Another year older....

....doesn't mean another year brighter.

No, not me! My birthday is another week or so off.... No, it's Greg. He turned 30 last month.

I still hear from him somewhat regularly. It was daily, until the accident. I got pissed that day because he texted "What's up?" and I told him. His response? "That sucks. Can you send me $50?"

Not "Are you okay?" Not "What happened?" No. "Can you send me $50?"

Just a few short months ago, he was moving up in the world. A good job as a manager at a major chain restaurant in Houston. They were even paying for him to have a rental until he got a paycheck to buy his own car. And he walked out. Why? Because they didn't like a suggestion he made about staffing.

You've got a $975 a month apartment, plus utilities, no vehicle, and you walk out of the job that supports it. Brilliant. He almost got another good job, but he thought the training process was too long. So, he walked out of the training. Brilliant again.

I'm not sending him $50. And his lack of concern for me was quite telling.

He called about a month later. He'd bought a scratch-off ticket and won $500. That went to his $650 utility bill. But he was happy something good had happened and called me to tell me about it. That was nice.

A couple of weeks ago, he apologized for acting unconcerned about what I'm going through right now. He said he's just had so many of his own worries that he's been kind of a jerk. Okay, I can accept that. Until....

He finally couldn't make rent and got tossed from his apartment. Had to find a home for his dog and sell his other belongings of significance. He's had some friends come through with a couch to sleep on for a couple of weeks, but that will eventually run out. So, I get this text.

"Hey, would you send me $100 so I can stay in a hotel instead of on a couch?"

WTF?!?!

You've got nothing. Someone is offering a free couch to stay on. But you'd rather be in a hotel. (And wouldn't we all, might I add?)

And you want ME to finance it? Not hardly.

Now, please know that I wouldn't send him money anyhow. Enabling is an issue with Greg. You help him once, and he becomes dependent on it. When I was visiting in Lubbock once, I gave him a generous tip, but the next time I sat in his section, he complained that my tip was smaller. This situation just seems particularly numb-skulled.

Also, I added it up. He didn't make rent, but he had some of the money. He sold his stuff. AND he is working quite a lot. What happened to that money? Not that it's my business. But I have a feeling he spent too much on pot....and now he wants to live in a hotel.

I've spent a lot of time and energy worrying over Greg and his life. Way too much time, especially if his apparent concern for me goes as far as a dollar sign. So, dear Greg, you're now 30 years old. Time to set some grown-up priorities, bud.