.....and other random stuff......

Wednesday, August 22, 2012

The Bully


Son1 is a reserved soul.
Maybe it’s being firstborn, maybe it’s that whole ‘nature’/nurture’ argument, I don’t know, but he was always cautious, thoughtful, quiet and polite.

He was the perfect target for the neighborhood bully.

One day he came home without his bicycle helmet.
We asked him where it was and he was very evasive saying he must have lost it somewhere.
He also seemed unusually nervous about it.
After a few more questions he started to cry and the truth came out.
Paulie had taken it away from him and thrown it over the fence into the neighbor’s yard.
The yard with the big dog. (Son1 was afraid of dogs and Paulie knew this.)

Now, Husband is a very quiet and reserved kind of guy too, but when Son1 told him it was the neighborhood bully he went ballistic.
Usually it’s my job to be the cool headed one in the family, but on this occasion I was with Husband!

Husband took Son1 and went down the street to retrieve the helmet and to look for Paulie.

When he found him they had a little chat.

Son1 came running home, breathless with excitement, as he told me the story.

Husband did have a talk with Paulie.
A very quiet talk.
He never raised his voice the whole time.
He just picked Paulie up and held him dangling, about a foot off the ground, up against the fence while he explained to him how wrong it was to bully people and if he ever did it again, to ANY of the kids in the neighborhood, he (Paulie) would have to answer to him (Husband).
Finishing with, “Trust me, you do not want that.”

The kids in the neighborhood were THRILLED!
Paulie had been the bane of their existence and now they had a savior!
“We’ll tell Mr. Husband!” was the battle cry of the neighborhood kids. 

There is nothing so comforting as knowing your Dad’s ‘got your back’!

{The day we moved (some years later) Paulie came to our house to talk to Husband. He apologized for the incident and thanked Husband for doing what he did. He said it was Husband who finally made him realize what he had been doing and how wrong it was!} 

7 comments:

  1. Mr. Husband is a hero in my book. And to think that Paulie thanked him...just means he is a double hero.

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  2. Your husband is very lucky he didn't get into trouble for an adult laying his hands on someone else's child no matter how 'right' it was......he should have went to Paulies parents instead or at least first no??

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    1. The parents in the neighborhood did talk to his mother and her boyfriend (who was a bully himself.) Husband went several times before this particular incident. They’re response was denial, indifference or saying the other kids were at fault.

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  3. You have such interesting stories. Always a pleasure to visit here.

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  4. We have exactly the same here with a yard with a dog and a bully. It is not a helmet but always soccer balls. Doggy loves soccer balls. We're still in the parents-go-talking phase. It seems you provided me with a small look into the future!

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  5. Another great story... you should consider that book (writing and illustrating). My oldest daughter was bullied through school and it was heart breaking. Unfortunately the bullying was subtle, and was not always seen by others. Often words or tone or looks... Daughter has become a strong independent young women, but it was tough going at times.

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