Friendly Fill-Ins

This is a fun meme co-hosted by 15 and Meowing and Four-Legged Furballs. Be sure to visit and join in the fun!

Here are the fill-ins:

1. I deserve a gold star for _________________ today.

2. Right now, I am loving _____________.

3. The best advice I’ve ever been given is _________.

4. If I had to choose a new first name, it would be _________.

Here are my responses:

I don’t know what I deserve a gold star for today. Maybe for not running away? haha

Right now, I am loving my Jesus and my family and thoughts of pottery making.

The best advice I’ve ever been given is a really more a bit of encouragement than advice. It came from my maternal grandma while I was expecting our first child. She said having a baby wasn’t a day at the beach, but it wasn’t anything to get all worked up over either. I was able to hold onto that thought as I birthed that 8 pound 8 ounce boy into this world. After hearing her birth experience with my mother, though, I don’t know how Grandma held onto that thought! Trust me, you don’t even want to imagine what happened.

If I had to choose a new first name, it would be...well, it wouldn’t exactly be new, but it would be exactly what my daddy wanted me to be named: Suzie Annie. My mama smooshed it together to make it Suzanne. Annie was my daddy’s great-grandma, who played a big part in raising him, and Suzie was her sister. For years, I was glad that my mama intervened, but now, I rather like the name as my daddy wanted it. If I ever do change my name, that is what I will change it to, in honor and memory of my daddy and his foremothers.

Our daughter Maggie has a new blog for her furbaby Martha. You can find it at: Martha’s Daily Mews.

Have a blessed weekend, y’all!

Image Source: McClendon Family Archives





Notice: This post may contain affiliate links. If you click a link and make a purchase, we may financially benefit from your transaction, at no additional cost to you. Thank you for your support.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Please be sure to visit David over at Random Thoughts and Observations.

I respond to all comments on this blog, ideally within 24 hours.  Please check back here for a response to your comment.  Thank you!
 
Please subscribe to David's YouTube Channel. Thanks!

Friendly Fill-Ins

This is a fun meme co-hosted by 15 and Meowing and Four-Legged Furballs. Be sure to visit and join in the fun!


Here are the fill-ins:

1. As a child, I feared ______________.
2. Friday the 13th _____________________.
3. I think _________ is my best quality.
4. You can’t go wrong with _________.

Here are my responses:

As a child, I feared that I would wake up to find that one or both of my parents had died during a domestic dispute. I was also terrified of thunder.

Friday the 13th is a fun day because of all the people that are superstitious about it.

I think I don’t know what is my best quality.

You can’t go wrong with shrimp and cheesecake. AND, fluffy kitty cats. I just wouldn’t recommend handling them both at the same time. :)

Our daughter Maggie has a new blog for her furbaby Martha. You can find it at: Martha’s Daily Mews.

 

Have a blessed weekend, y’all!

Image Source: Pixabay


Notice: This post may contain affiliate links. If you click a link and make a purchase, we may financially benefit from your transaction, at no additional cost to you. Thank you for your support.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Please be sure to visit David over at Random Thoughts and Observations.

I respond to all comments on this blog, ideally within 24 hours.  Please check back here for a response to your comment.  Thank you!
 
Please subscribe to David's YouTube Channel. Thanks!

Friendly Fill-Ins 9 September 2016

This is a fun meme co-hosted by McGuffy's Reader and 15 and Meowing. Be sure to visit and join in the fun!


Here are the fill-in-the-blanks:

1. I can’t wait for the new season of ___________________________ on television.
2. In my home, ____________________needs to be repaired.
3. I thought I lost ________, but ______.
4. Once, I found _______.

Here are my responses:

1. I am not anxiously waiting a new season of anything on television. I like watching My Little Pony when the kids send us links to the new episodes. Otherwise, I am perfectly content watching/listening to Hotel Transylvania 2 every day. Who can't use some cuteness in their day?
2. David and I need to be repaired. We're falling apart. This house is the same age as me, so things are starting to go wonky with it, too. Plumbing and electrical issues are always a thing in a house this age. Cosmetic issues abound, but we'll get to each thing as we can.
3. I thought I lost my ability to write poetry, but, slowly, I am being given the words again.
4. Once I found a puppy that had been hit by a car and we brought him home. Actually, he initially went to Papa Bruce's house, but he ended up living with us. Papa named him Bin. A little bit of information about that morning will be coming up soon in one of David's September 19-Somethin' posts. Bin is the black dog in the photo below. Gus is the brown dog and Bandit is the kitty.

