Showing Off and Wrestling Bears

Note: The opening cartoon by Georgia’s own late Jack Davis is from MAD’s first issue as a magazine, #24. 1 thru issue #23 were comic books. On Facebook I saw something about wrestling back in the day and it reminded me: This time I went with Daddy. He did not go inside the main room. He liked to hang around the snack counter and talk to old friends he knew all his life. Being chief of police he wore his uniform, which was extra security, not to mention probably free admission. A professional wrestler was billed to wrestle with a bear that night. There were to be two or three events. The bear was to be in the last event. I ran into a friend and we played on the highest bleachers. I found that almost in almost every bout you have a Mr. Clean Cut vs Mr. Meanie. So the winner is pretty much predictable unless one of opponents is a bear. Then who knows? I was anxious to find out. A little girl about my age was sitting with her parents not far away. I did what any 9 or 10 year boy would do, make a spectacle of myself. My friend and I played all over the bleachers and did many death defying tricks for the girl’s amusement. Then in leaping from one high perch to another I made a miscalculation and fell. I broke my arm. My arm looked all twisted. I put my jacket over my arm so Daddy might not notice and hunted him down. As I expected he was leaning against the concession counter talking to another policeman. I walked up to him and told him I wanted to go home. Daddy said, “And miss the bear?” Being the experienced policeman he was, he said, “Why do you have your arm covered?” He lifted my jacket and saw my broken arm. He first drove by the house, only a couple blocks away and went into the house to tell Mama he was taking me to the hospital. The gave me gas and I woke up with a cast on my arm. Kenestone Hospital was new. They haven’t quiet figure out where to put preteens. They put me in the toddler ward.