Sins Derived From Survival
Authored By: Bradley Chapline
Aug 2024
Authored By: Bradley Chapline
Aug 2024
Chapter Two
The Junior High School Years
Dean's first day at Graham P. Tucker junior high school was much worse than his first day of elementary school. All the older and bigger kids from the neighborhood were not only making fun of Dean's appearance, but he had been punched repeatedly in the head.
When Dean apprehensively approached the school bus stop, his bargain basement black framed glasses were sitting lopsided on his nose. Dean's plaid shirt and blue trousers, made by his mother, were misaligned. The buttons on the front of Dean's shirt had been sewn on the side where women's buttons were typically sewn on blouses. Even the zipper on Dean's trousers was so off center he would be forced to sit down while urinating. Dean was not only enduring his new nickname, "The Dork", he was also being shoved around. But, it didn't stop there. Another bully got in Dean's face and ripped the front of his shirt wide open. Dean wasn't wearing a tee-shirt. His caved-in chest had been exposed for everyone to see. The disparaging comments started flowing from all the other kids at the bus stop. "Man, this kid is all fucked up. He can't speak right and he has a deformed body." Then, one of the girls said, "This boy is gross, why don't somebody just kill him?” Another kid said, “Maybe when he was born his mother had syphilis." And yet another bully replied, "No one would want to touch this lowlife." And then another bully joined in by saying, "I will", and he then punched Dean hard in his forehead area with his fist. Dean fell to the sidewalk, banging the back of his head on the cement. The teardrops began flowing down Dean's face. His weeping could clearly be seen as the school bus approached with its red lights flashing.
Once again Dean tripped and fell as he attempted to climb the three steps onto the bus. He had also lost his glasses during the scuffle. The bus driver asked Dean, "Are you okay?" A parade of insults came from the kids already seated on the bus. When the bus driver secured the door, he told Dean to go sit down on the top step. Dean moved there quickly to be next to the bus driver. Dean then bowed his head, once again, and closed his eyes.
The bully who had just hit Dean with his fist had caused havoc in Dean's head. He was feeling dizzy. He couldn't think. He couldn't speak. Dean felt like he would pass out at any moment. However, this was not Dean's first experience with head trauma.
When the school bus pulled up in front of the school, Dean opened his eyes. His vision was slightly blurred. But, this didn't stop him from getting off the bus quickly. He was going to run away from the school. But, there were two security officers and the school psychologist waiting for him. They took control of Dean and escorted him into the school's medical department.
Apparently, the bus driver had notified school administrators via two-way radio ahead of Dean's arrival.
The school psychologist, Barbara Ann Dennison LP, immediately took notice of Dean's mental and physical condition. She wanted to evaluate him, but knew she must get the parent's permission. She got lucky. Dean's mother had answered the phone. The school psychologist asked permission to do a vital sign assessment on Dean. While his mother's speech was slurred from illicit drug use, she still granted the school's request.
The school nurse reported that all of Dean's vital signs were in a serious danger zone. She recommended giving Dean an intravenous dosage of benzodiazepine. The school nurse assured the school psychologist that this drug would calm Dean down with no side effects.
But, the school nurse was wrong. For the first time in Dean's young life he was fighting back in a quite ferocious manner. Security was immediately called in to assist in restraining Dean. The school psychologist then pulled up on her computer the information on the medication called benzodiazepine. She found that while this medication tends to be the most used for kids, in calming them down, there was also a warning that children with developmental disorders could become very aggressive with impulsive outbursts.
The school psychologist had called an ambulance. Upon the arrival of the paramedics, they had no other choice but to use a mask covering Dean's mouth since he was trying to spit on them. Nylon straps were also used in securing both Dean's arms and legs. The paramedics just laid Dean out on the stretcher. Once inside the ambulance, Dean was still trying to fight his way loose.
But, paramedic Joseph DeMarco seemed to have a magic touch with Dean. With his left hand, he took a very light hold on Dean's hands. With his right hand, the paramedic began massaging Dean between his eyebrows with two of his fingers. Almost instantaneously, Dean stopped resisting. He had also calmed down, significantly. Dean was now listening to the paramedic humming a soft lullaby while still having his forehead massaged. Several minutes later the paramedic released Dean from the mask and straps that had him secured in place. Dean smiled at paramedic Joseph DeMarco.