Bin, Gus, and Bandit, ©1986 David E. McClendon, Sr.

Please be sure to visit David over at Random Thoughts and Observations.


Please subscribe to David's YouTube Channel. Thanks!

Friendly Fill-Ins

This is a fun meme co-hosted by McGuffy's Reader and 15 and Meowing. Be sure to visit and join in the fun!


Friendly Fill-Ins Week 11

1. I wish I could afford to hire someone to _________________________.

I wish I could afford to hire someone to go buy our groceries for us so that we didn't have to leave the house in this heat!

2. Zucchini ____________________________________________.

Zucchini is a big part of my favorite vegetable blend, which is called Normandy blend. It has zucchini, yellow squash, broccoli, cauliflower, and carrots. It is great! It would be even better if I could successfully grow these vegetables myself rather than having to buy them from a store.

3. One Summertime memory I recall is____________ .

When I was a kid, I lived outside and was almost always barefooted. There was a huge pine tree in the side yard. I was running around the tree and stepped onto a rusty nail that went into my foot, probably about an inch deep. I remember crying and pulling it out of my foot. I imagine I was taken for a tetanus shot. It seems that having fun almost always ended with a needle on the other side of it…or stitches. I was good at finding those, too.

4. This Summer,______________ . 

This summer, I want it to be winter. It is too hot out there. Have I whined enough yet about the heat?













Please subscribe to David's YouTube Channel. Thanks!

Friendly Fill-Ins - 15 July 2016

This is a fun meme! Why don't you join us? Click the button below for more information.


Here are this week's statements with the blanks:

Week 10: July 15, 2016

1. I prefer ________________ to ________________.

2. ____________________ was much harder than I expected.

3. One way that I relax is _____________ .

4. _____________ always makes me .

Here are my answers:

1. I prefer winter to summer. I do not like being hot at all. If I am cold, I can put on more clothes or blankets, but if I'm too hot…well, there's only so much I'm allowed to take off and not get arrested. I think what a person can get away with wearing/not wearing depends on how old and what size a person is and which cop is doing the deciding. . I would be in the "My eyes! My eyes!" and big ticket category, maybe even under the jailhouse. I prefer cool to cold weather and we just don't really get that here.

2. Leaving home behind was much harder than I expected. Actually, the leaving itself wasn't so hard, but the staying gone, in some ways, has become almost unbearable.

3. One way that I relax is_____________. I don't relax anymore. I am always on guard, it seems.

4. Eating always makes me sneeze. There is evidently a component common to almost all foods that makes me sneeze. We haven't been able to pin it down. There are foods that I have definite allergies to and they stop my breathing or squeeze my throat and other things. But, no matter what I eat, I end up sneezing.

Friendly Fill-Ins - 1 July 2016

This is a fun meme co-hosted by McGuffy's Reader and 15 and Meowing. Be sure to visit and join in the fun!

Here are this week's statements with the blanks:

Week 8: July 1, 2016...

1. I never thought I would miss _______________________________, but I do.

2. Every 4th of July ______________________________________.

3. If I knew ______________, I would __________________.

4. I have trouble ___________________________.


My answers:

1.  I never thought I would miss the county where I grew up, but I do. The older I get, the more I wish I had never left. Over three hundred years of family history should have been strong enough to overcome whatever came our way. When the going got tough, so did I. I am such a wimp.

2.  Every 4th of July, I wish that I could capture a great fireworks photograph. One year, I did pretty well, I think, for a first-timer.

3.  If I knew how to do higher math, I would be an architect. It is something that I wanted to be when I grew up, but I got scared off by the math. I wouldn't want someone to die because I couldn't figure out how to find X or Y.

4.  I have trouble: Parallel parking. Climbing stairs. Remembering things. Dodging mosquitoes. The list is long and is getting longer as time goes by.


Please visit David's Friendly Fill-Ins post over at Random Thoughts and Observations.  Thank you!

Friendly Fill-Ins - 17 June 2016

This is a fun meme co-hosted by McGuffy's Reader and 15 and Meowing. Be sure to visit and join in the fun!


Here are this week's statements with the blanks:

Week 6: June 17, 2016...


1. The best brand of ____________ is _______________.

2. I refuse to buy _______________________ unless there is a sale or a coupon.

3. I am inspired by ___________ .

4. Whenever __________, I ___________.


Here are my answers:

Jif ©2016 Suzanne G. McClendon

1. The best brand of peanut butter is Jif. For years, I ate Peter Pan peanut butter, but I have been won over to the "Choosy mothers" brigade. I love peanut butter, period. After having Jif, Peter Pan peanut butter pales in comparison.

