What a Ride

By Hunter Tomson

Tom is unable to write a book. He passed away in 2015. Hence I am writing for him. Tom and I came from a rough dramatic background, and we each understood our battles of growing up being abandoned by one parent. Tom enjoyed writing complaints about our social restraints and injustice. Tom's heart was very big in fighting for change, mine too. We enjoyed our love and peace together. This book describes our lives being destroyed by petty right-wing ideology and the quisling of others. It is your opinion that you manifest in this writing. Keep in mind the narcissist will try to make you hate all of mankind and yourself.

In this book are letters, art, short stories, and journaling of what took place in our lives. Some information is so far-fetched that it is hard to believe it is true. The book was written to explain how someone can destroy lives just to cover up their reputation, as well as the ease of persuasion within a society. Injustice.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Page Publishing, Inc.
• Release date: Aug 10, 2023
• ISBN: 9798886548068

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What a Ride

Hunter Tomson

Copyright © 2023 Hunter Tomson

All rights reserved

First Edition

PAGE PUBLISHING

Conneaut Lake, PA

First originally published by Page Publishing 2023

ISBN 979-8-88654-805-1 (pbk)

ISBN 979-8-88654-806-8 (digital)

Printed in the United States of America

Table of Contents

Experienced Death

Mental Health

Description of Behavior

Angel of Death

Tom And I

Employment and Empathy

The Sympathetic Villain

Trial to Recovery

Badassery

Growing Up

Father’s Attitude: Brother’s Reflection

Escape

Fine Art

Mother’s Death

Religion

1954–2015

I Miss the Color in Your Words

After 2022

Self-Portrait

Where I Was Sexually Assaulted

Letter to a Friend

Hospitals

When the heart weeps what she has lost, the spirit sores for what must be found in hope-time she does not wither into dust.

—LAZK

Living in a small town, I had the chance to receive a job at an art gallery. I did have the capabilities of finishing my master’s degree in museum studies/art history, at NAU. My setback was my first employer, this individual, denied sexually assaulting me. My first employer had an older sister, a moderator for the Plein Air Society, a middle sister who owned an art gallery which I offer to create a website for, which never happened. My first employer said I knew nothing about art. They allowed a sexual assault to be concealed under the rug which left me with dislocated ribs, shoulder, mental fear, and anxiety.

Time and time again, I tried to prove my worth and friendship. Therefore, I was not going to become a puppet to these individuals. Another internal source of change resides in people’s needs and goals. According to Maslow’s (1943) pyramid of needs, an individual’s motivation is to fulfill the needs at a particular level once lower-level needs are satisfied.¹ With propositioning myself developing from low self-esteem, I continued working on getting stronger, to avoid an encounter with the man who sexually assaulted me, the reason I never stayed home. I was always out doing something, even working long hours at my first employer’s establishment without pay. You’re reading that right, no pay.

I could move; we had plans, yes we. I met a man, and we revered each other. A recession had limited work till recovery. I took a tour-guide position to pay rent and piling bills. In November, I got employed. I sat unpaid all the time near my vehicle waiting for tours. I only had two tours which I learned on asphalt. There was no training on off-road trails because the government closed trails due to weather in winter.

This is the company I worked for. Drivers often quit, each having defiant personalities, alcoholism, drug abuse, and physical health problems or are drifters and poverty-stricken. Our supervisor lives in his van or an RV, and all of us had to sustain the outdoor climate. All drivers had to pay for uniforms. Drivers drove Jeeps and Hummers, one breaking down every week leaving a shortage of vehicles and tours. I once drove a Jeep on a wine tour, and the steering wheel shimmered, causing the front-end wheels to shake. My passenger was frightened and panicked while waiting for help.

If a driver living more than six miles going home was possible but if called missed the opportunity by a few minutes, another driver would take the tour. Mood swings from the reservations department could lose a potential tour. I’ve washed tour vehicles with no pay. I’ve worked fifteen hours a day, only to be paid for six hours on tours during busy seasons. There was constant harassment. Officers once showed up at my home saying our newspaper had drugs wrapped inside; this was because one driver was on parole, taking a second job as a newspaper distributor. Supervisors explained new routes while following the new rules; they cited a warning from a federal officer.

On I-17, my partner and I came back from seeing doctors having cruise control on, and only thirty minutes later, we were pulled over by DPS saying we were too fast. Other drivers from other tour companies did verbally abuse me. I was uncertain if other drivers experienced the same. These were samples of conditions working for my off-road employer. Three off-road companies knew a structural, fair, more functional operating workplace. I applied with other off-road companies; I did get interviews from galleries, but no bites.

