Beech Tree News Network

I’ve heard it said people are “born mean”. I’m not sure of that, but a fellow like Bill would make you wonder sometimes. My guess is, though a person born and allowed to grow up without correct parental guidance can turn mean; they often do…”Train up a child…”
I’m not sure humans carry a mean gene. I know in cattle a Jersey bull is very much inclined to be mean- as compared to a gentle Hereford bull. Both sexes of Zebra cattle (Bas Indicus) – Brahma and Brahma- have a tendency toward aggression.
My guess is Bill was simply allowed to grow up with little correction- his parents thought everything he did was O.K.  if he got in trouble at school it was not his fault- the same with his run ins with the law. Once he was involved in a knifing incident. “not his fault- nobody saw the knife, they couldn’t prove it; they’re just picking on Bill.”
In an elephant herd the mother elephants are in charge of discipline in both sexes of the elephant children. Once an African game preserve there was an over-population of males. A bunch of young males were turned loose back into the wild to be on their own (teenagers)- the mother elephants had no chance of completing their Mannering, etc. (train up a child)
Without guidance the young males became outlaws and rouges- killing, maiming, and destroying… to the point many had to be hunted down and destroyed.
Bill began to show an incorrigible turn early on. For no reason in school he backed a kid up against the wall and hit him in the mouth with a pair of brass knuckles. It broke out all the boys front teeth. The boy was slightly retarded- he in no way could have bothered Bill. Bill just wanted to do it. The kid’s parents were poor; they couldn’t afford to have their son’s teeth fixed. He had to wear them that way all his life.
When World War II started Bill was drafted into the Army Air Corps. He was an aircrew member on B-17 bomber. On an air raid over Germany a bomb hung up over the target. Bill crawled out on the narrow catwalk in the Bombay and punched the bomb loose- releasing the rest of the bombs. For this he was given a medal.
Coming home after the War, for a time Bill enjoyed some acclaim as a hero. On Saturdays when the town was busy he would ride horseback up and down main street, posturing and waving, putting-on all dressed up in a cowboy outfit. Folks thought he was some kind of a show off or a crank.
Bill left home. Sometime later we heard he had killed a man. For this he spent most of the rest of his life in prison. Same year back there came out a picture of Bill in my hometown paper. He was doing a mind reading out in a night club. Looking older, and prison worn, he had gotten into “show” business in Florida. There was a write up… like he was a hometown celebrity made good.
Evidently the editors didn’t know Bill likes, and some of the older folks remembered him. The passing parade… kindest regards.