By the time she passed away, all her children with the exception of Kenny and (Cheryl Lynn had passed away earlier) Ilene had their own homes. Ilene had first gone off to live with her daughters, then with Kevin and later with two gay guys (go figure) in Buffalo, New York and Kenny had managed to get the house signed to him before his mother passed-away. He paid $1.00 for the house. Before she passed, she had a deck with an elevator installed at the front door.

My Aunt kept the house decor stuck in a period of the 1960's. The only things done were spot repairs of the plumbing and the roof, along with the bathroom floor. That's pretty much it. Otherwise, she wanted it to look the same as before Uncle Tiny had died. The house had only two bedrooms and the DeJeans' ended up having six kids. Mom and Dad slept in the living room while the girls slept in the larger bedroom and the boys in the spare. It was a very busy household.  So when Kenny got the home to himself, it was in desperate need of redecoration.

The city was fixing up homes near the airport and Kenny benefited from having the wiring updated from the grant issued by Cleveland governance. At the burial site, Mark approached me with the idea of renting from Kenny. I was facing a lot of issues living with Fred, including no heat and no hot water in a room with blocked-off windows from fall to spring. Then there was the issue of Fred's depression and the side affects he had when taking Paxil. The other was my SSDI payments dropped for at least two years because I went a few dollars over what they allowed me to earn on disability - times were really tough! I gather Kenny approached my younger brother Mark about the possibility of my renting from him. Mark felt Kenny and I could benefit from living together. Its obvious Kenny and Mark talked beforehand about the living arrangement. As we were curbside where my Aunt was being laid to rest, Mark made his pitch. I listened carefully and felt it was workable. I explained to Mark about losing my SSDI and having to live on my part-time WalMart income and told him I could afford about $150.00 per month including utilities. I'd buy my own food of course. Since I had some power tools and ceiling fans and other unused building materials, I'd gladly allow Kenny to use my tools for free, give him the three ceiling fans I had stored for my building project, and would also pay for the materials to fix up the bedroom I would use in exchange for the lower rate. I told Mark he would have to talk with Kenny to see if the terms were okay. After my Aunt's service Mark came back with Kenny who found the plans acceptable and we shook hands on it.

When I went over Kenny's for the first time, I wanted to survey the situation. While the house was solid, the interior needed a great deal of updating. First, we had to clear the bedroom I would be renting in order to get it ready. It needed a lot. There was no carpeting on the floor, the walls and ceiling were painted in a cheap badly aged pink paint that had been coated with nicotine stain with all the smoking Cheryl Anne and Patty had been doing over the years, and the door trim was damaged from where their dog had scratched on the door. It needed a lot of work. The cheap paint was chalking off the ceiling and walls in both bedrooms - it turned into a fine flying dust as it came down - not a healthy thing.

The spare bedroom was also in bad need of clean-up and repairs. The floor tile that had been chipped away near the door was the least of it. Never having seen the spare bedroom either before this point, it looked like wallpaper was removed with just the residue left over from the glue. When I inquired Kenny about this, he told me it had never been wallpapered - my aunt started sleeping in the bedroom after Kenny, Kevin, Sheila and Ilene left. My aunt was a very heavy smoker. The only two remaining were Patty and Cheryl Anne who slept in the larger bedroom - they also smoked. The brownish tint was actually nicotine stains.

I decided to do a complete makeover of the bedroom I would rent. After we removed the furniture, Kenny and I TSPed the walls, sanded them down, washed them down again. Next Kenny and I went up to Home Depot to buy the materials the room would need - replacement door trim, Kilz-It stain sealer (lots of it), primer, ceiling and wall paint. Ceiling trim, carpeting and padding. My theory is no matter how bad a room looks, its just four walls, a ceiling and a floor - its simply what you do with it that counts - the end product. I even bought custom-sized vertical blinds to replace the ill-fitting junk that had been there. This by the way, came out of my pocket - cash and charge card. I was keeping my end of the bargain.

