I really don’t like bullies and as I have said many times, I had the potential to be one but got it punched out of me at an early age.
Luckily I was never on the receiving end, except once in Year 3.
Some idiot in Grade 7 told me that there was no Santa Clause, which was made even worse when my eight-year-old reasoning deduced that if there was no Santa, it was highly unlikely that there was a Tooth Fairy, but more importantly, no Easter Bunny.
The tears certainly started to flow when that possibility struck home and I have never liked bullies since, for the simple reason that they destroyed that little bit of magic that the young and not-so-young thrive on. We all need magic.
To this day, I still have a thing about Easter – not so much stuffing eggs down my throat, but what it means to me.
I realise it has different meanings to different people.
As a kid, mine was going to church with my Mum and trying to stay awake to catch the bunny.
As a teenager, it was camping at Cotton Tree and Alex, surfing with my mates and, one year in particular, my two-man tent getting wiped out by a storm and the only thing I saved was my board and the clothes I had on; everything else got blown away.
I remember having to shelter in a public toilet waiting for a very grumpy Dad to pick me up at about midnight, but there was still some magic about the whole thing.
As a parent and husband, my memories are of fun times at the beach and helping the bunny do its thing and now as a Pa Pa watching two little rippers OD on chocolate, it’s fabulous.
I hope that however you intend to celebrate Easter, you have a fulfilling break.
It is a special time of year. I know despite the bully in 1966, there is some magic about Easter and of course Christmas.
He tried to take something away but was unsuccessful, as I believe it lies within us all – spirit.
