I had a paper route when I was ten years old and delivered the daily news from my bicycle in a primarily working-class neighborhood. At first it was exciting and most the folks with a subscription were nice, or at least decent. Some even tipped me a dollar or so on collection day.

It wasn’t long before some of the neighborhood kids learned which day I collected in and began to follow me and threaten me. One even stopped me and drew his slingshot to my face with a metal ball bearing inside. He demanded my money and terrified, I gave him everything I had. Probably less than twenty dollars but at the time it seemed like a fortune.

Too scared to finish my route or collections I quickly sped home, my heart erupting inside my chest, tears burning my eyes and cheeks. I dropped my bike in the driveway and ran to my room hyperventilating and screaming hateful diatribes of that boy and the world although no one was home.

My father came home first, and I cautiously shared with him the news of what happened unsure if I was to blame. Angrily he first called the newspaper, shared what had happened and told them I quit. He berated them for subjecting a young boy to such terror and violence. He then called our local police department and said pretty much the same. An officer soon came by to ask me questions about the boy that assaulted me and the whereabouts.

It was probably just procedure as nothing ever came of the incident – the police never came back and within a year we moved, anyway. I often wonder what may have happened if his hand slipped or if he still let go of the ball bearing into my eye or skull. Would I have survived and what would my life be like? Mentally impaired or partially blind? What if this violence inspired me to take on a life of the same? Terrorizing and victimizing innocents simply to satisfy my insatiable desire for revenge on society and the world.

So many random moments in our lives where the cosmos presents a crossroads of sorts with a myriad of possibilities. And no way to fully know where those paths may lead.