When Kenny went through his mother's Hope Chest, he found pictures of his siblings along with some personal notes - he tore up the (except those of Ilene) photos and threw them out. I had protested to at least give them back to his brother and sisters - but he would have none of it...into the trash they went. He found a portrait of his great grandfather Daily, saying he was a really mean old bastard. He hung the picture behind the front door saying that hereafter, he was going to be more like his great-grandfather.

Just after I moved in, Kenny informed me I couldn't take a bath there because the pipe drain had corroded under the tub and the hot water tank died. So, I reached into my wallet again and came up with the cash to replace the hot water heater and we bought the drain fixture at the same time. Kenny installed both. Then Kenny informed me the pipe had rusted out under the sink, and I found myself paying for the replacement as well. There was no way I wanted to bathe in cold water from a sink or wipe out my dishes with a paper towel after every meal. 

I never said anything to Fred while I was fixing up my new bedroom/home office to avoid any potential headaches with Fred. I didn't want to move into Kenny's until the room was ready. It took a little bit better than a month to get the room up to shape. We even had to clean a lot of dog hairs and dust out of the air-exchange vent. Eventually, I had the best looking room of the house...fully at my own expense. While the electricians were working at Kenny's house, I had them put in extra power outlets where my desk would be, along with the ceiling fans with light kits - one for each bedroom and in the kitchen. Finally, I had a phone jack installed in my room and had phone service turned on for that one jack. I didn't want to share Kenny's phone simply because I'd be online a lot. While working on the fix-up, I quietly was moving what stuff I could over to Kenny's putting it in the spare bedroom until it was finished. I moved-in around May 2000. 

One of the things I wish we could have done to really finish the room was to replace all the old trim -even around the windows - but Kenny wasn't interested in going that far. Oh well, most of what I wanted to do with the room was accomplished. In the end, the ceilings were white, the walls were country white with faux wood ceiling trim, and the grey carpet gave it a much more brighter and elegant room - far removed from the shape I saw it in and an improvement on its original spartan look. I quietly had another hope - it would motivate Kenny to redo the other bedroom, and the rest of the house. I was willing to pay for the materials which would have benefited Kenny.

However, Kenny was not interested in spending money or working to improve his own house - he had a better investment in his own thinking...buying booze and paying for prostitutes.

On the day the room was ready, Doug, Kenny and Norman came over to get the heavy stuff I couldn't move out. I'd finally had given Fred a month's notice and informed him some friends were stopping over to help me move. Fred was very quiet, watching tv with his Berea girlfriend at his side. Later, he would leave, letting his girlfriend oversee our progress while he headed to be with his Cleveland girlfriend, Hilda. At the end, Kenny and I came back over and took down the Gap HF vertical ham antenna, and got it tied down as a light rain began to fall. I didn't give Fred my new address or phone number - I decided to make a clean break.

Kenny and I unloaded the antenna at his place, putting it into the garage, and then I took him shopping. Kenny had lost his driving privileges after one too many DUI's. As we arrived back at his place - a guy and a girl were sitting on the steps next to the outdoor elevator. It was Robin and her boyfriend/pimp. Kenny asked me to spot him a twenty so he could have intercourse with her - Kenny it turns out didn't do well in picking up a legitimate girlfriend - he had to pay for his lay. I didn't want to set a precedent by paying for his prostitutes - geez, I already sunk enough into his house and knew I'd be plunking down even more money to fix up the place - supplying him with girls-of-the-evening was not part of the bargain. So I told him "no" as we pulled into the drive - Kenny was not too happy at that moment.

Kenny one day walked in my room, giddy that his son, Kenny Jr. had been suspended from school because he was shaking down the lunch money of students at John Marshall High School. I asked WHY he would be proud of that? I told him Kenny could find himself incarcerated if not permanently suspended. "What kind of life is Kenny going to have if he can't get his high school diploma?", I asked Kenny. "Listen Kenny, if your son keeps walking down the wrong path he is going to find himself in jail, or he's going to mess around with the wrong person and get himself killed - Kenny, this is NOT funny!" "Encourage Kenny to get back to school and do some positive things with his energy, like playing football" If he won't go back to school, tell him to work on his GED, and seek an internship in construction", I implored! Kenny just wasn't interested in what I had to say and turned a deaf ear. I could only think about what of a hell of a life Kenny Jr. had ahead of him!     

