Childhood
Uploaded by DudeMark on Sep 02, 2008
Childhood
Ahhh... To be a child.
What a wonderful thought. For you, the memory of childhood is probably clouded with the early school years, fights in the sandbox, and the inevitable, mother-distributed apple-juice boxes. If that is the case, I am sorry. Childhood for me, was so far above and beyond all that.
What do I mean? Well I will tell you... So if you are comfortable, we shall begin.
Until about ten or eleven years ago my family bred in the woods out on Irish road in Dundee. My family, that being the family of the Pope's, was, as you know, home-schooled. But it bears mention, that in the era of which I speak, the term “home-schooled” had an entirely different meaning than the negative connotation it has donned in recent years; during the schooling hours, my mom could be found behind the shed. Always. In her left hand, she held a cup of coffee, from her mouth dangled a cigarette, in her right hand or shoulder she cupped the phone, and her piercing “phone-talk laugh” could be heard shattering the atmosphere without notice or warning. At random intervals of time, probably ranging from about thirty-seven to forty-three minutes, she would yell inside the house “Go measure something!”. And that was it. That was home-schooling.
Now take note, that I mentioned this was only the case during schooling hours, those being until noon or noon-thirty on any day that we were still inside that late. On any other day, I, my two older brothers and older sister practiced the basics. Surviving, disappearing, and of course, taking life.
We had a perfect system. We each new our part in the scheme of things. Tom, at nine years older than me, was the powerhouse. He was six foot tall at twelve, and weighed one-hundred-eighty pounds without an ounce of fat on him. By the time he hit fourteen he had grown an additional four inches, and put on another forty pounds of choleric, well conditioned muscle. He ran the show so to speak, with his ability to inflict physical pain. He had no qualms about beating anyone to tears, blood and worse, except me. I was exempt from any corporal punishment from him, and anyone caught inflicting it on me...