2. I refuse to buy _______________________ unless there is a sale or a coupon. I can't think of anything that I *refuse* to buy without a sale or coupon. I just generally do not like spending money unless I absolutely have to. When I buy yarn or needles or hooks, I hope for them to be on sale, but if they aren't, it doesn't keep me from buying them if I need them for a project. I absolutely can't stand buying clothes for myself, so I get those as cheaply as possible and avoid it as long as possible. I am not brand loyal across the board in regards to groceries. I look for the cheapest price, regardless of brand, with very few exceptions. Some store brands are okay in some categories, but are totally ick in other categories. Plus, the store brand is not always the cheapest.

3. I am inspired by those that don't let physical limitations keep them from living their dream. I have visual issues, but I know there is hope for my art. I have seen some amazing artwork created by people that are totally blind. If they can do it, there is no reason (other than lacking this skill or that one) for my visual impairments to hold me back either. You can see some examples here: Blind Art

4. Whenever a poem hits me, I have to write it down right then, uninterrupted, or it is lost forever. Trying to recapture it after being interrupted just doesn't work. It doesn't have the same power as the original, raw, straight-from-the-heart pass at it.

Please also visit David's Friday Fill-In post over at Random Thoughts and Observations. Thanks!

<!– start LinkyTools script –>

<!– end LinkyTools script –>

Five Minute Friday - Want

Five Minute Friday

I learned about Five Minute Friday years ago when it was under the leadership of Lisa-Jo Baker. Now, it is captained by Kate Motaung over at Heading Home. Be sure to click the button below and join in this freeing experience of writing on a topic for five minutes, unedited, just writing, not worrying, spilling out of your heart what the prompt inspires. Come on, you can do it! Let your heart fly through your fingers freely for five minutes, link up, and then visit the person that linked up before you.



This week's word is: Want.

Want…I want to be free, free of the fear that has been instilled in me since I was a little girl. Not good enough. She does this better than you. Your bumble bee craft isn't the best. She sings better than you. She's younger.  I choose her.

I want to be free to know that I am loved and to love fully in return, to have no doubts. To be able to go out in public without how inadequate and imperfect I am being rubbed in my face and ripping out my heart.

I want to have value to those that say they love me. Heavenly Father showed my value to Him when He sent His son to die for my sins. Yes, *my* sins, just as he did for yours. I am not some incurable plague. I do have value. I got a God-said on that one and that God-said came in the form of a man nailed to a tree. If I am worth that much to Him, who are you to determine my value? And why is it so important to me to be valued by you, a mortal human, when that God-said is for eternity?

I want an answer to the questions and an end to the fear and heartache and uncertainty. I want and need a place of heart safety here on this earth. I want to be free of the fear of desertion.

I have His love. I want His peace.

*****

Now, it's your turn. Respond in a blog post of your own and join the linky over at Kate's page or answer in the comments. The choice is yours.

Have a blessed day!

Friendly Fill-Ins, 10 June 2016

This is a fun meme co-hosted by McGuffy's Reader and 15 and Meowing. Be sure to visit and join in the fun!


The statements for this week are:

1. I used to love to eat _____________________, but now it repulses me.

2. I would never eat _______________________, but now I love it.

3. I always cry _________________.

4. _______________always makes me laugh.


My answers for this week are:

1. I used to love to eat at restaurants, but now it repulses me. I have seen too many food handlers do "the nose thing", where they wipe their noses on their hands and then mess with silverware or put a bun on a burger and all manner of things without even bothering to wash their hands. Some argue "but I have on gloves!" My response: "Yeah, okay, so you have on gloves. You just got them all boogerty because you wiped your nose on your gloved hand. Or, you used your gloved hands to empty the trash and didn't remove those gloves and wash your hands and put on new gloves before you touched my glass or food!" We were once in a restaurant that serves chips and salsa as an appetizer while you wait for your entrée. I watched as the worker girl licked her finger and then get the next liner to put in the basket. I understand that some papers are hard to separate unless you wet your fingers, but good grief! Get a sponge! I do NOT want pre-licked chips! And YES, I called her on it! Thankfully, she then went and threw away all of those contaminated liners and chips.

2. I would never eat guacamole as a youngster, but now I love it. I wish that I had been eating it all along. It is great!