Once at the hospital, Dean was turned over to the emergency room physician. But first, the on-duty nurse came inside a curtained cubicle to medically evaluate Dean. She took a look at both the school nurse's and the psychologist's initial comments. She also read the initial paramedics report. The emergency room nurse became quite confused. She took Dean's vitals, and all his readings were either in, or near, the normal range. She took Dean's vitals a second time, and got the same results. The emergency room nurse then called the paramedics back to her station. She wanted to know how Dean's aggressive behavior and out of control vitals just suddenly fell back into a calmed and virtual normal range. Paramedic Joseph DeMarco replied, "I once learned in massage therapy school that there are small muscles around a human’s head that are very receptive to touch, in especially the forehead. It is absolutely amazing that the head has more touch receptors than does the more frequently massaged back area of a human. This means that softly massaging a patient's cephalic area is most likely beneficial to the patient."
But still, Dean was not released from the hospital. Dean's medical team still had great concerns about him. Dean had not bathed or brushed his teeth in weeks. Dean's body gave off a foul order, and some of his teeth were in the process of rotting.
Hospital administrators got permission from Dean's mother to send him to a community mental health recovery center. While Dean had no freedom to leave the property, Dean had never been happier in his life. He was getting three nutritious meals a day. He was showering once every other day, and Dean had also received several sets of clothing from the Good Will that fit him perfectly. Additionally, Dean was actually taking a children's basic class in speech therapy. But, more than anything, Dean was thrilled that his teeth were in the process of being fixed. All of his toothaches had now gone away.
Dean spent the entire school year at the community mental health recovery center. Graham P. Tucker junior high school was responsible for getting Dean's school work to him, and picking his work up when completed. At the end of the school year, Dean had decent grades and was promoted to the eighth grade.
But still, authorities at the community mental health recovery center were not convinced that Dean could survive where he had come from in his past years. His mother and father were divorced. Dean's mother, still penniless, was living in a government subsidized slum home. She was known to be an active crack addict. Dean's biological father was a known alcoholic, and child-beater. So, it was surely the reason for the lead psychiatrist at the community center to deny Dean either both a conditional or unconditional release. This meant Dean would remain in protective custody status for the foreseeable future.
Dean stayed in protective custody status at the community center all the way through the next two years of his junior high school years. It was becoming impossible to find Dean a certified guardian. He had become an unaffordable expense for the community mental health recovery center. No reputable guardian was about to take responsibility for Dean, especially with his past.
It was determined that the monthly pay to be Dean's legal guardian would be raised, while the qualifications for being his caretaker would be significantly lowered.
Three weeks after these changes were adopted, Dean was introduced to his guardians. He did not like the rough pitted faces of this couple. He saw many tattoos on their arms. But, Dean was told he could not refuse the temporary guardians that were selected for him. Dean went into a violent rage. The staff, in finally securing Dean in restraints, moved him to a secured area of the facility where residents are classified as having intermittent explosive disorders.
In the coming weeks, Dean remained heavily sedated by mental health staff. There was now a new director at the community mental health recovery center. His second day on the job, he ordered Dean's immediate release and remanded custody of him back to his biological mother. The tenured staff were shocked. Most of them resigned in protest. The new boss didn't care.
Before Dean knew it, he was back with his mother in the same deplorable conditions, and his first day back to school, at the same old bus stop with the same old bullies, was now only a few days away.
But, Dean was, on the surface, an all new boy. He no longer had the geek glasses. He was wearing contacts. He was now wearing good quality clothes. His teeth were fixed, and his hair was neatly groomed. And, what was really special, Dean could now speak in full sentences.
So Dean ran nine houses down to the Richardson residence. They were the one family who had always been nice to him. They were an older couple who had just lost their only son. He was an Army soldier killed in the line of duty serving in Iraq.
Dean couldn’t make it up to their front door. The Richardson property was fortified with a jagged chain link fence and gate surrounding the entire premises. Cacti and thorny rose bushes were packed together across the inside of their entire property line. But, this wasn't all. The garage door, the entry doors, and every window was covered with high quality steel screens. There was just no way anyone could gain the Richardsons’ attention, must less break into their home.
Dean was feeling desperate. He waited all day on the public sidewalk in front of the Richardson home. Coming up on dusk, Dean could tell he was in the beginning phases of dehydration. He had no more water. But, Dean got lucky. Mrs. Richardson came out front to hand water her plants. Dean kept calling out to her, but Mrs. Richardson kept ignoring him. Finally, Dean yelled out his name, "Mrs. Richardson, it's Dean, from nine houses down the street." This gained her attention. She walked over to the gate and said, "Dean, is that really you?" "Yes, it is, Mrs. Richardson." She unlocked the gate and allowed Dean to come inside the front yard.
