Did You Hear About The Time I Had My First Fist Fight?

Archie Brown was very excited when he got the news that the new neighbors had 5 children. One of them, Wayne, was five years old. He was about 7 months younger than Arch, but much bigger.

Wayne had two older brothers. Those brothers were pretty rough, and dealt Wayne a lot of misery. But it served to make Wayne tough and fearless. Archie, who was a first born and very skinny, learned that fact the hard way.

One day a few weeks after the Andrews family had moved into the neighborhood, Wayne and Archie were playing in the front yard of the Andrews’ house. They had a fuss. Archie demanded his way. He tried to cajole Wayne to give in because he was older and should get the final say on the matter. But Wayne was having none of that.

So Archie increased the volume of the argument. He called Wayne stupid! But Wayne was unmoved. Archie next threatened Wayne, but Wayne only laughed at Archie. His anger exploded and Archie hit Wayne on the chest. Wayne reacted by retaliating. He hit Archie in the stomach, knocking him to the ground! A surprised and hurt Archie cried loudly.

The crying brought Ruth Andrews, Wayne’s mom, to the door, and then into the yard to check on things. She asked, “Who started the fight?” Archie replied through his tears, “I it first, but he hit hardest!”

Archie and Wayne were great friends for the next 13 years, living next door to one another and sharing many great adventures. But the never had another fist fight. Archie learned that day in the front yard that there were better ways to settle a dispute with Wayne!