THE PROJECTS

Our family moved back into the city when I was 13 years old and ready to start high school.  We lived in a housing project of townhouses and I had my own room.  This made my life better.  My sister and I were now bathing ourselves and combing and brushing our own hair since quite some time and there was obviously some relief there.

My mother took to beating me and my sister with a rubber fly swatter over our bare legs and arms and it hurt like hell!  Sometimes the rubber would fly off and my mother would continue to beat us with the wire.  These beatings took place out of the blue and we never knew why or when the next beating would happen.  One day when my sister and I arrived at our house, out came the fly swatter and my sister was on the receiving end.  Something snapped inside me.  I HAD HAD ENOUGH!  I remember becoming enraged by this abusive action from my mother--by this time I was almost the same height as she was.  I quickly grabbed her by the wrist with a one-handed grip and just held her arm up in mid air.  I don't know where my power came from but my strength seemed super human.  Through gritted teeth I commanded, "DON'T EVER DO THAT AGAIN!"  And she didn't ever beat us again.  She did, however, continue with her mental cruelty and malicious and manipulating ways.

Now when I look back on this incident I think I should have slapped her HARD across the face with my free hand.   At the time this thought did not even enter my mind.  I only wanted the beatings to stop!

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