How many of you remember your first fight?
I sure do!
My sister Pam was a fourth grader at Cedar Oak Park Grade School, and I was one grade behind her. I was small compared to some of the bigger boys for grade three, having been admitted to 1st grade when I was five years old.
After school one day, I began the walk back to our house, located about 3/8 mile away. My sister also was preparing to leave, but she first wanted her new boyfriend to meet me. Her boyfriend had a younger brother with him, who was a first grader.
My sister started to tease me, as she would often do. Her boyfriend offered to beat me up for her, then saw how small I was, and said it would be funner to watch his little brother beat me up.
I had never been in a fight, and I wanted no part in the bullying behavior. The first grade boy, who was about my size, proceeded to start punching and kicking me viciously.
I did not know what to do. My father had never taught me how to defend myself. My sister taunted and laughed at me
When the boy added insult to injury by pulling my ears and hair after tackling me to the ground I had taken more than enough of a beating. For the first time in my life I felt a surge of energy unlike anything I had ever experienced, and I began to not only resist the physical assault, I started copying the fighting bevior of the other boy. I proceeded to clean his clock, and when the older brother got concerned for his little brother’s safety, he pulled me off.
I was still so riled up I began to go after the big brother, but my sister broke it up by laughing some more, and dragging her boyfriend away,
I had learned how to fight. I also learned that some boys are untrustworthy and prone to capricious violence against innocent people, like myself.
I learned how absolutely vulnerable I was.
I started playing more with the girls, too, who played non violent games, like kickball, instead of the often times violent game of prison ball
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