She gave Dean a big hug. It brought a smile to Dean's face. Mrs. Richarson said, "My God, Dean, how you have changed. You're no longer wearing eyeglasses. Can you see with no glasses?" "Yes," said Dean. "I'm wearing contact lenses." Mrs. Richardson then said, "Dean, you're all cleaned up. Your hair is neatly groomed, and your teeth are fixed. Your clothes are nice looking, and they fit you. But, most of all you are speaking in full sentences. I'm so proud of you, Dean." Mrs. Richardson gave Dean another tight hug. He told Mrs. Richardson all about where he had been the past few years and how he had made all these remarkable transformations.
Mrs. Richardson brought her husband outside to see Dean. He wasn't as impressed with Dean as his wife. Then Dean prepared himself to pop the question, "Mr. and Mrs. Richardson, life at my mother's is just as bad now as it was before I went to a kids' treatment center." Mr. Richardson answered immediately, "No! Hell no! We are not having anyone else live with us. We have peace and quiet now. We want it to remain that way." But, his wife wanted Dean to come and stay with them. She told her husband that Dean could earn his way there by keeping both the house and yard clean. Dean was very receptive to this idea. Mr. Richardson knew they were going to need help around the house, so grudgingly, he allowed Dean to come live with them. Mrs. Richardson wasted no time in getting down to the local children's community mental health recovery center to file a formal request in court for temporary guardianship of Dean. Mr. Richardson would collect four hundred and fifty dollars for each month of guardianship. He would not share any of those monies with Dean.
Mr. Richardson laid down the rules for Dean. No loud music or television, and no visitors. Dean smiled, and said, "Okay, Mr. Richardson, the only thing I have is my one trusted book. I take it everywhere I go." However, Dean did not tell Mr. Richardson that his book was a cheaply made six-hundred plus page book written by a convicted criminal. Had either Mr. or Mrs. Richardson known anything about the author, or the contents of this book, they would have forbidden Dean to have possession of it.
The next day was the first day of school in Dean's sophomore year. He truly believed that with his new guardians, he would now be able to survive his last three years of school at the Dennis Rivers Senior High School.
But, this school had a very bad reputation. It was known to be a dangerous and threatening place with extreme hostilities amongst the student body. Dean was giving serious thought to all the antagonisms he would most likely have to face on a daily basis.
The Junior High School Years
Dean's first day at Graham P. Tucker junior high school was much worse than his first day of elementary school. All the older and bigger kids from the neighborhood were not only making fun of Dean's appearance, but he had been punched repeatedly in the head.
When Dean apprehensively approached the school bus stop, his bargain basement black framed glasses were sitting lopsided on his nose. Dean's plaid shirt and blue trousers, made by his mother, were misaligned. The buttons on the front of Dean's shirt had been sewn on the side where women's buttons were typically sewn on blouses. Even the zipper on Dean's trousers was so off center he would be forced to sit down while urinating. Dean was not only enduring his new nickname, "The Dork", he was also being shoved around. But, it didn't stop there. Another bully got in Dean's face and ripped the front of his shirt wide open. Dean wasn't wearing a tee-shirt. His caved-in chest had been exposed for everyone to see. The disparaging comments started flowing from all the other kids at the bus stop. "Man, this kid is all fucked up. He can't speak right and he has a deformed body." Then, one of the girls said, "This boy is gross, why don't somebody just kill him?” Another kid said, “Maybe when he was born his mother had syphilis." And yet another bully replied, "No one would want to touch this lowlife." And then another bully joined in by saying, "I will", and he then punched Dean hard in his forehead area with his fist. Dean fell to the sidewalk, banging the back of his head on the cement. The teardrops began flowing down Dean's face. His weeping could clearly be seen as the school bus approached with its red lights flashing.
Once again Dean tripped and fell as he attempted to climb the three steps onto the bus. He had also lost his glasses during the scuffle. The bus driver asked Dean, "Are you okay?" A parade of insults came from the kids already seated on the bus. When the bus driver secured the door, he told Dean to go sit down on the top step. Dean moved there quickly to be next to the bus driver. Dean then bowed his head, once again, and closed his eyes.
The bully who had just hit Dean with his fist had caused havoc in Dean's head. He was feeling dizzy. He couldn't think. He couldn't speak. Dean felt like he would pass out at any moment. However, this was not Dean's first experience with head trauma.
When the school bus pulled up in front of the school, Dean opened his eyes. His vision was slightly blurred. But, this didn't stop him from getting off the bus quickly. He was going to run away from the school. But, there were two security officers and the school psychologist waiting for him. They took control of Dean and escorted him into the school's medical department.
