Love Is What Matters

As Vince grew, sometimes his mother took him to places where other children were playing. She did want him to get some exposure to other children so that he would be ready to go to school. His parents felt it was essential that Vince learn how to get along with other children, and also adults, when necessary. They would all three ride into the city, and while Mario taught his classes, Gina would take Vince to the playground. Most children, upon seeing Vince, would make faces or yucky noises and run away. His parents had taught him about his birth defect and how it would affect others, so he wasn’t too upset but it still hurt. He was wearing the Tight Skin bandage over the affected area. He had not grown any hair on his head, so his head looked very lopsided. However, since most of the brain growth was on the left side of his head, it evened out the look of his skull. There were usually some other children at the playground with birth defects that were unsightly, and the ‘normal’ children were no less kind to them. Doctors had told the parents that there was no treatment for Vince, with such a large area of bone deformity. They said that when he had reached his adult size, say around age 18, he could have a helmet custom made to better protect his head.

When Vince became old enough to go to kindergarten, his parents thought it would be best to enroll him in a public school close to UCLA. That way, they could all ride into town together. The parents could teach their classes at UCLA, at least part time, while Vince was in school. Then they could ride home together. The Origianis talked with the kindergarten teachers and the school principal about Vince’s condition. Assurances were given that Vince would be well looked after. So, he was enrolled in kindergarten, and this worked out very well. Vince was a polite and quiet child. He was always helpful to the teacher and was very perceptive about others’ needs. And smart! He tested three grade levels higher than anyone else. He was such a delight. His parents had explained his physical condition to the teacher, of course, and she understood perfectly. She explained it to the children in the class. Unfortunately, this made the children scared of him for a long time. When they went out to the playground at recess, Vince sat on a bench and read a book or watched the others play.

In the classroom, the teacher paired Vince up with the slowest student, and Vince understood this perfectly and was willing to help. Vince got along well in the early grades in school. He was polite and respectful of the other students, even though it was obvious that he was light years ahead of the rest of them in their studies. However, Mario and Gina thought it best that he was placed in a grade with students his own age. They explained this to Vince, politely, and Vince understood. This did not prevent Vince from reading advanced books at home, or continuing his music lessons. At recess, he sat on a bench with a book or writing in his journal, avoiding the rough-and-tumble play. Sometimes one or two of his classmates would run over and plop down next to him to say “Hi.” They would talk and laugh for a few minutes, and then they would be gone. The children had grown to love Vince.

In the eighth grade a new kid entered the class. He was a head taller than everyone else. Word soon got around that he had been held back two grades. His clothes and body were very unkempt, sloppy and dirty. He was fat. He wore a button-down shirt with the button’s mis-matched and one missing. The shirt was too short to tuck into the front of his pants, so a big blob of fat poked out showing his belly button. The other kids shied away from him, but he was always chasing them around and yelling orders at them. Vince usually wore a loose floppy hat to cover his head. It just made him feel a little more normal. That way, he didn’t have to wear the bandage. There were some other kids in the class with other kinds of deformities—a club foot, a cleft palate, and one kid with ugly looking sores on his body. They all got along and respected each other.

The new kid’s name was Butch Farrow. One day at recess Butch came over to where Vince was sitting. Vince saw him out of the corner of his eye and tried to ignore him. Butch walked right up in front of him.

“Hey kid. What’s your name?”

Vince answered, “Vince Origiani.”

Butch said, “Wha ... Orgni? Or Gigi?”

Vince repeated his name, “Vince Origiani.”

Butch laughed, “Orangi? Origami? What kind of stupid name is that?”

Vince shifted his eyes and looked away and Butch knew he had him, that he could bully him any way he wanted. Butch reached out and grabbed Vince’s hat and jerked it off his head. Vince gasped, but not as loudly as Butch. Backing away, Butch threw the hat on the ground and said, “What the hell?”

The playground supervisor had seen the commotion and rushed over. She yelled at Butch and told him to go into the classroom and sit down. He sulked away. Vince was holding his head where it had been scraped and found that there was a little blood when he withdrew his hand.