Bookworms and Body Slams

           Slade McGrath, at 268 pounds was considered one of the most feared men in professional wrestling. His six-foot-eight-inch frame stood towering over everyone as he scanned the room for anything that seemed out of place.

           Suddenly, from out of nowhere, Slade felt a tug on his shirt. As he spun around, he found himself staring down at a small boy with a book in his hands. The boy trembled with fear at the sight of this behemoth before him. With a shaky voice, he held the book out nervously and asked, “Can I please check this out?”

           Slade smiled at the boy and patted his head with his massive hands, messing up his sandy blonde hair.

           “Of course, son.” Slade replied. “Do you have your library card with you?”

           Slade slid the book over the scanner until he heard the beep indicating that it was checked out and handed it back to the young boy.

           “Have a wonderful day!” he called out to the boy as he walked toward the exit. The boy turned and waved, still traumatized by the experience.

           Slade wandered around the library returning books to their designated shelves, taking exceptional care in making sure all the spines were facing outwards and the titles were easy to read. He took immense pride in his work.

           After nearly twenty years in wrestling, Slade’s manager told him that the only events he could find for him now, were at conventions signing autographs for the fans. His career as a wrestler was finished, but he found solace in his new career.

           Working in the library brought Slade back to his childhood, back when he was a scrawny teenager with horn-rimmed glasses and acne on his face. He was the boy at school that the bullies used to push around daily and steal his lunch money. He didn’t always go by the name, Slade McGrath either; back then he was known as Horace Leibowitz. The public library was his only escape from the bullying. In there, he could be anyone or go anywhere without leaving the comfort of his chair.

           One day, Horace would be a fearless knight who rescues a damsel in distress, and the next day, a brilliant sleuth who solves the cases that baffle the entire police force. On one day, however, while sifting through the magazine rack, he came across a magazine titled, “Wrestling Revue.” It featured a wrestler named Fritz Von Erich and his “claw” maneuver. Intrigued, Horace skimmed through the pages and was enthralled by the article about Von Erich. He decided at that moment that he wanted to be a wrestler.

           The next day, when his parents weren’t looking, Horace grabbed the two large dictionaries from the living room and hid them in his bedroom under the bed. That night before going to sleep, he slipped the dictionaries out from under the bed. Grasping one in each hand, he began to do arm curls with them. The pain from the first ten was excruciating, but he did not let that stop him. Each morning and every night, Horace worked out with his favorite books. He would alternate from arm curls to presses while laying on his back, and then would press them above his head.

           After a few weeks of self-disciplined abuse, Horace was starting to see a difference in his appearance when he looked in the mirror. He began to feel a tightness through his arms and shoulders as he slipped on his shirt. This only encouraged him to work harder.

           Two months into his workouts, people began to take notice of Horace’s change in appearance, but not more so than the next time he was faced with the school bully, “Bruiser Barry,” as he was rightfully named.

           Bruiser Barry backed Horace into a corner at the back of the school courtyard. He had nowhere to run, but when the bully raised his fist to swing at Horace, he was surprised by a knee to the groin followed by a swift uppercut leaving Bruiser Barry bent over in pain with a stream of blood cascading from his nose and onto his shoes.

           Horace made a quick exit while crowds of students cheered him on. For the first time in his life, he felt appreciated.

           Rumors began to spread around the school about the “big fight” in the courtyard, though by the time it reached the principal’s ears, the story had been twisted substantially.

           Horace could hear whispers on the lips of the students as he walked down the hallway toward the office, but when he reached Mr. Kellerman’s office, all he heard was the principal’s voice ordering him to have a seat.

           Horace timidly took a seat in front of the principal’s desk and waited for further instruction without saying a word.

           “Mr. Leibowitz,” Principal Kellerman began. “It has come to my attention that you and Barry Henderson got into a fight after lunch today. Is that true?”

           “Yes, sir,” Horace said. “But Barry started it, sir.”

           “That may be the case, but I was told that you hit him in the nose with a set of brass knuckles. You do realize that those are weapons, and they are not permitted on school property, don’t you?”

           “I didn’t have brass knuckles, Principal Kellerman,” Horace stated defensively. “I just kicked him in his private parts and hit him in the nose with my fist. Honest, that’s all I did!”

           “Well, the school nurse said that you broke Mr. Henderson’s nose, young man, and for that, you will need to be punished. You will have detention after school tonight, and I will be contacting your parents regarding your shenanigans today as well.”

           “Yes, sir. Can I go now, sir?”

           “Yes, you can go, but I don’t want to see you back in here again.”

