Every time I sit down to blog about a topic, I can one of several directions.  Share some insight, express an opinion or even bare my soul about some corner of my long ago past.

No causes really jumped out at me this week, so I reflected back to growing up again–a nice place to visit, I just wouldn’t want to live there–and asked myself, “What are some of the more unexplainable things I did as a kid?”

Sadly, a lot came to mind.  I consider myself a pretty normal and nice guy, but after recalling these stories, I can’t help but wonder how that troubled child became this good-intentioned adult.

I don’t remember much about kindergarten, but I do recall getting in trouble once for biting a girl on the cheek.  Her name was Susie and she had the rosiest cheeks.  One day, heading home from school, I couldn’t resist and decided to see if they tasted like peaches.  They didn’t, she cried and the next day, her older brother confronted me, threatened to beat me up  and I left Susie’s cheeks alone after that.

In elementary school, a group of us were playing Hide ‘n Seek on the asphalt playground when Laurel Scherer saw me.  We both ran back to the base and so that I could say “FREE!” before she  could belt out “1-2-3 on Tim!”, I gave her a push.  She went face first into the pole we used as the base and it chipped her front tooth!  Really?  I did that?  Oh, sure, it meant a trip to the principal’s office.  On top of that, karma reared its ugly head several years later when a fellow Cub Scout, Mark Kersteen, threw a rock at me, nailing my front tooth and chipping it in half.

Then in 7th grade one morning on the bus, I was sitting next to a girl named Giavanni Kordowski.  She was new this year and somehow, my brain thought it would be funny to play keep away with her lunch.  I threw it up front. Another student threw it back.  I gave it another toss and out the window it went.  That resulted in a lecture from the principal, a one-week suspension from bus-riding privileges and, the worst part–having to tell my parents what I had done.

I’m sure there were other incidents along the way, but those three are the ones that rose to the surface.  In each case, I can’t explain what I was thinking at the time.  But also, you notice that in every incident, there was a crime….and punishment. When you do something wrong, there will be consequences.  At least, that’s how I can explain how this seemingly troubled kid eventually evened out and became less damaging to the people around him.

Either that, or I just got better at getting away with it.  No, I think I’ll go with option #1.

Tim Hunter