Denny's First Fight

It was about the same time that Denny started in school that he began having trouble with the neighborhood kids - the Berrys. They were always picking on Denny on the way home from school. We had told Denny we didn't want him to be fighting with anybody and to try to make friends with them. D J, the bigger of the two, was usually the instigator of all the trouble and wasn't about to be friends with anyone he could push around. This went on for some time and Denny, try as he did, could not avoid DJ. He told us that he was tired of getting beat up and not being able to fight back. We had had about enough too and told Denny that the next day he could fight back; just get D J in front of our house before he started so we could see that it was fair and that he didn't get ganged up on. Let the fight begin!!

And begin it did. Denny CLEANED D J'S CLOCK. D J  went home and told his mother that Denny Tovey beat him up. Mrs. Berry came up to our house and called Nana out to the sidewalk and started pushing her around. when Mrs Berry tore the front of Nana's blouse off, Nana had had enough also. She slugged her in the face and knocked her on her a_ _ . End of fight.

The next thing we knew we were summoned to the District Attorney's office to answer a complaint. Mrs. Berry told her story showing her black eye and Nana answered with her story showing her torn blouse. The D. A. dismissed the complaint. That was not quite the end of the problem. The kids started throwing rotten apples on our porch. One day I caught one of them doing it and chased him around the corner and into his grammpa's barbershop. I was standing in the doorway. I smiled at the barber and said, "We need to have a talk about your grandson."  Without a word he stepped forward and with his right foot sent a kick toward my crotch. I stepped back far enough so the kick didn't land and when his leg was to the end of the kick I caught his heel and yanked up hard dumping him right on his a _ _  on the barbershop floor. That was the end of Denny's problems with the Berry family.

Papa