|
Had a long conversation with a friend I haven't spoken to for a long time. He is gradually getting his life back together after being screwed over well and truly. He was fired, he thinks unjustly, and the friend of a friend of his offered to help. However he did not help. He systematically robbed my friend. Not only took all his money and lost him his house, he also tricked his pension fund into allowing him to withdraw the whole amount as a lump sum, then ran off with it. And when my friend lost his home, he convinced him to put all his valuables and sentimental stuff in storage, then systematically stole the lot! The bastard also tricked my friend into selling stuff he had stolen from other's through my friend's eBay account. So that when the police discovered this, it was my friend they tried to arrest (fortunately, by then he had discovered the rest himself, and reported it to another force, so managed to clear his own name).
For a while my friend ended up broke and homeless, sleeping in a bus shelter. Last time I spoke to him was about a year ago. He at last had a roof over his head (state housing) but was still borderline suicidal and made it quite clear that he did not want to talk to anyone, he just wanted to be left alone. I gave in to his wishes, because I was afraid of pushing him over the edge. So it was a relief when he 'phoned me this morning and talked for about two hours. He appears to be cheerful enough, had even started trying to get work again. Hopefully he will be up to going out for a drink or something in the new year.
|