Thanks to sarumansauron for the comments!!
Fall 1966
Olympics at the Plains
Part II
Twin Fight
(m+f/mm), (m+/m), (m/m)
Now, we had walked many times with our hands bound behind our backs, even while gagged—it had been by now second nature to us. But running was another matter. We simply had very few opportunities where running while bound was a good idea. And this race showed why.
Halfway to the end of the plain, Chester lost his balance and fell to the ground. They ran at top speed while tied-up—a bad idea. Jay stopped.
“Are you okay?” I heard him shout.
“Yeah. Just a little winded,” Chester said as he struggled to stand up—something very difficult with your hands bound behind you.
“Okay then, see ya, brother,” said Jay as he ran towards Angela. This time, he ran at a more measured pace, as he knew with Chester on the ground and him having difficulty standing up, he already won.
Angela said something to Jay which I could not understand as she placed the “baton” on Jay’s grasp. Later I learned that Angela asked if Chester was all right, and Jay said yes.
Jay now had the baton on his hands and he ran towards us. Towards the end, he slowed down to a walk.
Meanwhile I can hear David shouting to Chester who was still trying to get up.
“Chet! Get up! We’re gonna lose!” David shouted.
Chester finally got up but it was too late. As he approached David, Jay reached the back fence of our backyard, and he had won.
“I won! I won!” Jay shouted.
But most of our attention was at Chester. “Is Chet all right?” I asked as I untied Jay.
“Yes,” Jay replied.
Andrew himself went to where Chester was. Andrew untied him, and they, including David and Angela, went back to us.
“Congratulations for winning, bro. But you only won because I fell,” he said to his brother.
“Well, you deserve to lose for being so stupid as to let yourself fall down,” Jay replied. “Besides, even if you didn’t fall, I’d still have won. I’m faster than you.”
The twins argued about the fairness of Chet’s victory while the rest of us argued about the rules. David, Betty, Maggie, and I were of the opinion that if someone fell while running bound, one of us should help him get up. Frank, Donald, Henry and Angela opposed this idea, as they said that if one fell, they should get up on their own.
Andrew settled this argument by saying that it doesn’t matter which of the options were taken, because the one who fell, no matter how quick he would take to stand up and run, effectively lost unless the other player also slipped and fell. So he said, it wouldn’t make any difference if one helped the fallen one or not. So in this case, it’s better if we should help the one who fell to get up.
We all accepted this, but before anything can happen, the argument between Chester and Jay escalated into a fight. And to make it worse, instead of breaking it up, the rest of us except Andrew just watched around them in a circle, shouting, “Fight! Fight! Fight!”
“Oh for crying out!” Andrew shouted. “Break it up or I will have both of you tied up!”
All of us looked at my irate older brother. The twins ignored him and continued fighting.
“Oh that’s it! Grab them and tie them up!” Andrew ordered.
Immediately, all of us pounced on the twins. We soon held them as Betty and Maggie brought to us the ropes and strips of cloth that we were going to use. Frank and I held Chester, while David and Donald held Jay.
“Now, this is your last chance,” Andrew warned. “Make up or I’ll have you bound!”
“Just as long as Jay admits he didn’t win fair!” Chester shouted spitefully at his twin brother.
“Just as long as Chet admits he’s slower than me!” Jay replied.
“Just tie them up,” Frank shouted.
Andrew signalled with his hands indicating that we should proceed with the tying up.
Frank and I forced Chester to the ground and pulled his hands behind him. Angela approached with a piece of rope and tied them tight.
Suddenly, the expression in Chester’s face changed. “Okay you win. Jay I’m sorry, you won fair and square. Now don’t tie us up!”
“Yeah, we won’t fight anymore,” Jay pleaded as his hands were pulled back and rope was wound around his wrists by Andrew.
But it was too late. Andrew looked at both of them, smiled, and said, “It’s all well and good. But for you, it’s too late! And if you don’t shut, well, well, we’ll make you shut up!”
The younger kids formed a circle around us as we bound the twins. After we finished with their wrists, we sat them on the grassy ground. Frank and I let Chester go because bound as he was, he wasn’t much of a threat. I was the one who tied his ankles, while Frank did his knees. Andrew prepared a roll of duct tape as David tied Jay’s ankles and knees. Donald looked on as he talked to his sister.
