MILKSOP Chapter 1

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Shy Boy
courtesy photobucket.com

Years ago a man named H.T. Webster created a comic strip called Casper Milquetoast "The timid soul."

Webster described Mr. Milquetoast as "The man who speaks softly and gets hit with a big stick,"

And so is our hero Archie, the timid soul. This is his story as he has lived it so far. Some of it will be interesting and some boring but that is the way life is, “Isn't it?“

He is a step below Milquetoast being a Milksop and this is something that would plague him in his early years.  His name is Archibald and he was called that by his mother but everyone else called him Archie if they called him at all, (which was seldom).

Archie's mother was sick during her pregnancy, and even though Archie was very small when born, his mother had a difficult delivery.  Every thing was there but he was reduced in size. His hands were so small they seemed like the hands of a small doll. His tiny feet had to have his booties tied on with extra strings.

For the first two years Archie lived mostly on breast milk while starting to eat a little solid food as his mother's milk began to dry up.

He began to grow but was much smaller than most other boys his age.

It seemed strange that a child so small could be as bright as he was. He could form sentences and use large words way beyond his age group. When he was ready to enter kindergarten he was like a small walking and talking doll.

His mother was fearful he might be hurt so she insisted that he not play with the bigger kids.

 

The stuff he was being taught in school was too simple for him and to him was boring. He watched television when at home but not cartoons or kids programs.

The programs he liked were documentaries or foreign language shows.

 Upon entering the first grade he was allowed to mingle with the other kids during their free time and they took delight in calling him names, and pushing him down or otherwise roughing him up.

His mother complained about this, but the teachers said they couldn't watch him every moment, and besides he was going to have to learn to mix with his classmates.

This verbal and physical treatment caused Archie to become withdrawn. He wasn't physically able to fight back, and was an easy target for kids with a tendency to bully a weaker person.

His mother continued to be ill, and when he was eight years old, his mother died which was another blow to him.

His aunt Celia had no children, and didn't really want any, had agreed to take him in. 

 

One thing that was helpful she made him go out and play and get some exercise each day. After his play time, he could either watch television or read quietly. This wasn't a bad arrangement in fact it was better than when he lived with his mother due to her being ill. He began to grow slowly and learned to participate in games Like Chess.

The fact he got the best grades of anyone in his class caused another difficulty in his life and the other classmates called him the teacher’s pet. 

The kids just didn't like him because they were measuring him, and his scholastic accomplishments against their own lack of any.

Another thing he could do well was to run track. Although he didn't have a long stride, he made up for it by taking short steps at a fast rate. 

 

He didn't dare win any of the races he ran in, because the bigger kids couldn't have handled that so he would always settle for third or fourth place.

By the seventh grade all the kids in his age group were at least a foot taller than he was, even the girls looked down on him.

On some occasions the girls would make the boys jealous by pretending they liked Archie and hugging him.

This made life more difficult for Archie because the boys directed their anger directly at him instead of the teasing females.

Eating in the cafeteria was off limits for him, for they would knock his food on the floor.

He would have to hide his sandwiches or they would throw them in the garbage.

He stopped telling his aunt about this treatment as she wasn't really interested in his problems.

She felt it was enough for her to take care of his basic needs.

This abuse, verbal and physical by his class mates continued until he was ready to enter the ninth grade, and then something happened to change all of this.

To be Continued   

Sharing my story with Rosilind in Croatia,  at Wednesday R & R

Also Shared with Nantawa Bennett at Happy Friday

And linked to Michelle’s Thought Provoking Thursday

And shared With Ramona at: Create With Joy