Apparently, the bus driver had notified school administrators via two-way radio ahead of Dean's arrival.
The school psychologist, Barbara Ann Dennison LP, immediately took notice of Dean's mental and physical condition. She wanted to evaluate him, but knew she must get the parent's permission. She got lucky. Dean's mother had answered the phone. The school psychologist asked permission to do a vital sign assessment on Dean. While his mother's speech was slurred from illicit drug use, she still granted the school's request.
The school nurse reported that all of Dean's vital signs were in a serious danger zone. She recommended giving Dean an intravenous dosage of benzodiazepine. The school nurse assured the school psychologist that this drug would calm Dean down with no side effects.
But, the school nurse was wrong. For the first time in Dean's young life he was fighting back in a quite ferocious manner. Security was immediately called in to assist in restraining Dean. The school psychologist then pulled up on her computer the information on the medication called benzodiazepine. She found that while this medication tends to be the most used for kids, in calming them down, there was also a warning that children with developmental disorders could become very aggressive with impulsive outbursts.
The school psychologist had called an ambulance. Upon the arrival of the paramedics, they had no other choice but to use a mask covering Dean's mouth since he was trying to spit on them. Nylon straps were also used in securing both Dean's arms and legs. The paramedics just laid Dean out on the stretcher. Once inside the ambulance, Dean was still trying to fight his way loose.
But, paramedic Joseph DeMarco seemed to have a magic touch with Dean. With his left hand, he took a very light hold on Dean's hands. With his right hand, the paramedic began massaging Dean between his eyebrows with two of his fingers. Almost instantaneously, Dean stopped resisting. He had also calmed down, significantly. Dean was now listening to the paramedic humming a soft lullaby while still having his forehead massaged. Several minutes later the paramedic released Dean from the mask and straps that had him secured in place. Dean smiled at paramedic Joseph DeMarco.
Once at the hospital, Dean was turned over to the emergency room physician. But first, the on-duty nurse came inside a curtained cubicle to medically evaluate Dean. She took a look at both the school nurse's and the psychologist's initial comments. She also read the initial paramedics report. The emergency room nurse became quite confused. She took Dean's vitals, and all his readings were either in, or near, the normal range. She took Dean's vitals a second time, and got the same results. The emergency room nurse then called the paramedics back to her station. She wanted to know how Dean's aggressive behavior and out of control vitals just suddenly fell back into a calmed and virtual normal range. Paramedic Joseph DeMarco replied, "I once learned in massage therapy school that there are small muscles around a human’s head that are very receptive to touch, in especially the forehead. It is absolutely amazing that the head has more touch receptors than does the more frequently massaged back area of a human. This means that softly massaging a patient's cephalic area is most likely beneficial to the patient."
But still, Dean was not released from the hospital. Dean's medical team still had great concerns about him. Dean had not bathed or brushed his teeth in weeks. Dean's body gave off a foul order, and some of his teeth were in the process of rotting.
Hospital administrators got permission from Dean's mother to send him to a community mental health recovery center. While Dean had no freedom to leave the property, Dean had never been happier in his life. He was getting three nutritious meals a day. He was showering once every other day, and Dean had also received several sets of clothing from the Good Will that fit him perfectly. Additionally, Dean was actually taking a children's basic class in speech therapy. But, more than anything, Dean was thrilled that his teeth were in the process of being fixed. All of his toothaches had now gone away.
Dean spent the entire school year at the community mental health recovery center. Graham P. Tucker junior high school was responsible for getting Dean's school work to him, and picking his work up when completed. At the end of the school year, Dean had decent grades and was promoted to the eighth grade.
But still, authorities at the community mental health recovery center were not convinced that Dean could survive where he had come from in his past years. His mother and father were divorced. Dean's mother, still penniless, was living in a government subsidized slum home. She was known to be an active crack addict. Dean's biological father was a known alcoholic, and child-beater. So, it was surely the reason for the lead psychiatrist at the community center to deny Dean either both a conditional or unconditional release. This meant Dean would remain in protective custody status for the foreseeable future.
Dean stayed in protective custody status at the community center all the way through the next two years of his junior high school years. It was becoming impossible to find Dean a certified guardian. He had become an unaffordable expense for the community mental health recovery center. No reputable guardian was about to take responsibility for Dean, especially with his past.
It was determined that the monthly pay to be Dean's legal guardian would be raised, while the qualifications for being his caretaker would be significantly lowered.