           Horace shuffled out of the office, but then held his head high as he walked down the hallway back to his classroom. He was proud of the fact that he put Bruiser Barry in his place finally, and it seemed that others were proud of him too. That was the first time since elementary school that anyone ever stood up to him.

           Weeks had passed, then months, then years, and Horace continued with his daily ritual, only with dumbbells instead of dictionaries. While in college, he joined the wrestling team on which he quickly was named the captain. He was virtually unstoppable on the mat and his team brought home the wrestling trophy for four years straight.

           After college, with a degree in literature, Horace decided to try out for a semi-professional wrestling league. Once they saw his skills, the promoter was overly excited to sign him, but on one condition; the name Horace Leibowitz had to go. That was how Slade McGrath came to be.

           His matches became more intense with a lot of “rehearsals” instead of practices. Every move was choreographed with timed precision to avoid any unnecessary pain or injury. It was during those days that Slade realized wrestling had changed for him. He was no longer pushing himself to improve his wrestling skills, instead, he brushed up on his acting skills so they could put on a realistic show for the fans.

           Slade started off as a “good guy” that only won fights against other new wrestlers. Later, after winning his first belt, they told him that he was switching sides. He had to become a dark and sinister individual that manifested fear inside all onlookers. To do this, he reverted to his high school days and pictured Bruiser Barry beating down on everyone. That was his inspiration.

           A scout from the big leagues was in the audience one night, unbeknownst to Slade. It happened to be the night of a cage match where Slade was victorious. The scout met up with him in the dressing room following the fight and offered him a contract for the next five years to fight professionally and Slade jumped at the chance.

           His career in the pro league started off like his semi-pro career, losing a few matches and winning a few as well. As his popularity increased, so did the expectations. He was told that his toned physique didn’t fit the “bad boy” persona, so they made him put on an extra twenty pounds by eating everything he spent his life trying to avoid. It was either he did as they asked or he forfeited his contract, so the weight went on.

           He began to feel sluggish and found it difficult to breathe if he over-exerted himself, but the show must go on, and it did for two more years into his second contract. That was when his body said, “I ain’t doing this no more, sucker!” and he ended up in the hospital with a heart attack.

           The doctor refused to give him a clean bill of health so he could get back into the ring, so he was let out of his contract early. At first, he was upset and sat around his apartment moping and eating, then one day while struggling to get out of bed, he accidently slid the bed across the floor. As he looked down, he saw a box from his childhood days. When he opened it up, it was filled with all his favorite books from back then, including the two dictionaries that started him on his career as a wrestler.

           He began to read his old books like, “Moby Dick,” “The Hound of the Baskervilles,” and “To Kill a Mockingbird,” and it reminded him of the passion he had for reading literature before wrestling took over. Instead of feeling sorry for himself, he got up, showered, and dressed, then went to his home away from home, the public library.

           As he walked in the door, he could feel the eyes upon him. After finding a novel he had not yet read, he went to the desk to check out. A sign was posted on the glass at the front of the desk. It read, “HELP WANTED.” The girl at the desk was friendly and asked for his library card. When he handed it to her, she told him it had expired. It had been several years since he stepped foot in the library, so he should have expected that.

           The woman was understanding and offered to create a new card for him. He asked her if they were still looking for someone, and she said that they will be accepting applications for one more day. He left soon after with the application in hand and rushed home to fill it out then brought it back to the library just before they closed.

           Two days later, he received a phone call to come in for an interview. The same woman was at the desk when he arrived, and she said that the manager would be with him shortly. Moments later, Slade heard a man’s voice call out his name.

           “Horace Leibowitz?” The man called out. As he looked up, he thought his mind was playing tricks on him. The man looked just like Bruiser Barry, much older and balding, but it looked very much like him.

           “Mr. Leibowitz, I am Mr. Henderson, the manager of the library.”

           Horace sat silently with his mouth hanging open. He was right, it was his old nemesis. There was no way he would get this job if Bruiser Barry recognized him, he thought. Without trying to be more obvious, Horace stood up and shook the man’s hand then followed him into his office.

           The interview lasted about ten minutes and Horace was shocked to hear that he got the job. Before leaving the office, Mr. Henderson stopped Horace and said, “By the way, I want to take this opportunity to apologize to you for the way I treated you back at school. That broken nose you gave me changed my attitude about bullying for good. Believe it or not, because of you, I straightened out my life and got my BBA in Business Management. It will be a pleasure working with you.”

           Horace thanked him again and told him that he made the right choice by hiring him. That was the last career move Horace ever planned to make. He was finally back home.