Once upon a time, when Papa was just a little boy,
he had a running sibling rivalry with his big sister Donna. He loved his big sister, and he knew she loved him, but because of their individual natures, they were always at odds with each other. His big sister loved to control what Dougie did, and Dougie never liked being controlled (not even by his Mama and Dada!). The bad news for Dougie was that Donna was very strong for a girl, and even strong for a boy -- she would go through her early school years being stronger than most of the boys in her classes. And Donna was two years older than Dougie!
Usually things would begin with Donna telling Dougie what to do, and he would attempt to buck the system, the big sister would pound the little brother, and Dougie would end up in tears. But the thing of it was, he never stopped fighting back. This vicious cycle was probably instrumental in developing the kind of boy, and then man Dougie would become in later years. But then again, possibly the genetic background of both children determined how their early relationship played out. All boys and girls fight, but these two fought more than most.One time, Dougie stood in front of his closet, and inside of the closet was his toy box, and inside of the toy box were some of the most delicious and tantalizing toys imaginable. The only problem was that his big sister Donna stood in front of him. She told him that he couldn't play with his toys. Dougie knew that Donna was just being a great big meanie.He stood there, Dougie did, chest heaving. Donna had gone too far. She was always doing this. She wouldn't lay off. She wouldn't back down. It was constant, day and night, and Dougie had, in the words of the wise, had just about enough of enough is enough.He flexed his fingers at his side.Donna grinned, standing resolutely, her legs parted, her hands on her hips, he blue eyes flashing. This dumb kid just would never learn. Look at him, standing there, gritting his teeth, his fingers writhing like spiders at the sides of his diaper. What a big baby. what a dumb, big cry baby.Dougie knew he should probably go tell Mama. But then he was always running to tell Mama, and she always took Donna's side.And there Donna stood, his big, mean, sister. His sister, the big meanie.Dougie reared back and suddenly came forward and shoved his big sister Donna in the chest. He knew it was a mistake, he knew she would beat him up, but he had been pushed far beyond his limit.The shove was a little too big. Donna flew backards, her legs bumping against the toy box, and she tripped and flew backward further, her back slamming into the wall, and then she came crashing down, like a tall, powerful tower, crumbling into the very toy box in front of which she had stood so proudly only moments before.Dougie stood paralyzed. He knew the end of the world was at hand.Donna stared at him, her eyes huge. Here it came. Something terrible.Big meanie Donna began to cry. She sat atop the sharp and uncomfortable toys in all her majesty and might, and she wept.Dougie stood before her, feeling terrible. It was probably the worst day of his life. Because before him, the paragon, that symbol of might and strength and resolute determination -- in short, his HERO -- here she lay crumpled, defeated, and all due to his cowardly assault upon her.The little boy stood before his sister, and he wept too.To this day, many years later, when that little boy became a man, when he remembers that day, and that incident in particular, he STILL feels terrible. He yet feels in his core all the sad emotions of his hero fallen before him, that he had played at Judas even before he ever understood who exactly Judas was, and he wishes he never did it, just as the little boy weeping with his sister wished he never pushed her in the first place.All Stories © 2009 Douglas Christian Larsen
important - FIGHT THE FLU WITH HERBS - important
