A boy (and later a girl) named Fuchs.

Bullying seems to be on the news with increasing frequency over the last few years and looks like it is finally being taken seriously. But I don’t know how seriously to take it. I, like many, went through my share of awkward years on the playground. I took a fair share of harassment from older kids and, with some embarrassment, will admit to dealing out a considerable amount of my own. Still… I did well at sports and always had plenty of friends - but that didn’t always save me from the wide reaching targets of some of the older/bigger kids.

Whether it was my last name, my uncool bicycle, or the disproportionate size of my teeth - there was always something to be nitpicked if/when someone went looking. And I know how all the Disney movies and after school specials talk about how standing up to a bully will take away his/her power but, in my experience, there was rarely much more than a minor threat of physical danger. It was typically the words used that did most of the damage. The words didn’t stop hitting you even when everyone had gone their separate ways.

So now I’m left to wonder how to instruct Riley to behave now that she’s come home complaining that some of the older kids have made fun of her for supposedly having a boys name. I tried to tell her that if the kids on the playground are picking her first name to make fun of instead of the much more obvious and easy target of a last name like ‘Fuchs’ - then they aren’t necessarily the brightest bulbs in the fixture anyways. She didn’t understand what I meant (yet) and I didn’t feel like explaining it to her… She will find out soon enough.

I realize a little schoolyard razzing is nowhere near the same plane as the little boy on the news here who just recently committed suicide rather than facing his attackers/enduring more abuse… But it has been on my mind since she brought it up. I will do my best to keep instructing Riley in as many ways to resolve her conflicts as possible - in addition to showing her the appropriate applications of the ‘Louisville Slugger’ technique. And hopefully we can help her a little to navigate the treacherous waters of grade school bullying…

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The work front has been a little slower this week. I am trying to polish up designs for the catalogue I have been wanting to put together for over a year now. I’m also reworking and retouching some of the damages the summer shows inflicted on my paintings and such. I have a few people interested in showing my paintings now - but am also strongly considering another ‘inventory clearance sale’ like I have done a few times in the past. I really like the batch of paintings I have on hand but am also craving the feeling of a fresh start that selling them off would provide. Besides that… I wanna buy Cherie some plane tickets so she can be on a beach at some point this winter. It is as much a self-preservation technique as anything. Another long uninterrupted winter here and she might kill me!


Thanks for reading. Hope you’ve had a good week!

Rod