BULLY FOR YOU: RICK WATSON, MIGHTY GENTLE

Gentle Readers . . . and Maxwell,

Our BULLY FOR YOU guest poster today is Rick Watson from Life 101. I've never met Rick in person (although he and his wife Jilda were in Jacksonville once and FAILED TO LET ME KNOW but of course I forgave that long ago), but I know he's the kind of person who doesn't bother to open his mouth or tap on his keyboard unless he has something intelligent to say.

Read and learn:

I was born in rural Alabama in the early 1950s. Being small for my age, I was the target of bullying from time to time.

When I was in the fourth grade, one of my classmates was a gentle giant. I’ll call him Jack. Jack was big enough to whip all the boys in class at the same time, but for some reason he always walked away from confrontation.

Spring came a little early that year and we all had spring fever. That afternoon a group of kids lingered on the playground playing dodge ball with a ragged basketball. Afterwards we sat around talking about all the things we’d do when the last school bell rang turning us loose for summer.

The conversation ended abruptly when a kid who was a notorious bully started picking on Jack. The taunting got ugly, and soon the bully was hammering away on Jack’s head with his fist. There were no teachers or adults around so the bully was having his way.

I stepped in to break it up. “Look, that’s enough.” The bully, who outweighed my 30 pounds, wheeled and punched me in the face, knocking me backward. I struggled to maintain my balance. The fist felt as hard as a hammer. This was the first time I’d ever been struck in the face. The punch he threw cut my lip and I tasted blood in my mouth.

Before I found my footing, the bully jumped on my back and clamped his arms around my throat.  It was hard to breathe. Just like in the movies, kids gathered around. Some were shouting for him to stop, and some egging him on.

He wouldn’t turn loose of my throat. Anger flared from somewhere deep inside and I found strength I’d never known. Reaching over my shoulders, I grabbed his neck, and flipped him over my shoulders.

He landed flat of his back hard enough to knock the wind out of him. The throw surprised him, but it surprised me even more. Blood oozed from the corner of his mouth where he’d bit his lip. I thought for a second I had killed him, but at that moment, I didn’t care. I could feel my heart beating in my temples.

What’s interesting is that I didn’t experience a feeling of triumph, or satisfaction, as one might expect. It was almost as if I were embarrassed. Some of the kids who had gathered around to watch the altercation came up afterwards to congratulate, but I was so upset that I had tears in my eyes and I didn’t know why.

I left him whimpering on the ground.  Squatting down by the oak tree in the yard, I picked up my books and lunch kit and headed down the railroad tracks toward home. Jack grabbed his books too and walked home with me. Neither of us said a word.

The next day I feared the bully would team up with his friends and corner me to get revenge, but it never happened. In fact, the bully never bothered me, or Jack again.

That incident taught me something basic about human nature. A bully will never pick on someone strong enough to kick their ass, they seek the weakest one in the herd. It’s how they feed their ego.

I also learned that standing up for yourself is necessary, and often it’s the right thing to do, but don’t expect to walk away feeling like Rocky.

Thank you, Rick. You're right: winning the fight, no matter what kind it is, doesn't always feel good.

Rick has three books available on Amazon, or you can purchase them directly from Rick at Life 101.  They're compilations of his newspaper columns. The titles are Remembering Big, Life Happens, and Life Changes. Read and relax and learn. Rick is our Alabama philosopher.

Please leave Rick some bloggy love in a comment, and I urge you to visit his blog.


Infinities of love,

Janie Junebug