Just yesterday, we learned that Leisa had received permission to move away to the south island with her children and we couldn't be happier for her. In February, she met someone and right away, we were pretty sure that it would turn into something serious. The chemistry was undeniable. It's amazing how clearly one can assess a situation after some distance is gained and some time has passed. Surviving inside a troubled marriage requires the ability to ignore, bury and repress. Once away from it for any length of time, the blinders come off, the peripheral vision returns and that stomach churning anxiety disappears. In this circumstance, on the other side of divorce, there is hope.
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Shifty buggered off to Australia and after being harassed with phone calls from creditors and threatened in person by an unpaid, angry contractor, Leisa moved herself and the three kids out of the new home and into something more cost effective. Did I mention how dreadful it was?
Over the months that followed, we learned so much more about Shifty than any of us could ever have dreamed. And none of it was good. There was money owed ALL OVER. There were lies, half truths, shady deals and revelations that caused our jaws to hit the floor. One woman, who had to deal with Anne and Bruce in an official capacity pulled Anne aside one day and told her off the record, mother to mother, to tell Leisa to distance herself as far away as possible from Shifty financially through every legal means at her disposal. It was serious stuff.
This past year, predictably, Shifty has behaved badly. When it became clear that Leisa would not reconcile, he clicked over from suitor to thug. As of this writing, he still hasn't secured a job that pays on the up and up and most recently, he was charged with several counts of theft resulting from missing funds from the trusts that run the slot machines in the pubs.
A couple of weeks ago, I received this email from him:
Hey Beth,
I have been doing some work for a couple of brothers named *.
They own a large complex with hot pools, accommodation and bar in a little town northwest of Auckland.
The pools are fed by a spring and with the rising popularity of bottled water around the world they have set up a bottling plant and are now ready to start production.
The product is really very good and although early days the potential is very good also.
They have had some interest from Germany through a local contact and whilst we were having a beer the other night, your name suddenly popped into my head as perhaps an opportunity also.
A similar operation for carbonated water based in the Bay of Plenty has orders for 40 containers per week to the U.S.
This is very much the early stages as brochures, labeling and website are yet to be done, however if you think that this maybe of some interest to you and something you could run with, they are prepared to give you an option of an exclusive arrangement, perhaps worldwide exclusivity if the volumes were there.
The town sits in the electorate of John Key, New Zealands Prime Minister, who would certainly get behind the product if it were to create jobs, especially in these tough times.
You might like to check out the website of Waiwera Mineral Water as that product is very similar and bottled nearby. Dallas may also be able to give you a rundown.
I suggested to the boys that I just pass your contact details on, so you could deal with them directly, but they have asked me to look after it and actually want me to manage all their sales and marketing, which hopefully will help me get back on my feet again.
My contact number is still the same (+64________) if you want to text or call.
Hi to Dallas and the kids, hope all is well for you.
Cheers,
Well, after I got over the shock of receiving the email, I laughed myself senseless. It was vintage Shifty. As if guaranteeing the participation of New Zealand's Prime Minister wasn't kooky enough, he made out like he was just going to pass along my name but was tapped by the "boys" instead, to look after their new venture.
Because, you know, he has such a demonstrable track record of success.
I wrote several responses and sent none of them. Finally, I chose to just ignore him. Until yesterday, that is.
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That was back in September and at the time, I think Shifty had convinced himself that he would be able to skate away from his troubles like he had done so many other times in the past. In the last twelve or so years, he has been involved with no less than five failed ventures. In each instance, investors were duped, people hurt and bridges burnt. I'm sure he felt that his latest issues were no different. At one point, after the shit hit the fan and my in laws watched their entire life's work disappear, he approached them with a plan to fix everything by buying yet another pub. All they needed to do was to pony up twenty five or fifty thousand or so (which according to Shifty, wouldn't be a problem because apparently, my in laws most definitely had secret money squirreled away). Then, he would run the pub (!!!), have my father in law do maintenance and odd jobs and Leisa and my mother in law would tend bar or something else equally foolish. Shifty told my father in law that he could, "even bring his boat if he wanted". The conversation redefined delusional.
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