Battle Scars

Recently I read a very funy post on a friend Jen's blog about a childhood memory of hers. Feel free to read about it here!

I could totally relate to most of her story, and it inspired me enough to get me thinking of my own childhood and the things that I ended up getting myself into. I grew up in a very small town - 600 people or so - and am a product of a very diverse family. My dad and mom split up when I was about 4 years old and eventually my dad, who had custody of my younger brother (4 years younger) and I, remarried to a woman who had a daughter that was 2 years younger than I was (thus 2 years older than my brother). So being the oldest of the three children, I used to enjoy flexing my elderly status both from a responsibility standpoint as well as a physical one. For the most part we were pretty good kids, but there were times that things got a bit out of control.

We were lucky enough to live on the lake as kids, and because of this would participate in quite a few water oriented activities. One of my favorite past times has always been fishing. Well one particular day I was down at the bottom of a large rock pile fishing by the water. When I turned around I saw my step sister approaching, as she neared me I heard her telling me that she wanted a turn fishing as well, well I wasn't having it and told her I wasn't giving up my rod. She argued a bit further about it but I was relentless in saying no, so she left. I knew exactly where she was going ... to tell her mom or my dad that I wasn't sharing. True enough, she returned about 5 minutes later this time as the messenger telling me that her mom said I had to give her a turn. I didn't particularly care, she was literally going to have to rip the rod out of the death grip I had over it. I'm not necessarily sure why I didn't want to share, I wasn't even catching fish, I think I just wanted to spite her. Well anyways eventually she had enough of this, and the next thing I know was a sharp blow to the head. I don't remember much after that except that fishing was definitely done for the day. What had happened was from her elevated position, she decided to pick up half of a cinder block and conveniently drop it on my head. I ended up being okay, but I don't really remember much of anything beyond that, so I am guessing it caused some sort of damage.

Unfortunately this wasn't the only time I'd be hit in the head by one of my siblings. On Saturday's we would collect an allowance for doing our share of chores around the house. Well one day after collecting we went up to the variety store to spend some money on candy (it actually ended up usually being all of our money, what else does a kid spend their money on?) If our parents didn't have exact change, it was my job to take a bigger bill, and split it up evenly. Well one Saturday I did just that and my step sister had a purchase she wanted to make that was a little bit more than the money she had. So she told me to give her a bit more of the money because she really wanted this particular item. I however, wasn't about to do that because it wasn't my money to be giving out, I had to get the correct change back to my dad. So I went in to make my purchase and came out to find her on the payphone, no doubt calling her mom. True enough she called me over saying that her mom wanted to talk to me. As I stroll over to the phone, she cocked her arm back and let struck me right over the top of my head with it. Definitely one of the worst phone calls I've ever taken in my life.

After that her and I got older and no longer really had any battles because I quickly learned I couldn't hit a girl. Despite those two incidents, the bigger tilts were always between me and my brother. I would pick on him to no end, most times I would end out on top, though there are two cases where I clearly did not. Growing up in Canada with the amount of snow we would get on the lake it made for some great forts. Well I always had to make the tunnel, and once I got a good tunnel going no one could go in it. So here I am making this real great tunnel one day with my head in it trying to carve it out perfectly. As I backed out ass end first, I knew my brother was in the vicinity but didn't expect any sort of ambush as I was pretty much keeping to myself. Wrong! As my head cleared the entrance of the tunnel on the way out, my brother thought it would be a good opportunity to take the spade shovel that I had been using to strike me in the back of the head. I cried, but mostly because I think it was the first time my little brother got the best of me. It was honestly a move right out of WWE wrestling. I later gave him props for doing it. This wouldn't be the last time he would get the best of me though.

The ultimate injury I ever received from any of the siblings was again from my brother. I don't even remember what started this battle we had going, but I remember that for most of it I was winning. At the same time I was pleased with myself because we were engaged in an area that my parents couldn't hear us. Well when you get someone defenseless they will do what ever it takes to win. Even if that means taking a Phillips screw driver and planting it right in the side of your knee. I learned this the hard way. When it happened, it hurt so much, I yelled big time. He ran, I think he was scared not so much about what I might have done or what my dad was going to do when he found out, but he was genuinely concerned he had gone too far...after all here I was with a screw driver hanging out of the inside of my leg...literally. I ended up just pulling it out as it was really only the tip in there. But for quite a few years later I had the trademark Phillips (star shaped) scar to show for it.

The last time I ever fought my brother was when we were living together while I was in University. He had grown much more than I had, and was well over 6 feet tall and outweighed me by at least 75lbs. It was over money that he owed me for utilities as I controlled that aspect of the house. It was a pretty good battle that somehow ended outside in the front lawn. I'm sure it looked really mature as we were rolling around in the grass in broad daylight. As soon as he had me pinned I knew it was the last battle we'd ever have that I would initiate. He knew it as well because he could have easily inflicted more damage than he did, he never liked fighting.

People always warned me that one day he'd be bigger than I would so I shouldn't pick on him...The way I see it; I probably should have listened.