Bullies

I hear people say they are too fat, too thin, too tall, too short, have too little a nose, too big a nose, they've got freckles, wrinkles, pimples, or they are too pale, too dark and that makes them ugly.

These things do not make you ugly. You know what makes a person ugly? Listen to a Trump speech for 10 minutes. Hate makes you ugly. Not caring about people who are suffering makes you repugnant.

No one likes bullies but other bullies. There is a reason Trump looks up to people like Putin and Kim Jong-Un.

Back in High School, I was bullied. I was 6'1 and maybe 145 pounds and had a locker next to the one of the top wrestlers in the state. Everyday, he would take a shot at my shoulder. If I flinched he would hit me again.

To this day I have problems with that shoulder.

I would hate going to school, so much so that I couldn't sleep. My lack of sleep led me to falling asleep in classes, which led everyone around me thinking I did drugs.

I remember during graduation ceremonies the class president got busted when he dropped a pack of cigarettes and a joint fell out.

I was shocked he had a pack of cigarettes much less a joint. I wondered out loud, "Where would he get a joint in our school?"

My friend told me, "Tim, there are drugs all over our High School."

I joked, "How come no one ever offered me any?"

"They thought you had them all."

I would be so nervous about going to school, I would actually have a fever every morning. I managed to miss exactly the maximum number of days you could miss and still graduate.

When I first heard of Columbine, I didn't condone the shooters actions, but I did understand them.

Years later, I would see my old High School bully at a football game my son was playing in. I had stayed in shape. He hadn't. I had grown a couple inches, gotten a little more muscle, and he looked like he had shrunk some.

He was happy to see me. To him, his hitting me every day was just a normal thing.

"Hey Tim, you remember me?"

"Yeah, you used to hit me every day."

"Well, we all did things in High School we regret."

"Not all of us," and I left him standing there.

Should I have pretended that it was all forgotten? Maybe, but I don't feel bad about it.

I hope he has a good life. I don't hate him. I just don't want to be friends with him.

In his case, he might have grown out of his bullyness. I don't know. I'm not willing to take the chance.

Some people never grow out of it.