The Circus

"Get out! Leave now!" I screamed at him.  He was older, but we were both in elementary school.  I was a second grader, he was in fourth.

"Okay, are you okay?" I remember him being concerned and he regretted what had happened but I sent him away with uncharacteristic force.

Earlier my friend and I were visiting the new kittens in their box housed in the attic of the garage.  My momma cat delivered three little kittens just a few weeks prior; Hiawatha, Geronimo, and Sacajawea.  We forgot to put little Sacajawea back into the box with her Group.  I blamed him when she fell, that's when I screamed at him.


Maybe months later, my dad took the two of us to the circus and he let us sit by ourselves in the outdoor bleachers.  We picked a top spot, of course, and our attention slowly transitioned from the working elephants to a group of teenagers.  They looked like teenagers then and that's how I remember them, probably though, they weren't much older than we were.  They spotted a Killdee nest under the bleacher and it had three eggs in it.  The mother bird was desperately trying to catch the attention of the few dozen on the bleachers.  Maybe in her effort to accept all of the potential danger, she disclosed her secret under the crowd.

The teenagers started with spit and then moved up to concession stand trash.  Each projectile was a chance to hit the eggs and hopefully smash one.  I wanted the elephants to notice.  Wouldn't that be perfect!  I still kinda laugh at the idea of two clinically depressed elephants quitting their jobs and disciplining rowdy teens.  But that wasn't going to happen and the teens' arsenal was growing; a condom was next.  We overheard their plan: they were going to put all three eggs into the condom and leave it on the nest!

My friend acted first, he cussed them.  I didn't know how to cuss yet and I was impressed!  He told them all sorts of things about mothers and sons and holes and I didn't understand any of the words but I knew he was all in.  I stood beside, although slightly behind him while he dished it out.  Finally, the girl teenager de escalated our little crowd and they left.  That's right, two little elementary kids made a huge group (probably three) of teenagers back down from a Killdee nest.

He knew his strength- cussing, he used that gift, and he didn't quit until the job was done.  In that moment we were all convinced that he was the Protector.