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HUNGER
PAINS
by
George Lester |  |
From
the time I was 13 until about 17 I was so skinny I was embarrassed to take a shower
after a football workout with the other players. Long sleeve shirts where my uniform
for the day in order to hide my spindly arms. Other youths with bulging muscles
and barrel chests were my envy. Where their backbones formed a valley between
mountains of sinew mine stuck out like a razor back hog, my sunken chest gave
the impression that my shirt was empty from the neck down. It wasn’t because I
didn’t eat enough. No exaggeration, I easily put away enough groceries each day
to feed two grown men. Once after a football game we stopped at a restaurant for
a post game meal. It was one of those family type diners where they put the food
out in bowls and you helped yourself like at home. When all the other boys had
finished and were ready to go I was still chomping away, emptying every vessel
on the table. They started gathering around to see how much I could eat. I must
admit I put on quite a show for them. Still I couldn’t gain an ounce. This brings
me to the reason why I experienced one of my most humiliating moments.
I was spending the night with the family of two brothers I ran around with. We
had been working hard all day clearing brush from the back of the house and I
had worked up a ferocious appetite. When sat down to supper that night I knew
that I had to watch my manners and not make a pig of myself in front of my friends
parents. I ate a normal amount of food and stopped. After we all went to bed I
lay there unable to sleep because I was so hungry. The left over food in the refrigerator
seemed to be saying, “I’m here waiting for you. Come get me.” It was more than
I could stand so after I was sure every one else was sound asleep I tip toed into
the kitchen. I knew I had to be extremely quiet lest I be caught red handed. In
spite of my stealth I rattled a plate as I was helping myself.
Immediately
I heard the mother rouse and get up. Her footsteps where coming my way so I made
a dash to get back in my bed. Then I realized that she was between my destination
and me so I ducked into a closet. She went into the kitchen and started calling
the cat, “Here kitty, kitty.” I was so scared I thought she would hear my heart
pounding through the closet door. Finally she went back to bed and I made my escape
to safety.
The next day I confided to one of the brothers about what happened
the night before after I made him promise he would never divulge my secret. He
said he wouldn’t.” Cross my heart.” The next time I came over to visit him I knew
he had not been discreet as he promised. As soon as I stepped into the house the
whole family said in chorus, “HERE KITTY, KITTY!” |
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