To paraphrase a famous personality, “It was a less than quiet week in Chester, NJ, my hometown…”
Things have changed in Chester over the years. At one time, it was a pretty basic place. There was no bank nor a need for one in town. People had to spend all they earned. There was no grocery store – folks had to grow their own or drive about 14 miles to Dover or Morristown to get their vittles.
If you owned a pair of socks, you were middle-class. If the socks matched and were washed between wears, you were upper middle-class. Kids who had to milk cows by hand each morning before school, were in the lower socioeconomic class but they had the strongest grips. Our classroom bully was four years older than the age norm for the group because of unrecognized dyslexia and a tough childhood.
There was one school building with 9 rooms, one administrator, Principal Charles Williamson, and one janitor, LeRoy “Shorty” Nunn.
But in the last 40 years, the economic base of town changed. The average price of a home is now over $700,000 and those homes are occupied by professional types with lots of moolah and at least one crappy attitude.
Regional newspaper, The Daily Record, reported a recent case involving a Doctor and a child. The Doctor was suing the child who also was his neighbor.
Doctor “P.T. Uitary”, 54, (I changed his name and avoided mentioning his area of specialization) sued fifteen-year-old, “Norma L. Child” because of an incident when he was 49 and she was eleven.
P.T. is an avid exerciser – I imagine the kind with the designer water bottle always at his side, the best high tech sporting equipment adorning his torso and that far away look of self-centered intensity on his face.
He plays tennis, runs, swims and one day, out on his bicycle was riding laps around the neighborhood when he came up behind young Norma who was in-line skating. She noticed his rapid approach, his bell ringing and yelling for her to yield and she also noticed oncoming traffic. So she stopped and stood to the side as he pedaled by.
Norma got back to her skating and shortly, along came P.T. on another lap but this time there was no other traffic. There was plenty of room for the good Doctor to easily steer his bike around her – or so she thought. But the Doctor, exhibiting classic signs of a cognitively challenged person, (lack of adaptive behavior), rang his bell and yelled for young Norma to again move aside to let him pass. In looking back at him, she veered slightly to her left. Yet P.T. neither slowed down nor steered far enough around her. He pedaled smack into young Norma and he fell off his bike. Poor Dear.
Norma only had minor bumps and bruises but our unfortunate, arrogant, me-first doctor bumped his swelled head (no helmet?) and broke his collarbone.
Smirk justified.
P.T. experienced pain and suffering and lost time at his lucrative practice- not to mention his exercise regimen. So he filed a lawsuit against Norma.
The wheels of justice sometimes turn slowly and it finally came to court when she was a freshman in high school. Norma’s parents dug deep into their pockets for the thousands of dollars to defend this suit that some equally bright judge refused to declare as frivolous.
Accident reconstruction specialists were called in, most likely spray painted “X’s” marked the scene and some yellow tape was stretched around the ‘hood as testimony in the trial began.
Justice ultimately prevailed and the doctor lost his case.
Our classroom bully grew up, married and became a solid citizen of the community. Now his role has been assumed by one with a fancier education, an unwillingness to grow up and no excuse for his behavior.
There is a new bully in town and he has a lawyer on his speed dial. I don’t think Fred Rogers ever lived in that neighborhood. If he had, his theme song would have been different.
“It’s a litigious day in the neighborhood, a litigious day in the
neighborhood…see you in court…see you in court…”