BILL CADY Word Count: 149,227 - At My Friend's Place

Bill Cady, The Early Years … by Bill Cady 33
him Tommy. Why they didn‟t just do it the easy way and name him Thomas William
Franklin is beyond me. He also “sat like a grown-up”, meaning he‟d cross his legs at the
knees. We, (the other idiot kids and I), thought it was “queer” to sit that way. I‟m afraid
a few of „em even said that to Tommy. I never did. He was my friend and we played
together.
The other memorable thing about Tommy: he was my first fight.
We were six years old. Our play campaign that day was in an empty lot a block
from his house. Maybe an acre of dirt with no house on it yet. We had a fort dug in the
ground, about four feet of cave that took us a week to excavate. One day, for reasons that
totally escape me, we began arguing. Usually, when kids have arguments, it‟s a lot of
mouth. Nothing ever comes of it. Well, one of us said something that pushed the other‟s
hot button. I still can‟t recall who.
All I knew for sure was I was scared shitless until the fight started. When it got
going, I forgot everything but doing whatever I had to do to make sure Tommy didn‟t
beat me up. Apparently I wanted to win more than he did, since he got the bloody nose
and a black eye. All I got was an ass chewing from Mom after Tommy‟s Mom called
her. That brouhaha completely killed our friendship … for about a week … until one of
us, (unknown), went to the other‟s house and we started playing again.
The funniest part, my fear before the fight and forgetting it when the action
started, is the pattern. It‟s been the same way every time I‟ve ever been in any kind of
fight since then, and that was forty-nine years ago. I‟m the biggest coward you ever met,
until you‟ve made it a “you or me” situation. In that case, your ass is in a lot of trouble, if
I have anything to say about it.
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