Chapter 1

I hope everyone had a great Thanksgiving sorry I haven't post recently.

The smell of the wood chips always brings me back to that infamous day when I stood up to the bully at Darby Township Elementary's playground. I believe it was the summer going into second grade I would always ride my bike to the playground and do what a kid would do go on swings, slide down the slide, and climb the monkey bars. I would get picked on by the bigger kids playing at the basketball court but I would always ignore them. This one day I couldn't ignore the big kids playing basketball because they told a kid there to pick on me. This kid would harass me bad he pushed me call me names and one time he even spit on me! I would always ignore the kid because I thought haha the cops would of arrested me and I would not be allowed to go back to the park. For a 7yr old their is no steeper punishment except taking away Saturday morning cartoons!

Well one day push came to shove and it was a day I will never forget! The kid (aka the Bully) that the bigger kids were getting to pick on me punched me in the face. Now a a 7-8 year old kid doesn't have knockout power so physically I wasn't hurt, but right after the kid punched me everyone pointed at me laughed and that hurt. I remember thinking that the older kids should not of let this kid punched me and they sure as hell should not of laughed at me. I started crying and ran to my bike and pedaled home the whole way crying like a little kid who just got punched! The first person I told about the whole ordeal was biggest brother Nicky and my theory behind it was he was at that time we was and still is my strongest toughest brother so I knew he could of easily handled the situation. I remember Nicky kind of laughing at me while I told him the story and he asked me what I wanted to do? I told him that we should go to the park together because I knew the big kids would not of picked on me if I brought my big brother and I wanted to tell the kid that he shouldn't punch people in the face! I always loved riding shotgun in Nicky's blue Honda I felt so cool. Looking back no one looks cool in a 1980 something Honda. Our search turned out to be unsuccessful, when we arrived back to the park and everyone had already left and I am very thankful for that!! Can you imagine how bad I would of got picked on when I came back to the playground without my older brother after telling this kid to stop bullying people!? I can it would of ended up with at least an atomic wedgie or another beating.

It wasn't long after my other big brother Benny found out about what happen and man was he angry. Oh by the way I am the youngest of 6 kids so I was use to getting beat up only by my older brothers. At the time I couldn't tell if he was more angry at the fact that his little brother got punched or that I let some kid punch me without defending myself. So Benny did what every big brother does teaches his little brother to fight. I knew I was in good hands with Benny teaching me because he seriously at that time had already watched every Chuck Norris, Sean Claude Van Damme, Steven Seagul, and Arnold movie ever made. He also would make me watch every movie well he didn't make me I wanted to watch them! We would also play Miami Vice in the house when my Mom and Dad were at work. I always was the bad guy aka drug dealer and would get beat up by Benny, Danny Googs, and Robbie Keenan daily. Anyway back to the story Benny now became my first ever trainer and we were in the backyard learning cutting edge techniques! This was our strategy when the bully came over to me I was suppose to wait for him to push me and then I would push him back harder! This would obviously make the bully irate and he would push me back, but here's the twist when he came back to push me I was going to duck under the push and take him down. I would then hold hold this kid down hit him and then make him eat wood chips! Actually when I think about this now it still seems like a good strategy. Thanks Benny!!

My older sister Frances had a little league softball game at Briarcliffe Field and I decided to go watch her game and swing on the monkey bars. When I got to the park someone there had other plans for me yup it was the bully! This time I had a game plan and I wasn't going to leave the playground. I remember the bully approaching me and the bigger kids starting to yell and it was the first time I felt those butterflies in my stomach. It was my flight or fight responses going off in my body and I remember thinking to just leave. I turned around and grabbed the handle bars of my bike and I started to walk away. I will never forget the laughs of everyone and I started to squeeze the grips on my bike and before I reached the edge of the wood chips I decided that I wasn't going to run away. I got filled with this feeling that I can't describe, but in my head I compared it to the feeling that Hulk Hogan must of felt before he gave someone the big leg drop. I threw my bike down in the wood chips which I never would do haha I treated that bike better than I treat my car! I marched right over to the bully and shoved the hell out of him and he stumbled back and charged at me to shove me. This time I had a plan and I will never forget these next series of events when he came into shove me I closed my eyes and went for his legs and wrapped them up and we both went into the wood chips. In the scramble he went face down and I jumped right on top of him and I start to punch and swing like a mad man! When the first punch landed in my head I was thinking holy crap our plan is working. I had to of landed about 10 quick wild punches before the bully kicked and bucked and got his face out of the wood chips. The mayhem continued on the feet and it was a crazy scramble and I remember the wood chips were flying around and getting stuck in my shoes. I don't remember how we got to the final position, but the fight ended with me holding the bully in a standing head lock and I was squeezing as hard as I could and punching like crazy. All the big kids said "STOP STOP he's crying" and I let go right away. The Bully ran away crying and I was so happy not that I stood up to the bully but that the whole ordeal was over and I could go on the monkey bars. Honestly and this sounds weird from that day on I never remember seeing the bully at the playground anymore.

Well Sam that's a mean story you shouldn't tell kids to fight it is dangerous. I totally agree I am anti-violent and in my older years I grew wiser and I believe their is a peaceful solution to all of life's problems. The reason why I am sharing this story because we have to face life's problems. No I don't mean punch your problem in the face, but how many times in our life do we see a career that we want or have a goal we want to reach and we know that it will improve our quality of life so much and bring us happiness but we just tell ourselves their is no way I could do that? Guess what sometimes we will have to experience pain to reach our goals, but the reward at the end of the all hard work will far surpass any pain we felt in the journey. Challenge yourself today to face a problem and I guarantee you will feel the reward of knowing their is nothing that will stand in your way. Thanks for reading go live life!!!!