THE BULLY

                                   1958

                               The Bully

FORMER SCHUTTE HOME ON MARBURG IN OAKLEY *  PHOTO BY KATHY STORRIE   7-26-2014

“Watch me. Take your pillow and fold it in half like this. With the thick side near your face, hold the pillow in your arms this way.” Next, Shelia leaned slowly into the pillow and just started kissing it. As I watched my cousin “make out” with a pillow I couldn’t stop giggling. I was too embarrassed to watch let alone try it. I would practice later in the dark without her watching me. About that time we heard Fritzy, her brother, playing on his guitar in his bedroom next door.

SHELIA SCHUTTE MY COUSIN                                    HER BROTHER MY COUSIN  FRITZY FRED SCHUTTE

“Girls, what’s all that giggling about in there?” asked her mother my Aunt Sue. “If you’re going swimming early tomorrow morning girls you should have the lights out soon.”

“Okay, Mom!” Shelia said. “We still need to brush our teeth.” We dropped her pillows and giggled. "Make Fritz stop playing his guitar so we can go to sleep!"

    AUNT SUE LAWSON SCHUTTE

"Five minutes, Fritz!" Aunt Sue said as she knocked on his door.        

While her mom was in the bathroom I brushed my cousin’s beautiful auburn hair. I tried to put it up in to a twist like Doris Day but her hair wasn’t quite long enough and there weren’t enough bobby pins. As soon as her mom went back downstairs we brushed our teeth and went to bed.

When Shelia went to sleep I was still wide awake. I turned away from her in case she was faking being asleep and practiced kissing my pillow. I couldn’t breathe very well so I stopped and eventually drifted off to sleep.  

 I was sweaty and hot when Shelia and I arrived at the free local pool. It was so crowded only small sections of the sparkly, aqua water were available. I sat down on the edge of the pool at the shallow end and eased myself into the lukewarm water.  

CITY POOL CROWDED   BY   NICK HALL     CREATIVE COMMONS   WWW.FLICKR.COM

As I walked slowly through the waist deep water somebody grabbed my shoulders from behind and shoved me completely under the water and held me down. Jerking and twisting I tried to free myself but the person was bigger than me. When there was no more air in my lungs for several seconds the person finally got off of me.

I rose up out of the water gasping for air! Flipping my wet hair out of my eyes I searched for the culprit who did it. It was Bobby Nelson laughing his head off pointing at me! If my steel gaze could have killed he would have been dead! I looked around at the life guard who was only watching the deep end of the pool.

For the rest of the morning I avoided the despicable boy with the blond hair and big teeth. He was jumping on other kids’ backs and laughing. The life guard blew his whistle and gave Bobby a warning. When Bobby kept doing it the life guard ordered him out of the pool for the day. It was nice to be able to swim and not to worry about being drowned.

Shelia and I walked back to her house for lunch. We were starved! I loved going the short cut through the shady woods with the hundred feet tall trees behind the pool. It was fun stepping on the rocks across the half dry creek. Aunt Sue fixed us grilled cheese sandwiches and tomato soup. Yum! She always was a very good cook!

Shelia didn’t want to swim anymore so I went back to the pool alone. I had signed up for the free swimming lessons and I didn’t want to miss the first one. I needed to learn how to swim in deep water. After the swimming lesson I decided to go watch the older kids play checkers and chess.

 By the end of the summer I had learned how to swim in the deep end, how to dive and the “side stroke” to save a drowning person. As for the games I was better at checkers. 

Looking back on that day in the pool I could have easily been drown. Was God watching over me or was it just a coincidence?  Why do some children drown and others come close but don’t drown? Are some people allowed more time on earth than others?

These questions can arise when someone dies, especially someone young. Some people will say, “It was their time to go. Or, it was God’s will.” Personally, I don’t believe God picks my time to die. He leaves that up to me. I believe God loves us all the same and He lets us make our own good and bad choices.

We are living in a fallen world ever since Adam and Eve fell. They lost their beautiful garden and had to grow their own food by the sweat of their brow. Trees, plants, animals die and people eventually die of sickness, disease, accidents, starvation, violence, or old age.  

Satan tricked Adam and Eve to eat of the tree of good and evil so he could get back his position as the prince of the air over the whole earth. He’s allowed to roam the earth looking for those whom he can deceive and destroy. When a person accepts Jesus Christ as their personal Savior, Satan loses his control over them unless they give it back to him by ignoring God.

Any person can receive salvation, protection, healing, wisdom, guidance, etc. but they must pray or ask God for it. I wasn’t a Christian yet, so God inspired a believer to pray for my protection and salvation.

James.5:16 The effectual fervent (consistent) prayer of a righteous (believer) man availeth (helps) much.

                                     THE END

Have you ever cheated death? If so, why do you believe you didn’t die?

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