3. I always cry __________ . The period should be right at the end of cry. I always cry. I am a big cry-baby these days thanks to the emotional rollercoaster of confused hormones not knowing where to settle for the last stage of life.

4. My family almost always makes me laugh.


Please be sure to read David's response at: Random Thoughts and Observations.

Family Friday - Catherine Montgomery Calhoun

One of my favorite things to study is family history. I have always found history itself to be a fascinating subject. This week hasn't let me down on either one.

Members of my family were in this country long before the United States was officially the United States, long before it was even a British colony. I come from a multi-ethnic background, with Irish being the most represented, but the Native Americans are strongly represented as well. This brings us to today's story.

Catherine Montgomery Calhoun was my eighth great-grandmother. She was born in County Donegal, Ireland, in 1684. She was married to James Patrick Calhoun. They were the grandparents of future vice-president John C. Calhoun and also the grand-parents of my sixth great-grandmother Rebecca, who was married to General Andrew Pickens.

Back to Catherine: She was living in South Carolina during a time when there were lots of skirmishes with the Native Americans, specifically the Cherokees. Because of increased land disputes with the Cherokee, the Scots-Irish settlers decided to leave South Carolina and head towards Fort Moore near Augusta, Georgia.
According to some of the articles that I have read, the wagons bogged down and they were ambushed by the Cherokee. At least 23 settlers were killed and about the same number of Cherokee. One of these settlers brutally massacred was Catherine. One of her sons returned after the massacre to bury the dead.

While I will never understand the murder of the children, I do understand that the Native Americans were doing what they could do to defend land that was legally and morally theirs. I also understand that the Scots-Irish were just looking for a better life after leaving the oppression suffered in Ireland.

Both sides were my family.

I look forward to learning more about these people in my family and their part in the early history of South Carolina and the founding of this country.

For more information on the massacre, as well as pictures of the site, please visit: Long Cane Massacre.

Five Minute Friday - First

I look forward to being a part of Five Minute Friday again! After Lisa-Jo Baker passed it along to someone else, I lost track of it and am happy to have caught up with it again. Please click the button above and play along. The more, the merrier!

Set a timer for five minutes and start writing on the theme of the week. No going back to edit! That is a big no-no. Don't worry about grammar, spelling, punctuation or if it sounds "just right" or not. Just write it and put it out there. You might surprise yourself. :)

This week's prompt is: First

I was the firstborn. The first to walk and talk. The first to go to school. The first to get a spanking in school...got it on the first day of first grade, as a matter of fact.

The first to have the responsibility of setting an example and then getting a spanking when they messed up because I should have "set a better example". The first to find out that I wasn't the "one child" that my mama wanted. The first to feel the sting of being second-best and rejection.

I was the first of the litter to date, leave home, go to college, get married. I birthed the first grandchild on my parents' side and the first McClendon-branded grandchild for my in-laws. We were the first birthing experience for about thirty student nurses as our son was born. His first breath had quite an audience!

Someone started banging on our door and now I've lost my train of thought! That ends this "First" Five Minute Friday post of 2016. Oh well, maybe next week will be flawless. :)

Have a blessed, wonderful weekend!

Family Friday - Favorite Family Photograph

FOLLOW FRIDAY FOUR FILL IN FUN - 11 December 2015

Please play along with this Friday Fill In. I hope to be a regular participant from this point forward!

The statements:

1. Being ___ is _____
2. I _____ to ______
3. If I could_____ I would _________
4. I cannot live without _______________


My Answers:
1. Being allergic to everything is frustrating.
2. I like to photograph flowers.
3. If I could talk to my daddy again, I would tell him how sorry I am for missing his last birthday.
4. I cannot live without the letter "B", for it starts (my) babies and books and both are a big part of my life.

31 Days in the Moment - All Grown Up and Voting!

31 October 2014

Today was a memorable day!

Maggie was able to vote for the very first time, thanks to early voting here in our town. 100% of our household is voting age now and that gives me some misty moments. It means that all of our children are over 18 years old, no longer babies.

Maggie was sad that she wasn't able to vote in 2012 when Davey voted for the first time. His first vote was the presidential election. She wanted so much for them to vote together. They've done most everything together over the course of their lives, such as baking cakes in the kitchen floor and the peanut butter dance. Although she is thirteen months younger than Davey, they graduated high school together, started college together, and had hoped to graduate college together. Davey went to the Marines instead and now she doesn't plan to walk for the graduation ceremony when she graduates next spring/summer.

