Violence

They were going to Fort Lauderdale — three boys and three girls — and when they boarded the bus, they were carrying sandwiches and wine in paper bags, dreaming of golden beaches and sea tides as the gray, cold spring of Now York vanished behind them.
As the bus passed through New Jersey, they began to notice Vingo. They take me back thirty years plus.He sat in front of them, dressed in a plain, ill-fitting suit, never moving, his dusty face masking his age. I was a boy then, a newcomer to a poor and tough neighborhood.He kept chewing the inside of his lip a lot, frozen into complete silence.
Deep into the night, outside Washington, the bus pulled into Howard Johnson’s, and everybody got off except Vingo. My parents, of moderate means and daring to a fault, had decided to move there after my father had accepted an editing job in the federal government.He sat rooted in his seat, and the young people began to wonder about him, trying to imagine his life: perhaps he was a sea captain, a runaway from his wife, an old soldier going home. They had taken a lease on a low-rent brick house, which was also run-down, covered in filth, and littered with trash.When they went back to the bus, one of the girls sat beside him and introduced herself.
“”We’re going to Florida,”" she said brightly. I do not mince my words: Previous tenants had been pigs that got along with bugs and rats.”"I hear it’s really beautiful.”"
“”It is,”" he said quietly, as if remembering something he had tried to forget.
“”Want some wine.

“”The house has potential,”" my mother had said to reassure me, seeing that I was aghast at its sordid aspects.”" she said. Its one redeeming feature, besides its solid construction, was a large woody front yard, neglected, allowed to become a large dumping ground, as weedy as it was woody, but potentially attractive and pleasant, to be sure.He smiled and took a swig from the bottle.

My mother was a hard worker with a great deal of stamina, creativity, and tastefulness.He thanked her and retreated again into his silence. She mastered the art of doing wonders with little money.After a while, she went back to the others, and Vingo nodded in sleep.
In the morning, they awoke outside another Howard Johnson’s, and this time Vingo went in. After three months of intense labor - which for the first week involved a carpenter and two garbage collectors plus two dump trucks - the house was transfigured, quite presentable, even nice, much to my amazement.The girl insisted that he join them. mp3 player It now contrasted sharply, cuttingly, with the slums at the rear of the house and on the left of it.He seemed very shy, and ordered black coffee and smoked nervously as the young people chattered about sleeping on beaches. On the right was a school and at the front, across the street, was a nunnery on a large piece of land.When they returned to the bus, the girl sat with Vingo again, and after a while, slowly and painfully, he began go tell his story. world of warcraft gold My parents had conveniently focused their attention on these establishments, as if the good education and good disposition of their teachers and sisters could shield us from the evils of the slums.He had been in jail in New York for the past four years, and now he was going home.
“”Are you married.

Needless to say, they did not.”"
“”I don’t know.”"
“”You don’t know. wow Violence was rampant in this neck of the woods and I was elected punchbag with only one dissenting vote: mine! At the root of this violence was malevolence, which grows from resentment, after one has been subjected to mistreatment.”" she said.
“”Well, when I was in jail I wrote to my wife,”" he said. As much as my family projected an image of distinction, the neighborhood boys were malevolent and violent toward me.”"I told her that I was going to be away a long time, and that if she couldn’t stand it, if the kids kept askin’ questions, if it hurt her too much, well, she could jus forget me. wow gold To them this image of distinction was an act of humiliation; their feelings were hurt and it was natural for them to hurt me.I’d understand. Of course it is a lot worthier to elevate oneself than to abase someone else.Get a new guy , I said — she’s a wonderful woman, really something — and forget about me. wow gold It is also a lot harder, and nature spontaneously levels everything the easy way.I told her she didn’t have to write me. Moral excellence relates to culture, is an acquired trait, by virtue of which a human is courageous and just, worthy of praise.And she didn’t. wow gold

One winter evening, I was crossing the field next to the rink where I had played hockey, when a gang of hoodlums encircled me like a pack of wolves.Not for three and a half years.”"
“”And you’re going home now, not knowing. There were six of them, one of whom - a weakling who always relied on others to feel powerful - lived three doors down, east of my house, across the back street.

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