Post by Gio Davidson on Nov 15, 2017 15:13:29 GMT -5
You would think a small town like Nazareth, Pennsylvania would be immune to bullying.
But you forget that Pennsylvania is one of the states that gave the White House to the biggest bully of them all!
No, Nazareth is not immune to bullying.
No place is immune to bullying.
It’s a part of the dark side of the soul.
Ever since evil infiltrated the human experience, bullying has been a part of us.
I was bullied for being tall, skinny, and poor.
Before my father, Joe, started his own construction company, we lived paycheck to every other paycheck.
Most everyone else in Nazareth were middle class citizens.
But in a small town, where everyone knows everyone, the Davidsons were one of “those” families.
So, yeah, I got picked on.
I wasn’t the only one who got picked on in Nazareth.
When I was 10 years old, my friend Marissa served as the verbal punching bag for bullies.
Children are mean sometimes.
Marissa was a pretty girl with big doe-like eyes.
She had beautiful curly hair and she was always so polite.
So why were the children picking on her?
Rumor in Nazareth was that her mother did “special” favors to pay the bills.
Marissa’s mom was considered the town whore.
I’ll never forget the day I put a stop to the bullshit.
The school children had taken hold of Marissa and thrown her into a mud puddle.
They rolled her around in it while calling her names and even spitting on her.
What could she do?
She was just one girl against a dozen other boys and girls.
The ring leader was a big 12-year-old girl named Betty.
Her father was the mayor of Nazareth at the time, which made her untouchable.
Plus, she had no problems pummeling any child, regardless of gender, for her entertainment.
She was that big.
So Marissa tearfully conceded to the daily torture from Betty and the other kids.
“Look! The little whore-brat is crying!”
Children are like sharks in bloody water.
The jeering was the worst it had ever been.
Marissa just closed her eyes and let the beating come.
“Leave her alone!”
The words came out of my mouth quicker than I could assess the danger in uttering them.
Marissa was shocked to hear someone other than her mom come to her defense.
If I had known the severity of what was happening, I would have done it sooner.
But I lived on the other side of the tracks.
I walked home from school in the opposite direction from the rest of the kids.
The only reason I walked towards town was because my mother, Miriam, sent me to the market for milk.
“Mind your own business, Davidson!”
Betty growled at me while staring down Marissa.
She didn’t bother to even look at me since I wasn’t worth the effort.
“I said, LEAVE HER ALONE!”
Now I had Betty’s attention.
She turned towards me with evil disdain in her eyes.
“Why does a carpenter’s kid care about a whore’s brat? Is she your girlfriend?”
I wanted to pop Betty right in her filthy mouth but Dad taught me to never hit girls.
Was Betty even human?
That would be my excuse.
“Enough Betty! You’re going to pay for this someday.”
“Who’s going to stop me, you, Wood Chip?”
She laughed in my face.
Suddenly there was a clap of thunder above us.
The kids screamed in fear as rain began to fall.
No one noticed a fist flying through the air and colliding with a face.
Betty and her crew scattered away.
“Are you okay?”
I crouched down into the mud puddle with Marissa.
She slowly opened her eyes and looked at me.
My left eye was almost closed as a big bruise formed quickly around it.
“Does it hurt?”
“Not as much as all this bullying has hurt you. Come on, we better get out of this rain. A storm is coming. I’ll walk you home.”
I helped Marissa up from the mud puddle.
“I’m Giosue. But people call me ‘Gio.’ What’s your name?”
“I’m Marissa.”
“Nice to meet you, Marissa. I have a feeling things are going to change after today.”
Marissa became my best friend that day.
And things did change in the school yard that evening.
After walking Marissa home, on my way back from the market, first responders and a small crowd gathered on the street corner.
There had been a serious accident.
A car had lost control in the rain and hit a light post.
Later that night, my mother received a call from the school to inform parents that Betty was killed in the accident.
She was caught between the car and the light post.
Some people say karma’s a bitch.