One day I was getting ready for work and saw a bubble in the corner of my left eye. I was prescribed prednisolone ophthalmic acetate drops prescribed by Dr. Paydar, steroid drops found at any pharmacy or Chewy.com which I used for a few months, and I became blind. I would see two of everything. Deputy Valance—Deputy Valentine Mayo Clinic said this was wrong. I took my employer to court, instead of my physician, I won. My partner and I detailed what was going on with our lawyers. My tips earnings were reported in the lawsuit/government offices. This was my employer’s excuse for the unpaid hours. He said, If you do not get terrific tips, work harder. Honorable Paul Rosenblatt was aware of my employer’s conduct as well as the State of Arizona.

Research has shown that in a crisis, a small but courageous minority of people do step up and do the right thing even when there are strong pressures to avoid assuming responsibility. Whistleblowers are another notable example: they have the mettle to step up and do the right thing at an enormous potential cost to themselves (Cafe own, 2017) but can also see clarity as a second external source transformation is the series of trials that all heroes must undergo during their journey. Suffering can be an internal cause for transformation when it results from self-destructive actions, but the suffering caused by outside forces can serve as an external source of transformation. This was my goal even after the assault. Anger manifested contributing to my decision and the depletion of my health, but I was determined not to walk on as well as others.

I was tired of seeing constant demoralizing work conduct, the values of human existence being propelled downward for employers’ self-gain. To visually see and experience dehumanization. My partner, a witness to all doctor appointments and driver’s working conditions, understood my efforts and was a thirty-year recovering alcoholic, a union man.

I am not saying I am a hero. I am far, far, far from it. But I am not a coward.

My partner would give me his shorts to have to paint in. He would say, You can fit in these. You have the balls. Words of a true hero.

Comments

Scott Allison, October 20, 2020, at 4:56 PM

Thank you for sharing your story. You have overcome a lot, and I admire your courage and resilience. Each time we base our souls, we help others become stronger and better. You have done that for me, and I am grateful to you!

—Scott Allison

Reply

Scott Allison, November 17, 2020, at 5:47 PM

I love this, especially that last line—all heroes have the balls to do what must be done. Thank you.

—Lynn

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¹ Scott T. Allison, George R. Goethals, Allyson R. Marrinan, Owen M. Parker, Smaragda P. Spyrou, and Madison Stein. The Metamorphosis of the Hero: Principles, Processes, and Purpose.

Experienced Death

July 21, 2021

After Tom, Mandy, Mom, and Aunt had died, I acquired sleep apnea. It was a way of killing yourself without doing anything purposely, all done with mind control. This is how far down my depression got. Let me explain how I became so depressed and why. Before my mother’s death, my brother was an ass toward her. He would call her an idiot and take advantage of her, but then he was the golden child.

According to Amanda Robins, my brother was the most damaged; he was a grandiose individual with a large home, top-of-the-line vehicles, and perfect kids. I was the scapegoat.² According to Amanda’s writing, The scapegoats eventually escaped. The crucible, often with their identity intact, usually have enough of a sense of self and (of reality) to relate to others and to seek their own path. Although the injuries to the self are still there, the scapegoat, by definition, is less favored and less impinged upon by the narcissistic parent (father, brother). Family life is painful. Scapegoats still escape the worst of the wounds. To an extent.

My brother’s wife was just as narcissistic as he was. I was challenged, which also was a life sentence, always competing, always fighting, sick of the behavior. When Tom died, my brother would make sadistic jokes. He and his nephew stole my inheritance for personal gain. My home was vandalized. Everyone said this was how your brother copes with the situation, death, along with all his friends. Nonsense! These people who believe in this are bushwhackers, those who strive to condemn me.

This was always customary practice for me growing up and into adulthood, fighting to protect my mother, defending myself. A person like me who performs heroic actions over time in countless situations can have a trait of heroism. This heroic trait, or sets of traits, is the long-term permanent part of a person’s makeup. In contrast, a hero who performs a single heroic action stemming from unusual situations can been a state favorable for heroism to occur. I do not know the number times I have tried to rescue my mother from my dad. I have told so many authorities about my situation since the day I was born and aware. I also told my story about home and my recent employment interactions.

I had given up a lifetime and had been stuck in misfortune to protect my mom. My brother and my dad created me as a mental case—an unappreciated, selfish individual. My family would take money from me and friends and alter every situation to make me look incompetent. I have moved away only to followed into altering conditions. My mother was the puppet to my brother and father; she feared what may happen to my behavior since my birth. During the last fifteen years, employment drama made my eyesight condition worse. I fought as described in my books. Doctors