By Ronald E. Johnson, C.PH.D. (1939 – 2018)
I came to realize that the meaning of life had to be more than the product of crude peer behavior.
Getting bullied is no laughing matter. The self-inflicted deaths of students who are bullied by other students remind us that a person can only take just so much abuse. A media person asked, “What can teachers do to prevent such horrible acts?” I reflected on that question as I recalled my own “nightmare incidents” perpetrated by school bullies, and that my teachers helped me turn unpleasant experiences of being “kicked around” into positive results.
They coached me to reject the image placed on me by bullies, and to let their acts “kick-start” me into a noble life style. “Kick start” originated with invention of motorbikes that had to be started by placing the right foot on a metal pedal attached to the engine, and kicking downward with sufficient thrust to rotate the engine crankshaft. The industrial term, kick-start, has been adapted to life in general. When people seem to be bogged down in minutia, doldrums, or loss of purpose, consultants may provide a new idea to kick-start things back on track…to rotate the mind to get it moving again.
Sometimes life has a way of kicking us around unmercifully: we get fired, bullies abuse us, a loved one perishes, an accident destroys our business, disease devastates our health, divorce shatters our family. Stuff happens, and we tumble, reel, and stagger through tough times. Such times require a kick-start experience to rekindle our hopes, our dreams, and our aspirations. Kick-starts can come from unexpected sources. In fact, the most effective means of getting us back on track often originates from unlikely or unpleasant sources which challenge or startle us to refocus our lives.
Someone aptly commented, “When one door slams shut, God opens a window.” The point is that we are never really shut out in life. We just need to notice the open window and follow new paths suggested by a “kick starter.” A slammed door forces us to redirect our minds, our thoughts, our hurts, or even our life dreams.
High school bullies made life miserable for me. They seemed to get up each morning with new ideas to torment me…to make life miserable: Elbows in the halls, jeers in the locker room, head slaps on the bus, slurs at my pimples, and sneers at my thick eyeglasses. They kicked me around from the opening bell to dismissal. They tried to humiliate me with sadistic acts that defied courtesy and human decency. But their sinister motives unctioned me to live above the taunts…to seek a higher life purpose than being “raw meat” for self-centered predators.
In a twisted sort of way, the school bullies kick-started me into the arena of noble ideas. I began to muse, to ponder, to consider the purpose of life. I came to realize that the meaning of life had to be more than the product of crude peer behavior. I began to focus my mind on noble aspirations…to dare to dream of becoming more than the “loser” into which bullies tried to fashion me in the school halls, locker room, classrooms, and on the athletic field.
Fortunately, some alert school staff intervened to give me hope, encouragement, and confidence. They knew they couldn’t always be around to stop the bullies, but they intervened in an unexpected way. They redirected my focus. Coach Kelley graciously allowed me to suit up for football even though I was small, frail, and near sighted. The Baytown Sun newspaper featured me in an article entitled, “106 pounds, glasses and all.” What the bullies tried to crush, Coach Kelley nurtured, developed, and utilized on the team. He brought out a survival mentality. At a Friday pep rally, Superintendent Underwood said, “Ronnie is team captain this week, because he symbolizes that ‘it is not the size of the dog in the fight that matters, but the size of the fight in the dog.’” That remark birthed a new sense of value and determination to live with a good-sized fight burning in my soul! I responded to his perception of me by becoming a torment to opposing teams. In our senior year championship game, I intercepted two passes to prevent a rout by the opposing team. We lost the game, but I emerged with determination to be a winner in life….even though the team bullies resented my media spot.
After football season ended, Mrs. Purswell, our English teacher, encouraged me to try out for UIL one-act play. Mary Beth Benson and I represented our school in “The Park Bench.” I also entered poetry competition by presenting “Casey at The Bat.” Neither event earned a first place award.
But years later, those two on-stage experiences prompted me to design and direct The International Student Convention…an Olympic-like competition for thousands of teenagers enrolled in Christian schools. That event led Harry Reisner to invite me to appear as a guest on the nation-wide TV program, 60 Minutes.
The Ford Foundation selected me as a Ford Fellow, likely to impact education in America. That award and other achievements in education led me twice to the White House at the invitation of President Reagan, and to the national palaces of three Latin American presidents. I can’t help but recall a Bible verse that states, “See a man diligent in his business? He shall stand before kings.”
To my knowledge, the bullies never made national television or were guests at the White House. Some were voted “all-district” in our B-level school district, and a few played sports at local junior colleges. In a twist of fate, bullies “kicked” me around in high school, but in the real world of adults, I have had the joy of scoring winning points where they really matter!
For more articles and books by Dr. Johnson, check www.pacworks.com or join us on Facebook (https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100003000021331). His book, Teaching Eagles To Soar, is designed to assist mentors who want to give troubled youth, especially fatherless teenagers, a “Kick start” in life.
