FACING CONSEQUENCES

"It seemed like a good idea at the time." That's one of many excuses people use to justify doing something stupid. I was no exception. In the spring of 1967, I encouraged some boys to throw rocks at the windows of an old shed. Not only did our supervisor send us to bed after supper for six weeks but our parents were billed for the damage we caused.

From Deliverance From Jericho (Six Years in a Blind School), this is what happened when I, not realizing what awaited me, arrived home that summer.

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All the way home, I anticipated the immense pleasure of having two whole months of summer freedom and fun. I was totally unprepared for a verbal assault when Mom called me into the kitchen. "What's this about you breaking windows at school?" she demanded. Guilt washed over me as I recalled the rock- throwing incident in May. "The school sent us a bill for twenty-six dollars," Mom snapped.

"How many windows did you break?"

"I don't know. A couple of other kids were breaking them too."

"Well then, why did we get this bill for twenty-six dollars?" she demanded as she shoved the letter in my face. As I had no answer to that question, I mutely stared at the floor. "I bet they sent all the parents of those kids the same bill," Mom surmised.

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Deliverance from Jericho contains many more vignettes of what life was like in that government-run institution. These range from poignant experiences of homesickness to hilarious incidents of mischief. Click here to read more about this book and to order it. You may also e-mail me directly if the comment form doesn't work.