There is probably nothing stronger than the vitriol of a child who’s been wronged.
We are told that the vagus nerve connects the stomach to the brain to tell us when we are “full.” (Personally, I think I was born without the vagus nerve, because I cannot remember a time when I was NOT HUNGRY!) I think there must also be a duct that connects the brain to the stomach, and that duct drips pure vitriol into the stomach whenever we are really pissed off! I know mine works!
When I was 10 years old and in the 5th grade, I was involved in a “spelling bee” that went on so long between me and a classmate that the teacher got weary and handed off the word book to another student to continue to call out words for the remaining two of us. We had demolished all the other students! My “opponent” and I “hammered” at each other for almost another hour, without error, neither of us giving an inch! Finally, the gal who had the word book called out “LUZE” to me, and I spelled it “LOSE,” right? Well, she hollered “WRONG,” and my opponent quickly spelled it (incorrectly) as “LOOSE,” and she was declared the victor! Boy, was I stung!
I vehemently protested the incorrect pronunciation to no avail. The teacher was just grateful the goddamned thing was OVER, and she shut me down quickly! She had not been paying attention, so she could not resolve the pronunciation dispute. I went to my seat and sulked. The “victor” was smugly proud of herself, and the entire class was exultant it was finally ended, too! I was totally isolated in my funk. NOBODY cared!
I am STILL pissed off about it, almost 63 years later! Injustice dies hard! I guess that’s why I am such a civil libertarian. All because of a long-ago “bee sting”!