When I moved in, Kenny was sleeping down in the basement (his choice) recreation room. And this was his preferred spot to be. Doug stopped over one day, and went into the basement to give me (I couldn't do steps anymore) a status report. According to Doug, it was really cruddy. A few days later, I asked the electricians how it looked - they gave me the same response. I thought it only fair to help Kenny fix up the other bedroom for himself, we had materials left over from my room, but he declined by scratching his fingers - he didn't have the money to do it. I offered to pay for the additional materials - he still declined. A few moments later, he was out the door to buy a twelve pack of beer. It was a sad commentary on Kenny when he preferred to spend money on beer rather than work on improving his house - even when I offered to buy the materials. I could see my Uncle Tiny rolling in his grave over this one!

Kenny was getting over three hundred dollars a month for his Army pension and was working fulltime at a small factory within walking distance. He had no mortgage, just utilities and real estate taxes. So Kenny had some money, along with the rent I was paying him. But Kenny was not above sneaking in my room and taking cash out of my wallet - or borrowing my car without permission. I discovered I needed to hide the car keys and my wallet to keep Kenny out of them. I'm just thankful I had direct deposit with my savings account and didn't have a personal checking account - that was one mistake I had thankfully not made while living with Kenny.

One of the things I had added was a key lock to my bedroom. I also gave a spare key to Kenny, just in case there was a problem in the room and he needed to get in. I would leave it unlocked when I was there. I didn't want to find things disappearing when his friends visited while I was at work however.

Meanwhile, I was working on my internet site, andrew727.com, trying to create an internet based business. Sometimes I would buy software or a scanner. This would goad Kenny because I wasn't giving him money for prostitutes and booze. I was beginning to get bugged with his attitude. While I knew Kenny had an alcohol problem, I didn't know the extent...but I was quickly learning firsthand. And I was also coming to the realization that eventually I needed to get my own place - no more Fred's and no more Kenny's.

When my house building project finally died, I put up my lots for sale through Smythe-Cramer Reality. My hope was to sell the land and make a down-payment on a small home in the Westpark or Old Brooklyn areas of Cleveland. Jan was my personal realtor marketing my properties while keeping an eye out for a bargain. By now, I knew to keep my mouth shut where it concerned Kenny - he already knew too much, and I was trying my best in keeping harmony at his place. His sister Ilene and I were never close, even as children, she hung with Dan. Most of my time, I hung around with his sister, Sheila. Ilene liked to make trouble for me whenever she saw the opportunity. When I moved in, she made it clear to Kenny she didn't like me. Well, that's okay, she has a right to her feelings. While Kenny wouldn't share any of his mother's remains with his siblings in general -he would with Ilene. Sad, but it was his right. Kenny would tell me the awful things Ilene said about me after she would leave, saying, "she really hates you!" Well, I was never too thrilled with her either. Later, I would find out even her own kids were not always happy with Ilene, or Kenny for that matter.

Many times Ilene stopped over, she would bring her grandchildren with her - no problem with that. However, Ilene's daughters made it clear that they didn't want her to take them over to Kenny's. Now I have no problems with Ilene's children and grandchildren and they generally have no problems with me. One time I was upgrading the modem in my computer when she and the grandkids came with her. Kenny made a feeble attempt to entertain them, and eventually they got bored with him. So while he conversed with Ilene, the kids came into my room. I showed them the computer I was working on, let them watch my projection Sony, explaining how it worked, and let them look at the pictures in some of the biographies I had. They were happy and eventually left. My feeling is that Ilene's kids had seen the dark side of Kenny, and didn't want to expose their children to him.

Ilene came over with a dog for Kenny. It was an adult Chow, beautiful black male. Ilene had found the dog along the interstate. She couldn't keep the dog so she thought Kenny could keep it. Upon getting the dog out of the car, she introduced us to "Pooh Bear", I felt sorry for the canine immediately. The first thing the dog did was split, hey I'd take off if human's had named me Pooh! Then again, I got the first name "Floyd", and I didn't run off! But then again, I was a newborn and too small to jump over the rails and make a run for it. Me and that dog had something in common - first names that sucked shit!

