Awesome!!!
 

We stop at the dock last night after the race, she doesn't appear to be around, enormously relieved. I stood by my car before the race waiting for the other guys to leave, they were a little late getting off. Fellow asks me I'm so-and-so, I respond, he hands me a paper, it's a PPO. From her. WTF! I'm only familiar with what I've read about PPO's, does this mean I can't race anymore with these guys? Unbelievable! I calm down a little and re-read it, it doesn't actually say I can't go there, I basically just can't communicate with her.

Extremely relieved, but I start thinking-projecting, really. I still don't have the keys, how am I going to get them back? What if she takes a seat in the van and calls the cops, she can let herself in anytime. I'm moved back into the old house, not the sole owner so I can't leave any personal property in the house without the risk of my ex-wife/son being able to do what they please with it, and it appears that probably my son has been vandalizing things that were left in the house. I have been living out of my big locker at work, basically. My friend calls me, with stunning news. He has the keys. She's given them to him. And apparently he told her the same things you've been telling me all along, and she decided that maybe letting go of all this might not be a bad idea after all.

Now I'm going to sleep for a week and start working on this house, so you probably won't be hearing as much from me. I will give the local gendarmes a heads up, it seems she's laboring under the impression that the PPO will keep me off the boat I crew on, but I will re-read it again tonight just to make sure I'm correct. In any event, those guys do generally leave about 15 minutes before we do and I'm not in the habit of sticking around after the race so any time we spend in proximity to each other will be extremely minimal. Thanks for your prayers and support, catch you later.

anybody know what a PPO is?

PPO = Personal Protection Order, sometimes called a "Restraining Order". It's an order from the judge telling one person to stay away from another.

Mike :)

Personal Protection Order. Say alcoholic husband/wife/girlfriend/boyfriend is threatening the other, go to court, blah, blah, and you can get the court to order party A to refrain from getting close to, communicating with, stalking, harassing, etc. party B.

She crews on the boat adjacent to the boat I crew on. When I first saw the order I thought that the language would prevent me from crewing. Celebrities have gotten PPO's on paparazzi, keeping them from approaching x distance away from the plaintiff.

And, what if, having keys that still would open the door to the van, she decided to enter the van-anywhere in the state-I couldn't ask her to leave without being in violation of the order, and subject to the interpretation of the police, get tossed in jail. I know, I tend to look at worse case, but I've had the feeling like I'm a homeless person lately, I have the same difficult possession issues with my ex-wife, she is still co-owner of this house even though she hasn't lived here in close to a year and a half she can enter the house at anytime, pretty much do whatever she wants and the police would dismiss it as a civil matter.

Maybe I should take out a PPO against the ex-wife?

IMHO place the focus on yourself and move one with your life if that is in fact what you want to do-

When we focus on trying to get revenge (which IMHO this is what it sounds like JMHO) we take away from ourselves and allow ourselves to get wrapped up in all the chaos again....

Why not go and be with the crew and do your thing and not worry about what she does? If you truly do not want to be around her who cares if there is a PPO!? Just move on and go about your life :)

As long as you leave her alone, I think you're okay. Maybe have your lawyer look at it? How long have you been crewing on the boat? If you have more time in on your boat than she does on hers, I can't see that she'd be able to enforce the order for you there. Ya know? She can choose to stay away from you too. If nothing else, maybe you could call the cops and ask them just so they know you're not doing anything to aggravate the situation.