It was fun being at her house. She had a lot of kids who obviously were my cousins. We'd run all over the back alleys behind her house in a town called Clinton, Iowa. We played ditch-em, and had plenty of opportunities to investigate the neighborhood...at night.
Aunt Lilly, along with my mom and other adult family members, would want to shoo away the kids as they sipped on percolated coffee and dissected the family dynamics. After Saturday cartoons were over, Creature Feature was on. We'd either watch it on TV in the living room, or Aunt Lilly would set up an old 8 millimeter projector and run reel to reel 20 minute horror flicks. The experience was more titillating when we, older cousins, would try to really freak out and scare the younger cousins up in the attic-like second story cubbyhole where we would watch the spooky movies.
One night I was out in the garage with my brother and two older cousins. Brian was only a year older, Freddie was around my brother's age. They came up with the idea of a boxing match between me and my cousin Brian. I guess they were both still fixated by "The Fight" earlier that year between Joe Frazier and Muhammad Ali (1971). There was an old mattress in the garage and they said it would make a great boxing ring. We hauled it out in the backyard. The bright back porch light was on. It shone down like a spotlight right on the 'ring'. Freddie had two pair of boxing gloves, he and my brother would be the corner men while Brian and I duked it out in the ring.
We laced up the boxing gloves. I was about 11 and a skinny little thing but I knew the moves of boxing. I was small of stature yet strong and usually the underdog just like perhaps Joe Frazier (even though he did win "The Fight"). I had the jab, the hook, and the posture of a boxer down... but I was scared. How was I going to 'beat' my older, boy, cousin? Fright filled all fibers of my willpower.
Life is scary at times. Venturing out into something unknown, even though we may think the odds are stacked against us, can be daunting and frightening. What if we truly are underdogs against forces we can't control?
My brother vocalized the ring of the bell. Ding! Ding! Ding! The details are fuzzy of the actual match, but there was a bloody nose after it was over...the one I gave my cousin. I tried, even though it scared the foggy cemetery out of me. I was declared the winner and of course never let Brian live it down. (I'm not a very good winner)
Where are you when the bell sounds? Do you have the boxing gloves on to meet life head-on against the various foes that might take you on? There are those who will want to defeat your hard work and effort through either low expectations or discouragement. Fulfilling a personal achievement is believing it might take risk and much preparation on your part. It is frightening, especially after the comforts of high school. Are you willing to give your best? Will you be stronger after the lights are turned off? Go ahead, I know it's scary...but first you must, with confidence... step in the ring.
**New post: 11/7/13