Ilene jumped in the car and coaxed it back in, bringing "Pooh" back. This time we were a lot better at not letting Pooh escape. Poor dog was dirty and cold. It had gotten into a fight, and lost some of its foreskin - an odd sight. But personally I like dogs, so I was glad to have someone keep me company beside the booze hound. Give Kenny credit, he bought a couple packages of dog food initially as well some heart worm medicine. At WalMart, I picked up a chain, collar, baby fence, tent stake and dog biscuits. Pooh was very skittish at first - it didn't know what to make of us.

The dog would get away from Kenny a lot, but never from me again - I was on to its tricks, So Kenny would tie it to the stake outside or take it for a walk to do its business. One good thing, the dog was already house broken. It took awhile, but the dog finally trusted us. My biggest moment with the dog was when the both of us were alone. I was busy working at the computer, Pooh walked in and quietly laid at my feet - friends at last!

Over time, Kenny became disinterested in having Pooh around, its food was cutting into his drinking money! Kenny found someone who planned to have Pooh stay outside in a dog house. I really did not like the idea of losing that dog - aside from me, it was the only other sane intelligent thing in that house! So I told Kenny, I'd pick up the tab on the dog food for his dog! Kenny had other bad habits with that dog! He would put the dog out in the afternoon and forget about it. I'd come home close to midnight and find the poor thing still attached to the stake in the back yard. Kenny was now treating the dog the same as he began with practically everyone else - like shit!  

One day, Aunt Noreen's brother, Gordon Daily stopped by to check the progress on the house. Kenny proudly showed him my room. I told Gordon I felt since my room was finished, we would tackle fixing up the other rooms. Gordon really wanted to leave the house exactly as it was when Aunt Noreen (his sister) died. I sat there stunned.

Gordon was an enabler when it came to Kenny, he'd take him out to get Kenny drunk - plastered! Gordon knew Kenny was an alcoholic, but Gordon would buy him drinks anyway. Then when Gordon had enough of Kenny, he'd drop him back home for me to deal with.

But Kenny wasn't always that charitable towards Gordon when he wasn't around. A few months after the funeral, Kenny would have a few and rag on everyone but Ilene - his siblings, his mother, his dad - and his Uncle Gordon. Kenny said Gordon had a life insurance policy on Aunt Noreen and HE WANTED HIS FAIR SHARE! I understand Gordon had paid for the aluminum siding on the house, and told Kenny that since he was paying the policy to begin with, he deserved to keep the money. I pointed out to Kenny that he got a $40,000 house for a dollar - what was he complaining about?

Having Robin over was always risky - one didn't know what she would try to walk away with - including the house! One day Kenny walked in saying Robin wanted a stake in the house - of course, she would put up no money, just wanted Kenny to sign a piece of paper. Kenny was considering it thinking he'd get some free sex from Robin. I told him, "Why on Earth would you want to give Robin a percentage of a house that's already paid off?" Kenny couldn't answer me. However, Robin did steal Uncle Tiny's ring. I had specifically suggested earlier that Kenny hide his dad's ring so it WOULDN'T disappear!

Ilene spent some time living with her brother Kevin and his wife Pat after she moved away from her boyfriend's house in Garfield Heights. Even after Kenny had his fight with Kevin and his wife Pat, Ilene was still spending a lot of time with Kenny. She was giving the itinerary of what went on in Kevin and Pat's household - including when they were usually away or at home.          

In February 2001, I got a call from my realtor saying she found a buyer for my Riveredge property in Berea. The interested party was a contractor who wanted to build a two family house on the lot. The good news is he was just under a thousand for my asking price. We decided to go ahead with the sale. Jan stopped over that afternoon for me to sign the acceptance papers and faxed them over to the contractor. Then the contractor sent a check over to Jan to process. Everything went well, he had signed the papers - it looked good. However, an unexpected monkey wrench was thrown into the works at the last moment. Jan called me in the early morning asking me if I'd seen the Plain Dealer yet? No, I don't get the PD. The City of Cleveland announced it was in the process of expanding Cleveland Hopkins Airport Runways, buying up the extra land it needed in Berea (including my lot), Brookpark and Olmsted Township. She informed me that the buyer wanted to back out of the sale. We talked about the situation. Even though the sale had gone through, the buyer would cancel the check. We both thought that legal fees would eat up any amount I would receive from the sale, so it would be better to let him out of the contract. We'd let Hopkins approach us.

