Another Redhead Story

That kindergarten kissing story (from my prior blog entry) reminded me of another incident that happened years later - shortly after the 'Paulette and the cheeseburger' debacle. So, once again, I'm going to deviate from the time line.

Let me start by saying that I'm having a lot of trouble figuring out how to tell this one. (I've rewritten it countless times.) I just hope I've managed to do it in a way that doesn't come across as juvenile or tawdry... Well, maybe a bit juvenile, but not tawdry... (Yeah - it's one of those.)

Here goes:

There was an Irish Catholic family on the corner of Bewley and Park Roads in Havertown, PA. And among their 8 or so children was a girl named Libby. She was a couple of years older than me, and (like the kindergarten Patty) she was a tomboy (actually, that's an understatement).
Now I can't describe Libby (in retrospect) without admitting that she was kind of pretty - she had wavy red hair and green eyes. But at the time it was impossible to think of her as a girl. There was just nothing feminine about her - she typically wore jeans and a plaid shirt - and she was quick, tough and strong. You did not want to get in a fight with her - she had skills... And to be perfectly honest, she was crazy as all get-out :-)

So one day I was walking past Libby's house and failed to notice her hiding in the tree. (Don't ask - I have no idea.) And as I passed under her (thereby becoming a 'target of opportunity') she jumped me. When I heard that maniacal laughter I knew I was in for it. Yes - Libby laughed insanely the whole time she was fighting. It was both bizarre and frightening... So I figured she was going to try and pin me to the ground and make me beg for mercy. (That was the usual 'modus operandi')

I put up a pretty good fight - it took her a good 15 seconds to get me off my feet. And before she got me pinned I even managed to get my hands free and tried to shove her off of me. But as I started pushing I became aware that something was 'different' under her shirt - it felt very odd indeed...
Now, I had known Libby for years and (other than continually getting bigger and stronger) she had always looked and acted pretty much the same - she was one of the guys. So it took me a moment to connect the dots: "Let's see ... I'm 11 now ... so Libby must be 13 ... she's a girl ... and that means ...O..M...G...!!!!"

I was sure Libby was going to go ballistic on me. I stopped fighting and braced for what was certain to be the most severe and merciless pounding of my life... But she totally ignored my momentary 'inappropriate touching' and continued laughing as she pinned my arms.

Then it got worse (or better - I wasn't sure which):
As she was hovering over me (and taunting me) I couldn't help but notice that her shirt (which was loose fitting to begin with) had come partially unbuttoned during the scuffle...
Now - I swear I didn't take a second glance - I was far too shocked... I mean, one moment I'm walking down the street minding my own business. The next moment I'm fighting a 'guy' I've known for years. And a split-second later there's a partially exposed woman on top of me... That's not how boys typically find out about those things, is it? (I suppose it could be...) Regardless, it was a bit much to deal with... Heck - I didn't even try to work out the 'cootie' implications :-)

I never told anybody about that 'close encounter' until many years later but it did force me to accept that I was starting to like girls (a bit). And Libby must have eventually come to terms with the fact that she was becoming a woman... Maybe she even figured out that she didn't have to pin guys to the ground to make them beg! (OK - that was a bit tawdry...)
But I never found out - we left for Germany a short time later...

BTW - I imagine you've noticed that a lot of my posts involved girls. Yeah - that's because a lot of my memories involve girls... So it's probably going to continue... Sorry :-)