When I was in junior high, the eighth-grade bully punched me in the stomach. Not only did it hurt and make me angry, but the embarrassment and humiliation were almost intolerable. I wanted desperately to even the score! I planned to meet him by the bike racks the next day.
For some reason, I told my plan to Nana, my grandmother — a big mistake. She gave me one of her hour-long lectures. Among other things, I vaguely remember her saying, "Good deeds beget good results, and evil deeds beget bad results." I told her I thought she was wrong. I did good things all the time, and all I got in return was nothing! She stuck to her guns. "Every good deed will come back to you someday," she said.
It took me 30 years to understand her wisdom. Nana was living in a care home. Each Tuesday, I took her out to dinner. I vividly remember our last dinner before she entered the hospital. We went to a simple family restaurant. I ordered pot roast for her and a hamburger for myself.
When the food arrived, I noticed Nana wasn't eating. She was just staring at her plate. I moved my plate aside, took hers, and cut the meat into small pieces. As she weakly forked the meat into her mouth, a memory brought instant tears to my eyes. Forty years earlier, as a little boy, Nana had always cut my meat into small pieces so I could eat.
It had taken 40 years, but the good deed had been repaid. Nana was right. We reap exactly what we sow.
What about the eighth-grade bully?
He ran into the ninth-grade bully.