I thought I'd share a true life experience since it's Easter weekend, of a bullying nature when I was in grade school.
There was a boy in my class when I was in 3, 4, 5, 6, 7th grades. All those years of grade school, Jack was bullied.
Now back in those days, bullied kids did not shoot up the school or do themselves in. They were smarter than that.
Let me first tell you a little something about Jack.
Jack is his real first name and I won't post his last name of course. Jack is Jewish. He had coal black hair and he wore braces. Something about that black hair, his nice rich olive complexion, and those big shinny braces, did not far well with the kids his age. Plus, Jack did not celebrate Christmas. He celebrated Hanukkah. That made him a tad different too as few were Jewish at our school. Also, Jack was a very reserved boy. He was quiet and I suppose he was taught to turn the other cheek. Boys his age picked on him, every day at school. He would be shoved into lockers, pushed down, called names, etc. Jack also had a bad problem with his nose bleeding. Seemed most anything would start his nose to gushing.
It was mainly the boys that picked on Jack. And when there was recess, Jack was always off to the side some where. At lunch, he sat alone. I can remember helping Jack up from the floor many times. The girls usually would try to console Jack and help him. But when it came time for outside activities or trying to sit by Jack in the lunch room, he would not have any of it....I understand now as that was all he needed to have girls hovering him which would have been more the bullys would have teased him about.
And now...the good part.....
Jack grew up! And man oh man did he ever. His braces came off to reveal the brightest, nicest, straightest teeth you ever saw in a mans mouth. And the once, puny skinny boy, was now built like a brick. To this day, they say Jack is still a bit on the quiet side and he is still rather reserved....and he does still celebrate Hanukah....but he no longer has those nervous nose bleeds....but there is more.....
Altho Jack's grades were never very good in school, he did always seem to have a knack for math.
Today Jack is a good looking 56 year old man....and he is a MULTI-MILLIONAIRE! He is to today's standards, more of what would call a RICH GEEK! He went into investments and made his fortunes. Today he travels all over the world and does whatever he wants to do. People look up to Jack and ask his advice.
Some of the lives of the boys that pushed Jack around in grade school:
Joey: died of drug overdose at age 20
Bob: turned into an over weight trash collector
Greg: struggling to make ends meet, has 7 children
Milo: still the same whimp he was in school
Mike: dropped out of college, alcoholic, lives pay check to pay check
If you have or know children that are being bullied, show them this. This is TRUE. We can't always control our childhood, but we do have great control over what we do in the rest of our lives.
Happy Easter weekend to those that recognize this 'holiday'.
Easter has always been a main time of year when I was growing up, being that my grandfather was a preacher.
So it's a time of year I take very seriously.
On the news yesterday, in my local town, seems a church did something that has not been done around here.
A group of them got together, one dressed up as Jesus carring a wooden cross on his back, all dresses in the old
Biblical attire, whilst the rest of the group, followed, swatting him with fake whips. This little parade went down
the main streets of the town. It looked very real. Needless to say, the police station became swamped with
phone calls as many thought the poor man carrying the cross, was truly being brutalized.
In one way, I thought it quite ingenious and a good way to bring about the actual events to mind of what Easter
is about. On the other hand, I thought that could have turned into something dangerous as traffic onlookers slowed,
to look, not watching the road.
And of course, not everyone believes in Christ or that He rose from the dead. So I imagine that were lots of calls to the city mayor as well.