Andrew tore a strip of duct tape and prepared to plaster it on Jay’s closed lips.
“Aren’t you gonna pack them?” asked Angela.
“Nah. I don’t think it’d be necessary,” he said as he smoothed the silver tape over Jay’s lips. He tossed the roll to me.
I didn’t need to be asked as I tore a strip and taped Chester’s mouth.
“Chet, Jay, I know you can easily remove the tape, but if you do, I’ll have Angela pack your mouth, and make sure you’re really gagged,” my older brother warned. “You can watch the rest of the tournament, but if you act up, not only will I gag you for real, but I’ll have you blindfolded for the rest of the game, understood?”
They both nodded.
We now resumed our tournament as all attention was diverted from the twins. Well, not all attention. Barney, and John (6), another of my younger brothers, approached the twins and began teasing them. We paid them no attention.
The next players were Frank and I. It was David who got the privilege to tie me up while Donald bound Frank’s hands.
“Hey I know! The loser should be bound like the twins for the rest of the competition!” Angela suggested.
The rest of us thought it was a great idea, and we quickly approved it. Andrew didn’t oppose it, so it was carried.
Now that gave extra impetus for us to win the race. However, my sister Betty made another suggestion.
“Why don’t we tie their feet and knees too, and we can have a hopping race?” she said.
“Now wait a minute—” I protested, but were drowned out by the roars of approval of the others.
“That’s a great idea sis,” Andrew shouted. “Tie their feet and knees!”
I gave in. What can I do? My hands were already tied behind me anyway. I put my feet together and Angela tied them together with rope. She also did my knees. David decided that he was the one who should tie Frank’s ankles and knees.
Maggie and Betty went to the end of the plain, holding the baton in their hands. Andrew and David would accompany us while we hopped so that they can catch us before we fall, and help us up if we did.
I prepared myself for the race. This time, it was Henry who shouted the preliminaries.
“Ready!” Henry, Angela’s younger brother, shouted.
“Go, Tommy!” Angela shouted.
“Frank, you can do it!” David added.
“Set!” Henry continued.
I braced myself for the start of the race.
“Go!”
I immediately hopped forward, with Andrew running besides me.
“Don’t go too fast. Be careful,” my brother warned. “And go beat Frank! For the Fords!”
Frank and I were in a neck in neck race. By the half way point, both of us were tired. I nearly fell down several times but thankfully, my brother was attentive and caught me each time. I reached Betty and she put the baton on my hands. I rested a bit before resuming my hop. Frank and I were both sweating, but we hopped as fast as we can, as I now absolutely trusted Andrew to catch me if I again fell. I soon gained a small lead.
“You better give up, Frank,” I shouted as I hopped, “because you’ll only tire yourself.”
“I’m the one who’s gonna be untied after this race, not you,” Frank shouted as he hopped harder.
“No, my lil’ brother is gonna win!” Andrew shouted as he urged me on. “You can do it Tom! Win! Hop! That’s it!”
As we neared the finish line, we were dead tired. I was covered with sweat, and my hops became slower. Frank too was exhausted. His hops became slower and the distance covered by each hop decreased with each step. The gap between him and I widened, and it emboldened me to make a final effort.
“Go Tom! Go!” I can hear Donald and my younger brothers’ cheer as I neared the finish line. I heard Frank utter a curse as I hopped across the line, and I sat down, still bound hand and foot, exhausted yet victorious. Frank sat on the grass a few feet from the finish line, defeated.
Unlike the first race, this one was exciting and not anticlimactic as the race between Chester and Jay was. I clearly won.
I was quickly as I was given a shower of congratulations from my friends and close relatives. I was quickly untied as the others helped Frank hop towards where Chester and Jay were sitting and were watching. Andrew handed the roll of duct tape to Angela. She gagged Frank like Chester and Jay—a small strip across the mouth, with a warning that his mouth would be stuffed if he tried to remove the tape.
The last race was between Donald and David. Andrew would have participated in the race, but since the only other participant who could be tied up was Angela, and a boys v. girls race was deemed unfair, he was without a partner.