Tied to a Tree or at the Bottom of the Shit House
My heart ached today as I read the recap of the suicide of the 14-year old boy in the Buffalo area. The news accounts explained that he was bullied and that he had tried to rail against it.
Being 14 years old is as confusing as being 46 years old is.
Maybe even more so.
Yet the bullying shit is really confusing as well. I was afraid of a couple of guys in junior high. One little mean bastard followed me around, sensing my fear, and intimidating me at every turn. He was thrown off the track by my older brother and my buddy Jeff who explained that if one hair on my head was hurt...he'd have to deal with them.
Later on, me and the bully became fast friends and shared a lot of laughs.
Yet my brother and my buddy also play a big part in this blog because they were both there in my worst moments.
Scenario one: We had just returned from camping for a weekend in the woods. We were all great friends. We were about 16 or 17 at the time. My mother was coming to pick us up after our weekend of fun and she would have to drive down the road in front of the large telephone pole in front of Jeff's house.
This was MY IDEA!
I told them to tie me to the pole and go hide so that my mother would see me bound as she pulled up.
So, my best friends in the world did it. They tied my hands and legs so tight that I couldn't move. We were all laughing.
And then they pulled my pants down!
I was pissed. I may even have been on the verge of tears. (Shut-up Jeffy, I didn't cry! Stop bullying me!).
Scenario Two: About a year later, I was with the same friends at a town park gathering. I went into the port-a-lav to take a leak.
They tipped it over.
It was full.
I remember how I felt both of those times.
I can't imagine how that poor kid felt being tortured, not by his friends, but by people who genuinely were mean.
It's easy to say, stand up to the bully or don't let them get to you. It's a whole 'nother thing when you can't find the way out.
Teachers and parents must be aware. Life is confusing enough as it is.
Being bullied isn't any fun.
Even when your blood and your buddies are doing it to you.
Being 14 years old is as confusing as being 46 years old is.
Maybe even more so.
Yet the bullying shit is really confusing as well. I was afraid of a couple of guys in junior high. One little mean bastard followed me around, sensing my fear, and intimidating me at every turn. He was thrown off the track by my older brother and my buddy Jeff who explained that if one hair on my head was hurt...he'd have to deal with them.
Later on, me and the bully became fast friends and shared a lot of laughs.
Yet my brother and my buddy also play a big part in this blog because they were both there in my worst moments.
Scenario one: We had just returned from camping for a weekend in the woods. We were all great friends. We were about 16 or 17 at the time. My mother was coming to pick us up after our weekend of fun and she would have to drive down the road in front of the large telephone pole in front of Jeff's house.
This was MY IDEA!
I told them to tie me to the pole and go hide so that my mother would see me bound as she pulled up.
So, my best friends in the world did it. They tied my hands and legs so tight that I couldn't move. We were all laughing.
And then they pulled my pants down!
I was pissed. I may even have been on the verge of tears. (Shut-up Jeffy, I didn't cry! Stop bullying me!).
Scenario Two: About a year later, I was with the same friends at a town park gathering. I went into the port-a-lav to take a leak.
They tipped it over.
It was full.
I remember how I felt both of those times.
I can't imagine how that poor kid felt being tortured, not by his friends, but by people who genuinely were mean.
It's easy to say, stand up to the bully or don't let them get to you. It's a whole 'nother thing when you can't find the way out.
Teachers and parents must be aware. Life is confusing enough as it is.
Being bullied isn't any fun.
Even when your blood and your buddies are doing it to you.
Comments