Flashback Friday - Summer 2001

Growing up, we had a lot of lawn to mow. For a while it was okay because we had a couple of riding lawnmowers, but then my parents decided that we weren't getting enough exercise, so they sold them and bought three push-mowers. Sometimes I didn't mind mowing, but it was pretty miserable in the middle of the humid summer. And it's discouraging to mow when it feels like it's never completely done.

This flashback is from when I was in high school, and Mike was living at home. It was the summer between Mike's freshman year and his mission. Anyway, I was mowing the side yard where the raspberry bushes were, and all of a sudden I felt a really sharp sting on the back of my leg. I yelped in pain and stopped the mower, and rubbed my leg, looking around for the bee that I figured had stung me. It was then that I heard laughing. I looked behind me at the house, and there was Mike, leaning out his bedroom window, with a BB gun in his hands. Ouch! I don't even remember if I told my parents what happened, but I do know that I had a bruise there for a few days.

On a similar note, Mike also had a pellet gun for a while and he and his friends thought they were pretty tough. Mike, Brandon J., and Matt P. (and a few others, I'm sure... but I can't think of them now) would use the pellet gun to demonstrate to us just how tough they were. They would hold the pellet gun up to their inner forearm and shoot it, leaving huge ugly welts on their arms. But they had to do it if they wanted to be considered a "cool tough guy". I don't recall ever thinking they were very tough; in fact, as they were writhing around on the floor in pain, I'm pretty sure I thought completely the opposite.

I hope you enjoyed this week's segment of Flashback Friday. I think next week I'll write about Garrett starting Medical School.