Target Practice

When I was around 5 I had the "fortune" of being the youngest and smallest girl in the neighborhood. There were several older boys around to pick on me but one in particular was worse then the others. His name was Charlie and he lived directly across the street from me. He seemed like a giant to me. He was very tall and blond and he had a deeper voice than all the other boys. Whenever he caught me out and about he would walk up close to me and stare down into my frightened eyes and whisper "You're Dead."  

When Charlie was around I typically hid from him. I remember being "trapped" at my neighbors house because he was outside playing with his friends and I had to get home without him seeing me or it would be trouble. I figured out how to hop the fences all the way home through 2 yards to get there undetected.  Some days during Summer he would set up camp in his front yard with his bee-bee gun and wait for me to walk out. As soon as he saw my curly blond pigtails emerge he would aim that gun right at me. Of course I would turn around and not leave the house for the entire day.

That year for Christmas I got my first pair of roller skates. I would put them on and roll carefully across the entry way floor and just as I was maneuvering to get out the door Charlie would take aim. Those roller skates never did touch the ground outside.

About 8 years later when I was entering my teens I happened to be at my neighbor's house. Charlie had moved away by then and I had forgotten all about him. Although I knew him instantly he did not realize who I was  at first. He stared at me for awhile and I saw recognition dawn. I also saw the admiration in his eyes, I was pretty cute by then. 

Later, as I walked home slowly I realized that I while had lost most of the battles with Charlie, I had eventually won the war. 

Photo by shmilebliK