Yes, the hijinks of some in elementary, middle and high school towards some of us
borders on the creative.....
Growing up I was hoisted up a flag pole and left dangling in the wind.
Hung by my belt-loop up on 6 foot high cabinets......
Given swirlies in the #3 stall of the second floor boys dormitory......
Left to fend for myself during a game of "hide and seek" in Central Park as all
my friends took off in a taxi. I knew something was up when after about 20 minutes,
I saw neither hide nor hair of any of them.......
Each of us have a tale of being on the back end of a prank, a joke or scheme concocted
by a friend or those we considered friends, yes?
There's a big difference in "good clean fun" and someone being so conniving, maybe in
the most subtle of ways, that slams the deepest part of our inner soul and slowly tears
us apart.
When I was 12, everyone around me shot up in height like a rocket off the launch pad.
That is, it seemed, everyone except for Big Wave "David!" I still stood my 4' and barely weighed 60 pounds. By all accounts I was a nerd. A wimp. A geek.
Fortunately for me, I had parents that were instilling in me a healthy sense of humor
which enabled my denial of what was actually going on. In other words, I took everything with a grain of salt.
Until Peter, my 15 year old next door neighbor decided to take it a step further. Unbeknownst to
me at the time, he had spoken to some friends of his at another school in town to ride
my bus on the way to school to tease me.
Not just to tease but to bully me.
Why on earth my parents and I chose for me to take trombone lessons, I will never know.
The case itself towered over me. And getting it into the bus when those
doors opened? Forgetabboutit! I also wore the thickest lenses with the most ridiculous frames ever
manufactured across my face.
No excuse for what these boys did to me. After I sat down in my seat and wrestled my behemouth brass monstrocity to the floor next to me, the two hooligans ripped my glasses from my face, stomped and crushed them and then proceeded to take my trombone and thrust it out the window as the bus was
leaving the stop.
It seemed like an eternity had passed, when it reality it took no more than 10 seconds.
I was just as crushed as my spectacles. Maybe even more.
Bullying is no laughing matter. It's serious business.
It stings. It hurts. Physically sometimes but always emotionally.
As these dweebs were running towards the back of the bus to escape through the emergency
door, my buddy Mickey quickly and gracefully held out his baseball bat just barely
enough for them to trip and fall to the rubber black mat.
Just in time for the bus driver to stop the bus and intervene.
One kid stood up for me. That's it. But that's all I needed. Thanks Mickey.
If you happen to be the one being bullied these days? Like Nikki in Tustin who called me today,
talk to someone. Don't be silent.
Let your Mom, Dad, favorite teacher, somebody know about it.
You don't have to tolerate this nor be subject to it any longer.
Remember too that God created you just the way you are.
There is no one else like you in the entire planet!
And that's like billions and billions and billions of people!
Check out Psalm 139 where it says,
"For you created my inmost being; you knit me together in my mother's womb. I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made; your works are wonderful, I know that full well!"
Read on! It will rock your socks!
If you happen to be someone who knows of someone being bullied
or is a friend of someone being subject to it, stand up for them.
Be an advocate for them. Don't be silent either. Let your Mom or Dad or someone
you trust know about it. Every time someone like Nikki calls me,
I immediately thank God that he put Mickey in my life.
And I haven't seen or heard anything from him in 32 years! Yet, I think of him.
October is National Bullying Awareness Month.
Statistics show that a kid identified as a bully by the age
of 8 are six times more likely to have a criminal conviction,
and by the age of 24 are are also more prone to become a child and/or spouse abuser later on.
Either way---You and I are loved by Jesus.
And "turning the other cheek" doesn't mean becoming a doormat to someones' selfish abuse.
So to the haters? We turn you over to God and we ask Him
to help us become an advocate for the disinfranchised.
And to all of us Nikki's in the world: God has bigtime plans for you and me!
And if we allow Him to, he will use our story to encourage someone else.
So, if I've encouraged you with this piece of prose?
Thank you God. Mission accomplished.
Your "Geeky-Nerdy" Pal, Big Wave Dave
dave@thefish959.com www.thefishla.com/959thefishbwd
