Family & Fatherhood

Me and the Boy

"You never punched anybody?" I asked.

"No," he said.

I did not know what to say.

"Will you show me?" he asked.

I guess I should have told him there is rarely a good reason to punch someone, that it is better to turn the other cheek. I should have evoked Gandhi and King. I should have told him that the meek inherit the earth and all that razzmatazz.

"Make a fist," I said.

I tapped the bridge of my nose.

"You hit here, one time, hard, and it's over," I said.