I am absolutely beside myself right now.
My lawyers are in court arguing for me against my ex wife in a custody battle over our son. I am sick to my stomach over the possibility of losing legal custody status to her and being removed from all healthcare and education decisions concerning him and his well-being.
This has been such a long, hard road. The pandemic has destroyed so much where I live in southwestern Pennsylvania. There are so many businesses that never re-opened their doors after the lockdowns ended. There was just no money left. Since my wife forced me out of the home, I have had to go back and live with my family in a depressed area with very little economic opportunities. Luckily, I have a lot of work experience and was able to fall back on my professional cooking abilities and am employed by one of the last family-owned "old-school" steakhouses. Pre-pandemic this place was open until 3am in the morning and was very lively. These days everything is locked up by 10pm or even 9pm most nights.
My previous career - before the pandemic madness hit - was Vice President of Sales for the No.1 wedding entertainment company in Pittsburgh. We were struggling before the craziness started as less and less young people were deciding to get married and the pool of elderly boomers who were willing to pay thousands of dollars for the best DJs, photographers, and videographers was dwindling fast and the young couples who didn't have families to help cannot afford to pay five figures for a party when that money could be more wisely used for a starter house down payment.
The hits just keep coming. I was driving my son back to my ex's house in Pittsburgh and we were passing my favorite Italian restaurant of all time. It was Sunday, so they weren't open but there were a bunch of work trucks in the parking lot.
(inside Francesco's dining room)
I had worked with Franco when I was just a young teenager as a dishwasher at The Back Porch. I was excited when he opened his own restaurant at his father's old location. He was the best and most authentic Italian chef I know. His Veal Alfredo was to die for. Absolutely amazing. I have tried to recreate but I cannot.
As we were passing by, my son remarked that the restaurant looked empty inside. The sign out front said "Thank you for 26 years."
I couldn't believe it. That was the restaurant we had our wedding rehearsal dinner at. I tried to call last week to get some takeout and no one would pick up the phone. Gone now. I wonder what happened. Did he get sick? Business has been down everywhere compared to pre-pandemic and I think we are still seeing the effects that brutal lockdowns will bring about.
I am waiting to hear from my lawyers to see how court went today. I was supposed to go for the final battle with my ex but the lawyers said it was not necessary and we will have to go before another judge that has the authority to grant legal custody.
If you want to follow my story on X here is the post from today:
https://x.com/shadyavefarm/status/1724817747270373750?s=20
I hope my Pub0x fam is faring better than me today. Please keep me and my son in your prayers and if you would be so kind please repost the above.