But, for today, she was happy that she was finally able to vote!

31 Days in the Moment - Sinuses and Slow-cookers

24 October 2014

Laynie's appointment went well. The doctor wasn't really concerned about her scratched cornea. He said that it looked like the ointment was doing what it was supposed to be doing and it looked good. Otherwise, she has sinusitis and has a prescription to take care of that. Her voice is coming back already, thank goodness!

Mags seems to be doing better, just still very congested.

David and I are still nursing our own brand of ick, but it will end eventually. This time of year is always hard on the two of us due to allergies.

We ran what felt like a few hundred errands and then were finally able to come home and chill. There are no plans for doing anything outside of our house tomorrow. YAYAY! Finally a day of rest!

To aid in that day of rest, I have put our slow cooker to use, finally. I made ranch potatoes and will leave them to cook overnight.

31 Days in the Moment - Troopers and Troupes

17 October 2014

This is the second performance of The 39 Steps at the local college theater. Maggie is a real trooper doing her job while she is feeling so bad.

We went to get Laynie from school for the weekend. Poor girl can hardly talk. This sinus infection or whatever it is has her feeling really bad. I imagine that she'll be sleeping a lot this weekend. Next week she has her midterm exams. What fun!

31 Days in the Moment - Disabled Veterans and Illiterate Snitches

10 October 2014

A very frustrating thing happened at the local Walmart yesterday and I missed posting about it. We have a handicapped tag for our car because David, Sr. is disabled due to his diabetes. The truck parked in front of us was a disabled veteran. He earned the Bronze Star Medal of Valor! These tags always stand out to us. There are lots of Purple Hearts around here.

Anyway, a Walmart worker was in front of this truck writing down the tag number, truck type, etc. We approached her and David said to her, "Are you giving this veteran a huge discount?" In reality, we knew he was probably about to be in trouble for something. We were right. The worker told us that someone had reported him for being parked in a handicapped parking space. This got us a bit riled up. Though he didn't have a placard like what folks hang from their rear-view mirrors, he had a front and back tag that showed him as a Bronze Star Medal of Valor winner. On the bottom of the front tag it also clearly said "Disabled Veteran". While that wasn't so clear on the back tag because the car dealership tag bracket covered over that line of the veteran's tag, the person that reported this hero should have checked more closely before he or she made an accusation that was unfounded. Even the Walmart worker that was writing down his tag number hadn't bothered to actually read his tag. I pointed out to her, "Yes, he is disabled. There it is right there on his tag 'Disabled Veteran'".

She thanked me for pointing it out to her. She should have paid attention in the first place. I shouldn't have had to point it out to her. Is the whole world illiterate or what? If a legally blind man and a majorly distracted mother of a Marine and a sailor can see that the tag said "Disabled Veteran" on it from inside our own car, a young 20-something should have been able to read it while standing right at it!

We waited there for the veteran to come back to his vehicle. We didn't tell him about what had happened, but we did thank him for his service. These folks should always be thanked, even if one doesn't believe in war or fighting. They willingly put their lives on the line, risk dying for our freedom and the rights of others.

Someone wants to turn him in for parking illegally just because they can't read?

Good grief!

Even a day later, this still irritates us to think about. Some probably think we're sensitive to these things because our sons are in service. While that does make me a bit more "misty" lately, these are feelings that we've both had for years. The veterans are not appreciated enough by this society and many are downright disrespected.

Today, David, Jr., went to the school again to meet up with an old friend that he missed on Monday. They went out to lunch together. We went on to the city to pick our oldest daughter up for the weekend. Our youngest was late again coming out of the theater class. This is typical for the week before a performance. This poor girl has had a hard time the last few days. First, she cut her finger on the fan in her room and then she cut it again on a prop in the theater. It is getting lots of attention from the other theater gang. Folks were debating whether it needed stitches or not. Her daddy was an EMT and he doesn't think so. I don't know one way or another. She didn't think it needed them. The two nursing students had differing opinions; one says it does need them, the other one says it doesn't. She didn't want to go to the doctor about it and trusts her daddy's opinion on it.

Davey also got a hair cut today. He said it was getting too long. I couldn't see that, but I'm not a drill instructor or a sergeant and I gather they pick right up on that.

This time is passing far too quickly. Davey leaves very early Tuesday morning to go back to San Diego.







Bronze Star image is in the public domain. It was found at: Bronze Star Medal.