As it turned out, Hopkins didn't expand the airport due to higher fuel prices forcing cutbacks in hubs and the demise of the Concord Supersonic Passenger Jet. The airport hoped to pick up international flights. The airport had already bought up some of the properties via emanate domain, knocking down residences at the edge of Brookpark...a lot of lives uprooted for nothing. It was a scandal. Before it was over, Brookpark Mayor John Coyne had cut a deal with Cleveland for a land trade, was kicked out of office, meanwhile, fearing impeachment or legal problems caused Cleveland Mayor Mike White not to run for another term in office - there were a bunch of misplaced families that wanted to lynch the two. Meanwhile, I was forced back to square one.

That April, Ken was going on a binge. He had picked up a woman at a bar getting free sex, yet still paying for services rendered by Robin. He had the hots for Robin, but didn't mind picking up some on the side from his bar chick. He amazed me by complaining about his bar chick. Meanwhile, he started handing his mothers' remains over to Robin, the bar chick and to some of the women at work he wanted to pick-up. Kenny was seriously out of control. One time I awoke to find his bar chick passed-out dead drunk in my bed next to me. I already had an experience sleeping with an alcoholic once before, I really didn't like to repeat it. Robin is an alleged crack addict. Her father owns a glass replacement business. However, Robin's dad sadly gave up on her a long time ago. He had tried to involve his daughter in the business, but she proved too unreliable. So her father cut her off as she moved into drugs. She had been selling use of her body for some time in order to purchase her drugs. Knowing about her from Kenny, I had a lot of concern for him, I told him if she ever planted drugs in his house and police busted the place, it would be boarded-up and he'd lose it. Every time we went past a boarded-up house, I told him that could be his house next. However, by Kenny's behavior, I began to think he was starting to mix alcohol with drugs obtained from Robin. He was becoming more incoherent with mood swings. I urged him to join AA, but he wasn't interested.

One morning Kenny walked-in and placed my car keys on my drawers as I was waking up, and said he borrowed my car. Kenny was plowed! He then told me not to worry, he replaced the gas he used by siphoning it out of his lawn (the gas had sat the winter inside the lawn mower) mower. One thing to keep in mind is that gas is usually mixed with oil and setting as long as it had, its contaminates could clog up the fuel line (at the very least) in my car. The other was driving under the suspension of license while drunk behind the wheel - MY WHEEL! I was pissed at his drunken stupidity!

Kenny seemed to improve, but as I would discover, only for a moment. He drilled a hole for me to run cable between my ham transceiver and the antenna outside. We initially put up my GAP Titan Vertical, but even after adding guy wire, a really bad windstorm made the antenna flex too much, and I saw where it could easily touch power lines in its sway. So I had Kenny take it down. I then went to the store to pick up a dipole antenna that would not have the same problem and went to work. My three day weekend was just starting, and I wanted to work with Kenny in putting it up. I came home close to midnight to a bizarre sight. All the lights were on in the house, the door was left open with Kenny nowhere to be seen and the dog on the porch was cowering and crying. On the way up and into the house were notes left for me..."Boggs, You Are So Gone", "I want more money and I want it NOW!", "I want $400 per month, or you move!" "You're Dead Boggs!" There was no negotiation before all this took place...it just happened. Walking into the living room, I saw where he had turned over furniture, and banged my $800 telescope to the floor, damaging some parts in the process. Walking into the bedroom, I found all my belongings on top of the bed with drawers ripped-out and clothes all over the place. I was glad I had not been there during his drunken rage...I wouldn't be writing my memoirs today. I looked outside noticing plastic bags all over the front lawn. When I investigated, I found he had flung out my telescope eye lenses, $600 worth onto the grass. My easy rider exercise bike had been tossed out on the lawn. I picked up my telescope eye pieces and went back inside. I knew instantly I would be moving. So I quietly began packing myself late into the night until I was exhausted.

