An elder’s secret

Courtesy: Amelia and Joe McGregor

Story told by Joe McGregor

When we were children, I was always in a hurry to grow up. The elders, the women, they would tell me, “It’s not as exciting as you think. It’s hard. You’re gonna work for it.”

Some kids, they’re lucky. They’re raised by a wealthy family. Not criticizing anybody, but if you live a hard life, you can be good. You are strong, you know what you can do for yourself and others.

Like me, I love everybody. I don’t care. All these guys who beat me up, I still love them. That’s the secret.

You need to learn how to take it, how to give it. Because sometimes you wanna stop the taking. Maybe it’ll only take one blow, they’ll never do that again, because they know that you’re not a coward like what they thought.

So, one blow could make a big difference for you.

Like I said, in school, growing up on a farm, we all got beat up. All the farmers. We were all young, and we took a beating.

What we used to do at the school, if somebody makes us mad, we’re gonna catch them after school. That’s the wrong thing to do, because when the teacher looks out the window and sees you’re fighting, when you go back to school, you’re gonna get the credit.

It’s hard to be good, my dear. It’s very hard to be good, because it’s fun being bad.

Now and then we all make mistakes.

Courtesy: Amelia and Joe McGregor