31 Days in the Moment: Graduation Day!

Today is the day that we get David, Jr., from the airport. After four months, we finally get to see our son again! He left for US Marine boot camp on June 1 and graduates today.

We started off the day taking our youngest daughter to her classes, then headed off to the city to bring our oldest daughter home from school for the weekend. We very nearly crashed on the way up there. There is construction going on along the freeway. I do not often travel on the freeway into the city, but had gone that way a couple of weeks ago. There was a sign directing the traffic to move into the left lane because the right lane was closed. I did not see that sign this time. All of a sudden David yelled, "Look out!" because a truck had come to a sudden stop in front of me. You would have thought our little Zoomie was a car in a pinball machine or something. We were back and forth all over the place, but I eventually recovered control of the vehicle without hitting any other car. I didn't take out any pylons, either. I had no clue what was holding them still and just knew I'd hit one and that would be all she wrote. Needless to say, we had to stop at the next travel mart!

Our sons - Jared the Sailor and David the Marine, 3 October 2014

We finally made it to the school to get Laynie to bring her home. We came back home and took care of a few last minute details and then went to get Mags from her school and are heading to the airport to get our Marine!

I Want to Be a Princess!

Okay, *I* don't want to be a princess, but our daughter does.

Whitney (we call her Laynie) has the opportunity to audition this coming week for the role of a princess. If accepted, this will allow her to have a weekend job while she attends college through the week. There is a fundraiser live now to help with the expenses of getting her to the audition, food while she's there, and getting her back home. We are in a major financial crunch just trying to get her ready for school and cannot afford another trip to Houston right now, so she needs help to get to this audition.

You can find the donation page at: I Want to Be a Princess!

Thank you for your consideration.

What I Wish I Had Done, But Am Glad That I Didn't Do

On a recent post on the blog Treasure Chest of Memories, we are encouraged to write about the bullies of our lives. These could be schoolyard bullies, workplace bullies, or anywhere in between bullies. Laura offers suggestions for ways to write about these hard moments in our lives. The following bully letter is my attempt to do just that. There are so many more that I could write and may do so at random times on this blog.

To the Bullies of Starr:

     You don't know the bullet that you dodged that day. Literally. The bus let us off beside Bob's house. Before that, you had been tormenting us on the bus after tormenting my brothers all day at school. You never could get enough of causing us pain. What was done to you to make you so mean to them? What did they ever do to you? I understand you being mean to me. I was defending my brothers. I just wanted you to back off and leave them alone. Do you have any idea what any of us had to endure at home? School should have been our solace. You made it our hell.

     You said you were going to kick our tails (you used a worse word). We got off of the bus and high-tailed it down to our yard, running the whole 500 yards down our driveway, up the steps and in through the door, which we promptly locked. You didn't know that our daddy had an arsenal in there and that he'd shown us how to use each one of them. My brothers, your favorite to torment and beat upon, had the rifles. Our little sister had the .22, a little bitty gun. I had the three-fifty-seven magnum, a powerful, huge thing for a little me to be holding.

     You came to the door, you and your little cohorts in crime, banging on it, demanding to be let in. Did you really think that we'd be so stupid to let you and your cronies into our home? I rolled open the window just a little bit to see exactly where you were and I pointed daddy's huge gun at you. You didn't see me, but I could see the propane tank less than ten feet behind you all. My brothers and little sister were watching through the windows and waiting for my word. We had every intention of blowing your heads off that day, ending our constant barrage of pain at school. If we shot you, the others would be afraid of us and leave us alone, too.

     I saw the propane tank. I saw the door. I saw you. I knew the power of the piece in my hand. I knew that it would hurt you and if I aimed it just right, you'd never hurt us or anyone else again. I knew that bullets sometimes ricochet and was afraid that it would hit the door and bounce back and get me. But, the thing that stopped me from pulling that trigger was that propane tank. Maybe if my bullet missed you and hit that tank, we'd all be blown to kingdom come, including me and my brothers and sister.

     My fear of blowing up saved your life. If I had known then what I know now, that a little trailer door wasn't going to stop that bullet or even make it hesitate, and that propane tank wouldn't have exploded, you wouldn't be here still tormenting the people around you. You would be thirty-five years underground, pushing up daisies if anyone thought you were worth enough to even lay the cheapest of flowers on your grave.

     But you are still here and so are my memories of what I wish I had done, but am glad that I didn't do.

Sincerely,
Your victim no more


Image source: http://www.clker.com/clipart-no-bullying-zone.html