Others say justice was done for Marissa.
Me?
All I can say is “Vocat Salutis.”
But you forget that Pennsylvania is one of the states that gave the White House to the biggest bully of them all!
No, Nazareth is not immune to bullying.
No place is immune to bullying.
It’s a part of the dark side of the soul.
Ever since evil infiltrated the human experience, bullying has been a part of us.
I was bullied for being tall, skinny, and poor.
Before my father, Joe, started his own construction company, we lived paycheck to every other paycheck.
Most everyone else in Nazareth were middle class citizens.
But in a small town, where everyone knows everyone, the Davidsons were one of “those” families.
So, yeah, I got picked on.
I wasn’t the only one who got picked on in Nazareth.
When I was 10 years old, my friend Marissa served as the verbal punching bag for bullies.
Children are mean sometimes.
Marissa was a pretty girl with big doe-like eyes.
She had beautiful curly hair and she was always so polite.
So why were the children picking on her?
Rumor in Nazareth was that her mother did “special” favors to pay the bills.
Marissa’s mom was considered the town whore.
I’ll never forget the day I put a stop to the bullshit.
The school children had taken hold of Marissa and thrown her into a mud puddle.
They rolled her around in it while calling her names and even spitting on her.
What could she do?
She was just one girl against a dozen other boys and girls.
The ring leader was a big 12-year-old girl named Betty.
Her father was the mayor of Nazareth at the time, which made her untouchable.
Plus, she had no problems pummeling any child, regardless of gender, for her entertainment.
She was that big.
So Marissa tearfully conceded to the daily torture from Betty and the other kids.
“Look! The little whore-brat is crying!”
Children are like sharks in bloody water.
The jeering was the worst it had ever been.
Marissa just closed her eyes and let the beating come.
“Leave her alone!”
The words came out of my mouth quicker than I could assess the danger in uttering them.
Marissa was shocked to hear someone other than her mom come to her defense.
If I had known the severity of what was happening, I would have done it sooner.
But I lived on the other side of the tracks.
I walked home from school in the opposite direction from the rest of the kids.
The only reason I walked towards town was because my mother, Miriam, sent me to the market for milk.
“Mind your own business, Davidson!”
Betty growled at me while staring down Marissa.
She didn’t bother to even look at me since I wasn’t worth the effort.
“I said, LEAVE HER ALONE!”
Now I had Betty’s attention.
She turned towards me with evil disdain in her eyes.
“Why does a carpenter’s kid care about a whore’s brat? Is she your girlfriend?”
I wanted to pop Betty right in her filthy mouth but Dad taught me to never hit girls.
Was Betty even human?
That would be my excuse.
“Enough Betty! You’re going to pay for this someday.”
“Who’s going to stop me, you, Wood Chip?”
She laughed in my face.
Suddenly there was a clap of thunder above us.
The kids screamed in fear as rain began to fall.
No one noticed a fist flying through the air and colliding with a face.
Betty and her crew scattered away.
“Are you okay?”
I crouched down into the mud puddle with Marissa.
She slowly opened her eyes and looked at me.
My left eye was almost closed as a big bruise formed quickly around it.
“Does it hurt?”
“Not as much as all this bullying has hurt you. Come on, we better get out of this rain. A storm is coming. I’ll walk you home.”
I helped Marissa up from the mud puddle.
“I’m Giosue. But people call me ‘Gio.’ What’s your name?”
“I’m Marissa.”
“Nice to meet you, Marissa. I have a feeling things are going to change after today.”
Marissa became my best friend that day.
And things did change in the school yard that evening.
After walking Marissa home, on my way back from the market, first responders and a small crowd gathered on the street corner.
There had been a serious accident.
A car had lost control in the rain and hit a light post.
Later that night, my mother received a call from the school to inform parents that Betty was killed in the accident.
She was caught between the car and the light post.
Some people say karma’s a bitch.
Others say justice was done for Marissa.
Me?
All I can say is “Vocat Salutis.”
