Maybe You Want Some of This

Mark stood looking on as the bad boys of the apartments were throwing mud balls at the apartment of someone they did not like. The dark mud made ugly spots on the white bricks. As if somehow the man inside had heard he was now out of the door like a rambling bear. The kids who were comparable to the Dead Inn kids of an old movie instantly slipped out of his grasp and away. Only Mark who was around five years old and much smaller was left there. The man grabbed his arm and started to shake him.

"Hey! Stop that, he wasn’t involved. Leave him alone." I didn’t think about the man being big and burly. All that crossed my mind was that he was hurting my child.

In a rolling walk the man was headed toward me now. "Oh yeah? Well, maybe you want some of it, too." He was glaring at me from across the complex and was quickly approaching.

True, I was afraid. I have brothers and I know about the strength of men, even small men, and this was not a small man.

From behind me, suddenly down the steps a good looking, trim, smaller man, came rushing down.

"Say! Maybe you would like to pick on a man instead of kids and women." There was a fire and strength about this wiry looking person. His hair was dark and curly and as he ran his hand through it almost as if was readying himself for a challenge. His stance was sure, as if to say, "Just come on over here."

Something about his attitude must have stopped the cowardly man across from us. This man met his match and more. With not a word he backed away and disappeared back into his own apartment.

The incident was sobering as far as I was concerned. It made me think. It was too much to try to keep my son confined to an apartment but as I had feared he was at risk and the reality of this happening confirmed my fears. My thoughts went to adults harming him but there was a fear of the bigger boys who ran wild about the place, too. In a few days these were the one’s to make us decide to look for something out of the Garland area possibly into the countryside. Their threats and jerking of my son about while he was playing gave me reason to believe there was, indeed, a dangerous situation which potentially could be harmful.

This was only the beginning of my learning how my children around Rhonda would be persecuted. It was a strange thing. Individuals couldn’t come up against her personally but they could attack her brother, my son, or later on, her younger sister. How my other children managed to survive not only with the small people who troubled them but later, greater forces from above caused sometimes a desperate situation. The attacks on my well children became a harder issue to confront than my daughter’s disability. It was more insidious and cruel.

"We have to protect our other children!" These were the excuses people gave for putting a child away. I never listened to that and I’m glad I didn’t. Children around disabled siblings learn to cope with adversity early. They learn to stand up for what is right not only on the issue of protecting someone but on larger issues as well.

Not to say we didn’t go through some horrendous times for which I never knew were going to turn out or not. Little did I know of that almost defeating battle ahead for me in this realm with my other children, who were not injured.

It’s only fair to record that if a person wishes to do well for their family, handicapped and all they should be prepared to fight the battle of their life. It was only Christ Jesus who recognized the abject need the people had for healing. His life he gave by setting these examples and for saving us from so much hurt; yet, how many today are willing to do the same.

"Shall we do some driving in the country to see if we can find anything?" Rodney was as willing as I was to get out of the high dollar location and even though it was beautiful the place was no longer for us.

"In what direction shall we look?" I was trying to think about the best way to go.

"We’ll just let the road lead us as we follow our nose." Rodney grinned.

"I’m so thankful you can look at this as some kind of an adventure," I told him, and it was true, I really did consider myself fortunate to have him with me and for us.

"I’ve been reading in the paper about how the Plano schools are working with the new government Special Education programs." I commented.

"Oh really! Well, we’ll just march the column out in that direction." I often laughed at Rodney’s comparing his car to a column of troops in the Marines.