The following circumlocution is being posted in response to some familial infighting.
I once had a father, as well as two stepfathers. At the age of three, I was kidnapped over many state lines and I did not see my family until I was almost 5-years-old.
My first stepfather beat me repeatedly for even the most minor of childhood infractions. Years later, pent up rage manifested itself when the situation became reversed and had me beating on my, ahem, second stepfather.
I once watched my mother assault step dad #1’s skull with a claw hammer. I also saw her point a 30-odd-6 at his face and pull the trigger. I watched helplessly while he pounded on her many times over. And I even saw him launch a stove down a flight of steps which rolled right over her. I once went to Bradley Elementary with my back and buttocks lashed so badly and still bleeding that the teacher yanked me out of class, the school nurse insisted that I disrobe and the principal called the police.
I watched in horror when he punched my then 4-year-old sister in the face for eating a Scooter Pie without permission. I saw him shoot and kill the neighbor’s dog. I saw him shoot my mother in the head with a pellet gun. And if this isn’t crazy enough, my mother once grabbed me by and hand and fled the local Stop ‘n’ Shop after he decided to assault some mouthy guy in the deli line.
When she finally filed for divorce and was notified that he was being released from the local VA hospital against the advice of the local police, I helped her frantically barricade the interior of our home while she sobbed uncontrollably out of sheer fear.
Trust me, after 10, say 11 years of dysfunctional marital discord and the like, neither of the two principal players can claim victim status when the discord finally comes to an abrupt halt. You see, it takes two to tango. Or, should I say, two to tangle.
Whether anyone realizes it or not, and whether anyone can admit to it or not, the only players that can rightfully claim victim hood status during and after the tumult are the innocent bystanders…the children.
So, going forward, it matters not which side can spin the best yarn, or which side can best rewrite history. All that matters now is how everyone involved can work together for the good of the children…my grandchildren.
Them’s all I got.
Later
I once had a father, as well as two stepfathers. At the age of three, I was kidnapped over many state lines and I did not see my family until I was almost 5-years-old.
My first stepfather beat me repeatedly for even the most minor of childhood infractions. Years later, pent up rage manifested itself when the situation became reversed and had me beating on my, ahem, second stepfather.
I once watched my mother assault step dad #1’s skull with a claw hammer. I also saw her point a 30-odd-6 at his face and pull the trigger. I watched helplessly while he pounded on her many times over. And I even saw him launch a stove down a flight of steps which rolled right over her. I once went to Bradley Elementary with my back and buttocks lashed so badly and still bleeding that the teacher yanked me out of class, the school nurse insisted that I disrobe and the principal called the police.
I watched in horror when he punched my then 4-year-old sister in the face for eating a Scooter Pie without permission. I saw him shoot and kill the neighbor’s dog. I saw him shoot my mother in the head with a pellet gun. And if this isn’t crazy enough, my mother once grabbed me by and hand and fled the local Stop ‘n’ Shop after he decided to assault some mouthy guy in the deli line.
When she finally filed for divorce and was notified that he was being released from the local VA hospital against the advice of the local police, I helped her frantically barricade the interior of our home while she sobbed uncontrollably out of sheer fear.
Trust me, after 10, say 11 years of dysfunctional marital discord and the like, neither of the two principal players can claim victim status when the discord finally comes to an abrupt halt. You see, it takes two to tango. Or, should I say, two to tangle.
Whether anyone realizes it or not, and whether anyone can admit to it or not, the only players that can rightfully claim victim hood status during and after the tumult are the innocent bystanders…the children.
So, going forward, it matters not which side can spin the best yarn, or which side can best rewrite history. All that matters now is how everyone involved can work together for the good of the children…my grandchildren.
Them’s all I got.
Later
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