What happened to Commodore4ever?

There were many things that lead up to me deciding to close up shop and basically disappear. It all started with health issues late in 2020 and spilling over into 2021 but in the later part of 2021 events took place that caused me to ultimately shut down not only the shop but emotionally as well.

Before I get into all of this, most of which is very personal, I want to make sure that everyone reading this understands that I am not making excuses nor am I looking for any sympathy. I am simply wanting to put the details out there for all to read and for these readers to make their own opinions and conclusions. I am asking, however, for forgiveness in my shortcomings and I want to make amends for anyone that was effected by my actions. So I ask that you please contact me in private with anything that needs resolved or to discuss any concerns.

As stated earlier, I was dealing with health issues up until the later part of 2021 then on top of that, I contracted Covid. I was very very sick for two months and struggled through a third month to get back to "normal". Almost immediately following my fight with Covid I found out that my father had been molesting my daughter, Hazel, who was 5 at the time. This picture of her was taken before we found out about the crimes.

I immediately was crushed. Not only was my perfect little girl irreversabily damaged but the damage came at the hands of a man I trusted and at the hands of a man she loved. I of course called the sheriff's office within minutes of her telling me what had happened. We all became subject to all manner of questions. My daughter had to undergo physical exams, psycologial evaluations, and was asked to do things she didn't understand nor want to do. My head was spinning, my mental state was all over the place, and at the same time I had to be strong for Hazel who was looking to her father for strength and protection...PROTECTION! That is what enraged me most. I had failed her. I had not protected her and I could not save her from what had already been done. I was worthless.

We were instructed not to contact my father, he lived in Virginia and we live in South Carolina, as to not alert him that the sheriff's office was looking to arrest him for felony charges. I did as instructed. It was so hard not to jump in my truck and go after my father myself. Near impossible not to call him and ask, "What the fuck is wrong with you ?!?" I did as instructed though. It was only a matter of a couple of days however that my father contacted me. He knew I had discovered his evil secret. We usually talked every day or every other day and I had avoided his calles and texts that week. He sent a cryptic message that he was coming do to see me. He wanted to confront Hazel and myself to ask our forgiveness. Not to forgive him for his sake but to forgive him for out sake. Sounds crazy I know. I contact the sheriff's office and let them know he said he was coming down. They said to avoid him if he did show up and ask him to leave if we could not avoid him. I told my wife to take Hazel and leave. I wanted them away from here incase he did show up. Little did I know he was already here in Saluda. I would later find out he was in Saluda as of 6am that morning. He was seen on surveillance footage in the local McDonalds getting coffee.

My left left with our children as I had asked. My son and I stayed at home waiting with our phones in had to call 911 if indeed he did show up. We sat for several hours then decided to leave ourselves to take care of some local business. As we pulled from the driveway my father pulled in and blocked our exit. My son jumped out and ran to call 911. I jumped out and as I did pulled my handgun from the console of my truck. It's becomes a little fuzzy on what all happened and exactly the way it did happen but the end result was my father was

shot and I was in handcuffs. The resulting events were stressfull beyond explination. In the end, I was released with no charges and he was jailed. My father is currently in prison serving a MUCH shorter sentence than he deserves while my daughter deals with things that I can't even comprehend.

My entire family was ripped apart from this. Not just as a result of what he did but also as a result of what I did. I was shamed by some for my actions and will deal with that forever I am certain. In the months that followed things became so dark. My wife cried all day some days, I was mentally exhausted also physically depleated, and my children tried thier best to understand why things were so different. Eventually my wife left. She took the children and moved several states away. As a result I crawled in to a hole and hope to die. I stayed away from everyone and anything. I felt like doing nothing....absolutely nothing.

So now my daughter had lost her innocence, her joy, her home, her family, and her father. Divorce is in my immediate future and if any of you have gone through a bad divorce then you know where I am and what I am dealing with. I have been able to see Hazel and my other children on occasion. It is difficult as they are nearly a 12 hour drive away. I don't know what will happen with my family ultimately but I do know I am ready to get back on my feet. I want to make amends and set things straight.

Like I stated earlier, I want to make sure that everyone reading this understands I am not making excuses nor am I looking for any sympathy. I am simply wanting to put the details out there for all to read.

God Bless and hope to hear from some of you soon.

John Canady

Commodore4ever

**PLEASE forgive any mistakes or misspellings. Too dificult to reread all this to correct.