Early next morning, I continued to pack until I heard Kenny come in. We met in the living room. I had only paid the rent a week earlier and decided I'd be out of there at the end of the month...even if it meant living in my car. Kenny approached me apologetically saying he didn't mean me harm, its just he thought he should be paid more. He was willing to let me continue paying the rent I had been if only I would stay. I surmised this was the "honeymoon" period of remorse, but I knew it would only be temporary. He asked me to stay, but I told him no, at the end of the month I would be gone, even if it meant living in my car. He countered by reducing the rent. I told him it was not a matter of lower rent, but I couldn't risk another flare-up on his part. Then I talked about some of the options he might consider after I left...

Me: "Why don't you offer to rent to Ilene - you both get along and she could use a place to live?"

Kenny: "I already asked her to move in with me, and she turned me down"

Me: "What about your son moving in with you?"

Kenny: "No, having him here would cramp my style"

Even though Ilene helped fuel the monster, she wasn't willing to live with her creation. As to Kenny Junior, I felt sorry for him that his dad would reject sharing the house with him.

I grabbed the dipole antenna I bought at the store, and left to return it. I told Kenny we'd talk more when I got back. While out, my mind was racing to consider my options. I would start looking for a place to live, possibly a rooming house. Or worse come to worse, store my stuff with friends and live in my car at a turnpike rest stop - hoping not to be robbed, or arrested for loitering.

When I got back, the power was shut off. Kenny had made up my mind for me, and I'd only have three days to pack and move. Where I'd put my stuff, I had no idea - everything would be on the fly. I thought I'd make at least two to three stops getting my stuff out and find somewhere I could clean up before I headed into work Friday afternoon. I called Kenny in his basement lair to bring up (gee, I paid for it) my dolly so I could get a morning start...he refused. I began to realize Kenny was hoping I'd be unable to move anything and he'd get everything but me and my car.

...Kenny came very close!

I knew it would be better for me to keep packing. As I had to be at work the next evening, Kenny had to be at work early the next morning. I'd have the house to myself from the time he left, until three that afternoon to safely make the trips in getting things out. But first I had to wait for stores to open. There was no way I could go into the basement to get my dolly, meaning I'd have to buy a new one. First place was WalMart near Great Northern. Sadly, they had no dollies to sell. Next was Home Depot. They did, for $80.00. It took awhile to find one with air in the tires. I was already exhausted when I got back, but there was no time to lose. I loaded up the dolly in luggage position and pushed it out to the car. I did this with every load. My plan was to get out the most expensive stuff I could not easily replace first - my computer cpu, my amateur radio transceiver, my telescope, my video camera, some clothes and whatever else I felt was important in a first trip, since there might not be a second. Next, was finding a safe place to drop it off. Doug's was my first stop. All the way, I worried that a cop would stop me for blocking my rear view - I'd really stuffed the car tightly. However, Doug was not home, and had I simply left the stuff, Doug's wife would most likely pitch a bitch. My next choice was Norman. He had an overhang between the garage and house, and I could leave the stuff there with an explanation note. Thankfully however, Norm and his wife were there and willing to store my belongings in their basement. Time was not on my side, and there simply could be no more trips back. First, Kenny would be home - he had been drinking heavily before he'd left for work that morning - a mixture of a shot of whiskey and a beer. Second, I had to be at work within the half hour. I smelled and looked like hell! But there was no time to clean up.

When I got to work at WalMart in Strongsville , I went into the office to explain to the manager why I looked so bad, and that I'd look better the next day. I was dead tired, but I made it though the shift. It was near midnight, and I had to decide where to sleep. I decided the safer bet would be to head out to Mark and Mary's house, explain my plight, and hope they would let me park my car in their meadow so I could get some well-needed sleep - I had slept little in those three days.

When Mark and Mary pulled into the driveway, they saw a very disheveled Andrew sleeping in his car covered by a comforter. Mark tapped on the glass waking me up - and I explained my situation. They invited me to sleep in their library, but I just didn't do stairs by that point, so they allowed me to sleep in my car. I pulled the car into the meadow, falling asleep once more.