The George Hegman Affair - "YCTTBOOTB"

The George Hegman AffairOther than the normal sibling fights between brothers and sisters my father’s earliest recollections of brawling was between him and George Hegman. My dad is sure George is a very respectable person at this time in his life; however, when George was a young man my father says next to the word white tr$%h in the dictionary was a picture of George Hegman and his family. The Hegman’s immediate family, figuratively speaking, lived on the other side of the railroad tracks, while his extended family literally lived on the other side of the railroad tracks. George was the type of boy mothers told their kids to, “Stay away from him, he’s bad news.” Most people in his family were addicted to drinking, drugs, and smoking – about the only thing they weren't addicted to was work.To give me a better idea of the type of family the Hegmans were my father told me what they did to his pumpkin one year just a few days before Halloween. My father and his family went out to the store and purchased a pumpkin and when they got home my father, his brother Richie, and his sister Chris drew a picture of a face on the pumpkin. Since it was late they decided to cut out the eyes, nose, and mouth of the pumpkin the next day and make it an official Jack-O-Lantern. Even though the pumpkin wasn't ready for display yet they decided to leave it on the front porch that night.When my father woke up the next morning he got ready for school and when he walked out on the front porch he found out the pumpkin was gone. He ran in the house screaming, “The pumpkin is gone! The pumpkin is gone! Richie did you take it? Chris, Mom, Day, did you take it?” No one in the family took the pumpkin – the last time it was seen was when they left if on the porch the night before. It was the great, unsolved mystery until that night when the sun went down and the street lights came on – low and behold – what did they see in one of the Hegman’s upstairs windows. You guessed it – the Hegmans had a new Jack-O-Lantern which looked exactly like the face my dad's family drew on their pumpkin the night before. When my dad went to their front door to confront them, the oldest Hegman brother answered the door with his mother within listening distance; my dad asked him if the pumpkin in the window came from my dad's porch. He received a typical wt response – “No, are you accusing me of stealing your pumpkin? If you are, I’ll punch you in your mouth?” Then the door was slammed in his face. This was the type of family they were – they could steal, cheat, and lie and not feel the least bit of remorse. They liked to bully people and they stuck together like glue. George Hegman, who was the same age as my father, used to tell people if they didn’t do what he wanted them to do he would punch them in the face and this is exactly what he told my dad one day – a move George would later regret.It happened at Cypress Road School after gym when my father was waiting in line to get a drink of water. George always cut in line in front of the other kids but this day he chose to cut in front of my dad. One of the things my father does not like are bullies and so when George cut in front of him he said, “You can’t cut on me – get in the back of the line.” My dad's second grade teacher, Mrs. Ross, heard my dad tell him this she said, “George, get to the back of the line there is no cutting in line – you must wait your turn.” George turned to my father, gave him a dirty look and said, “Meet me after school - I'm going to beat you up!” He also told every other kid in school that day, “I’m going to fight Kenny Hand today after school so you better be there if you want to see me beat him up!” My dad had never had a fight outside his house before, yea he fought with his sister Chris every day, but he never fought anyone else. Everyone in school was afraid of George, and although my dad was confident he could defend himself he was still very nervous. He was nervous the whole afternoon at school and felt like he was going to throw up but he didn’t let anyone know he was nervous. It seemed like every minute one of the kids in his class came up to him and asked him, “I heard George is going to beat you up after school - are you afraid?”On the bus ride home George kept looking and pointing at my father saying, “I’m going to beat you up!” When the bus stopped at my father’s stop most of the kids got off at the bus stop ready to see the fight. When my dad got off the bus he started walking home - but that day he was walking by himself – it’s funny how even in school fights the good people don’t stick together. George ran up to my father and said, “Where do you want to get beat up?” Rocco Laverccio said, “Why don’t you fight next to the Van Tassel’s house?” The yard next to the Van Tassel house was filled with pine trees which were in a circular formation which could serve as a perfect boxing ring and it would conceal the fight from the parents in the neighborhood. The walk down Riverside Drive to the Van Tassel house felt like the Long Green Mile to my dad because he started believing he was going to be beat up. He could barely hear the kids screaming, “There’s going to be a fight, there’s going to be a fight”, because he was focused on what was about to happen to him.As soon as my dad, George, and the other kids walked into the Van Tassel’s yard the fight was ready to begin. The kids wrapped around the fighters so that no one could run away and George said, “Get ready you sissy” but little did George know that this was one of the things that got my father mad! All of a sudden my father forgot all about his nervousness and his anger took over his emotions and he yelled to George, “Let’s do this now!” My dad landed a left upper cut to George’s stomach, next came a right cross to George’s face, and then another left upper cut to his stomach. George stepped back, put his hands together in a “timeout” formation, and with a green face he said, “Timeout, timeout!” and he turned and ran outside the circle of pine trees. A few of the other kids ran behind George to find out what he was doing and they came back and said his mouth is bleeding, he is throwing up, and he doesn’t want to fight you anymore. George never bothered my father or any of the other kids in the neighborhood again…