Three weeks after these changes were adopted, Dean was introduced to his guardians. He did not like the rough pitted faces of this couple. He saw many tattoos on their arms. But, Dean was told he could not refuse the temporary guardians that were selected for him. Dean went into a violent rage. The staff, in finally securing Dean in restraints, moved him to a secured area of the facility where residents are classified as having intermittent explosive disorders.
In the coming weeks, Dean remained heavily sedated by mental health staff. There was now a new director at the community mental health recovery center. His second day on the job, he ordered Dean's immediate release and remanded custody of him back to his biological mother. The tenured staff were shocked. Most of them resigned in protest. The new boss didn't care.
Before Dean knew it, he was back with his mother in the same deplorable conditions, and his first day back to school, at the same old bus stop with the same old bullies, was now only a few days away.
But, Dean was, on the surface, an all new boy. He no longer had the geek glasses. He was wearing contacts. He was now wearing good quality clothes. His teeth were fixed, and his hair was neatly groomed. And, what was really special, Dean could now speak in full sentences.
So Dean ran nine houses down to the Richardson residence. They were the one family who had always been nice to him. They were an older couple who had just lost their only son. He was an Army soldier killed in the line of duty serving in Iraq.
Dean couldn’t make it up to their front door. The Richardson property was fortified with a jagged chain link fence and gate surrounding the entire premises. Cacti and thorny rose bushes were packed together across the inside of their entire property line. But, this wasn't all. The garage door, the entry doors, and every window was covered with high quality steel screens. There was just no way anyone could gain the Richardsons’ attention, must less break into their home.
Dean was feeling desperate. He waited all day on the public sidewalk in front of the Richardson home. Coming up on dusk, Dean could tell he was in the beginning phases of dehydration. He had no more water. But, Dean got lucky. Mrs. Richardson came out front to hand water her plants. Dean kept calling out to her, but Mrs. Richardson kept ignoring him. Finally, Dean yelled out his name, "Mrs. Richardson, it's Dean, from nine houses down the street." This gained her attention. She walked over to the gate and said, "Dean, is that really you?" "Yes, it is, Mrs. Richardson." She unlocked the gate and allowed Dean to come inside the front yard.
She gave Dean a big hug. It brought a smile to Dean's face. Mrs. Richarson said, "My God, Dean, how you have changed. You're no longer wearing eyeglasses. Can you see with no glasses?" "Yes," said Dean. "I'm wearing contact lenses." Mrs. Richardson then said, "Dean, you're all cleaned up. Your hair is neatly groomed, and your teeth are fixed. Your clothes are nice looking, and they fit you. But, most of all you are speaking in full sentences. I'm so proud of you, Dean." Mrs. Richardson gave Dean another tight hug. He told Mrs. Richardson all about where he had been the past few years and how he had made all these remarkable transformations.
Mrs. Richardson brought her husband outside to see Dean. He wasn't as impressed with Dean as his wife. Then Dean prepared himself to pop the question, "Mr. and Mrs. Richardson, life at my mother's is just as bad now as it was before I went to a kids' treatment center." Mr. Richardson answered immediately, "No! Hell no! We are not having anyone else live with us. We have peace and quiet now. We want it to remain that way." But, his wife wanted Dean to come and stay with them. She told her husband that Dean could earn his way there by keeping both the house and yard clean. Dean was very receptive to this idea. Mr. Richardson knew they were going to need help around the house, so grudgingly, he allowed Dean to come live with them. Mrs. Richardson wasted no time in getting down to the local children's community mental health recovery center to file a formal request in court for temporary guardianship of Dean. Mr. Richardson would collect four hundred and fifty dollars for each month of guardianship. He would not share any of those monies with Dean.
Mr. Richardson laid down the rules for Dean. No loud music or television, and no visitors. Dean smiled, and said, "Okay, Mr. Richardson, the only thing I have is my one trusted book. I take it everywhere I go." However, Dean did not tell Mr. Richardson that his book was a cheaply made six-hundred plus page book written by a convicted criminal. Had either Mr. or Mrs. Richardson known anything about the author, or the contents of this book, they would have forbidden Dean to have possession of it.
The next day was the first day of school in Dean's sophomore year. He truly believed that with his new guardians, he would now be able to survive his last three years of school at the Dennis Rivers Senior High School.
But, this school had a very bad reputation. It was known to be a dangerous and threatening place with extreme hostilities amongst the student body. Dean was giving serious thought to all the antagonisms he would most likely have to face on a daily basis.
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