked, “Who’s that?”

Image created for the Author with Provenance and Copyright

“Mom, It’s Ollie”! My little sister shared with me that she didn’t recognize me at all, as my hair had turned from brown to half-blond from living in the saltwater and sun almost daily, and I was very tan.

She got out and hugged me as I whispered Mom, I need cash to pay the cabbie, he is about to crush me for having no money.‘ God is great! She hands me the money, and I give it to the cabbie. “You're very fortunate,” the cabbie says.

The look on my Sister's face when I got the money was priceless; she was stunned. My Mom and little sister were both full of excitement, and the cab driver's face was one of bewilderment as he stood there, ready to cause me some damage

Created for the Author.

What I did not know and would learn was that my little sister, age 13, was home for the afternoon from the psychiatric hospital. I was freaking out; “What happened? Why was she in the hospital?” I had to ask Mom? Said she tried to take her own life. So this was the place to protect her from herself. OMG. I love her so much, and I heard of this just as I arrived home for the first time in six months. What’s next? I wondered.

Next, I had a chance to ask my Mom where my car was. She said she sold it as I had debts that needed to be paid, and because I had the catalytic converter removed, she could only get a very low price. It was almost new, with around 10,000 miles.

Mom, “I had everything stored up in the garage shelves, and they would have installed it for a few hundred dollars. You almost gave the car away.”

You had a magazine subscription to pay for, an American Express card, and your telephone, too. “You had my American Express card canceled,” I replied. “Yes, because I knew you weren’t going to be able to pay your bill.” But I was!

I was so pissed off. Mom, “you never paid me one dime of the $40,000 in commissions you owed me.. I was expecting to live on that while in Australia and pay any bills I had in California.” Mom spoke sternly, “Ollie, you told the owner of Fred's retail clothes store that he would be given all the products he ordered.” “Yes, I did. he was our first buyer of the new product,” I replied. He also called me and said he gave you thousands of dollars’ worth of clothing as a bribe to ensure he got his merchandise. This was NOT TRUE! I was in shock.

The product was so hot and successful that he would say anything to get it into his store. ANYTHING!

Bullshit, Mom, I uttered in disgust, “that never happened! I did not need to ask for anything from him, and why would I suddenly start asking customers to bribe me? It’s all a load of crap! That man ruined my life while I was in Australia, and you believed it all. His business had perfect credit, and he was in the system to receive his products on time. “

I did not get off to a good start with Mom when I arrived. I mean, two hours after arriving, I was sitting in the jacuzzi with her, which made my blood boil even more.

What a shame, Mom and I were at Loggerheads, and I still had to face the Judge.

Please subscribe, share, and comment if this story touches your heart.

Your comment will mean a lot.

ifOnlyi…short stories follow my true-life journey. If you've just found me, you can check out my publication and choose a story of interest or start from # 1.