I do this post because RJ asked me to. He felt it would be a good idea and a good way for folks to interact about daily events and in general regarding subjects at hand. I was not sure how much interest it would draw but when RJ asks me to do something I try and cooperate. I've never worked with anyone who has been any more of a straight shooter than he has been so it's no big deal. I have always stressed the one thing I would steer clear of was politics and I am going to adhere to that. There are other threads on this forum for that.
Like most mornings today sports was intermingled with some politics. In the current climate around our nation that is virtually impossible to avoid. The sports this morning involved our Missouri Tigers who are playing tonight in Florida against the Gators. As I type this up they are 21 point dogs. They say things have to hit rock bottom before they can improve. Tonight could be rock bottom as I can see a humiliating defeat at hand. Florida can likely name the score here. To their credit, for what it is worth the team has continued to play hard. It would be worse if they were mailing it in. They are putting out the effort, they just are not that good.
Another primary topic this morning was one that is not pleasant. It is downright sickening. A young local 17 year old boy shot himself in the head back on december 21st. A suicide that shook the community. Anytime a kid that age makes a decision like that with their entire life ahead of them it makes you sick. It leaves a trail of heart break among the family and friends. This is a particularly troubling case as it has been ruled yesterday involuntary manslaughter. Apparently this young man was a victim of relentless bullying. Not only at his school but at his place of part time employment, a local Dairy Queen. The manager could be charged in the case. Enough witnesses have stepped forward stating examples of bullying against the young lady that was his manager that the ruling was made by a coroners jury. I must confess I have never given much real thought about the subject but this case made me open my eyes and mind to it. The young man was apparently overweight and had a speech impediment. Kids can be cruel and that was the case here. Plenty of blame to be spread around the way I see it. I can personally remember one isolated case back in my high school days where bullying stepped over the line. I was a senior in high school. There was a little guy in our class named Paul Grant. Paul was a nice kid that I never had any issue with. But Paul was about as non athletic as it gets, very small, quiet and also very smart. He just kept to himself and never socialized with anyone. The way he was made fun of I never blamed him. I sat next to him in a couple of classes and kind of liked the guy. One day I was in the locker room and went upstairs to the weight room where the hand ball court was. I heard a ruckus and some of the guys on the wrestling team had Paul held down on the floor and was threatening to go bowling with a shot put against his privates. It was way out of bounds over any normal bullying. Paul was scared shitless. I never lacked courage but was never stupid, I was not going to take on four wrestlers by myself. I hollered down to the locker room and some of my buddies thankfully came running. We went into the weight room and put a stop to the whole mess. Other than some shoving and loud talk nothing more came of it. But I felt sick for Paul who was clearly humiliated. Well, the subject never came up again. Paul was always more open with me and willing to help me with some problems with my own school work. Which I sorely needed. But Paul has never once returned for any of our class reunions. I often wonder how he is now and what he is doing. But the point in bullying can have real consequences. Generally a kid just has to learn it's a tough world and learn how to stand up to things. That's just life. But some kids just are dealt a bad hand, and have two strikes against him. Apparently that was the case with this young man. His name was Kenneth Suttner. I feel sick for him and I feel sick for his family. Obviously I am curious to see how this thing plays out in court. Surely, hopefully the young lady who was the manager is carrying a lot of guilt and will learn from this. With the potential criminal charges hanging over her head she obviously wishes she had the opportunity to do things differently. That is her cross to bear the rest of her life. Anyway, I know it is not a pleasant subject. But, it was the subject this morning. It's not always fun and jokes and talk about sports.
I don't know if any of you have had experiences with bullying. Maybe you were the victim or maybe you were on the wrong side of it and regret it now. I'd be interested to know.
Anyway, I promise to try and keep it lighter next time guys. Good luck with your action tonight.