Fall 1966
Tragedy
Part I
Will to Win
(mm/mf)
This story isn’t really memorable because of the tie-up incidents that occurred, but what occurred while we were playing it. It was one of the things we regretted doing while playing, and if we were given the chance to do it all over again, we would have done it differently. It would’ve have saved us a lot of trouble. But we were still children, and sometimes, we do stupid things that at that time seemed fine but in retrospect, isn’t really that good of an idea after all. This incident would affect subsequent games and change some of the rules of how we play.
In the last story, Maggie (8), Angela (10), and Betty (8) played a twisted version of Blind’s Man Bluff, with Angela being the one ‘blind’. Aside from doing the actual tying of Angela, Donald (9) and I (9) simply watched and observed the entire proceeding and made sure nothing bad happened to Angela.
During the time before lunch, right after the girls’ tie up games, I kept thinking of a way to win against the formidable combination of Angela, Andrew (10), Donald (9), and David (10). It was hard. Very hard. Andrew, David and Angela were the best TUGgers among us. I wanted to win badly, and I can’t plan properly because Donald was my playmate at that time. I came up empty.
Lunch was interesting. David and Angela ate at our house, in addition to my family. After lunch, Frank (9), my best friend, came over. Andrew and David went exploring in the forest at the hill beyond the plain at our backyard, while Donald, Frank, and I played in our yard. The girls were playing another tea party game in the living room. After that, they went up to Betty’s room.
I initially was unable to formulate with Frank a plan because of the presence of Donald. Don’t get me wrong, Donald was fully part of our little circle—remember, our original team was Frank, Donald and I. And outside of tie-up games, we three were very close—like Andrew and David, Chester and Jay. But that was precisely the problem. Donald was now on the opposite team of Frank and I, and it made planning revenge more difficult. And he couldn’t just go along with it because we knew he wouldn’t betray his team mates. He was loyal to a fault.
This time, I decided, I would just grab Donald and plan with Frank while poor Donald was tied and gagged.
My opportunity came when Donald excused himself to go to the bathroom. While waiting for him to come back, I told Frank that when my cousin comes back, we should ambush him and tie him up.
“Well, it’s not as if we have anything else to do,” I said. “Besides, I think it’s time for us to win a game, don’t you think?”
Frank nodded. “Should we get some rope?” he asked.
“No. It would take too much time, and besides, he might get suspicious,” I replied. Instead, I searched my pockets and found out that I had tucked away a large handkerchief. I took it out and formed a long band with it. “We’ll use this. This isn’t much, but it’ll hold him long enough.”
We hid on each side of the back door. When Donald came out to rejoin us, we quickly grabbed him.
“Hey, what! Let me go!” Donald complained as he was held in a bear hug by Frank.
I showed him the handkerchief, and he knew what was coming.
“Well, you might get me, you won’t get Andrew, and David!” he said.
“Will you give up, or do we have to use force?” Frank demanded.
“I give, I give,” said Donald.
“Good for you,” I said as Frank turned him around and I pulled his hands behind him. “You can still join us, if you want.”
“No way! You’ll lose this game like you’ve lost all the others,” said Donald, sporting a smug smirk.
I tied his hands using the handkerchief, tying it horizontally first, then twisting it so I can tie it vertically, before tightly knotting it. I would’ve preferred rope, but it was just as effective. Or so I thought.
“ANGE—” Donald shouted, or tried to shout, but Frank quickly covered Donald’s mouth with his hand.
We quickly dragged Donald towards my room, Frank’s hand never leaving my cousin’s mouth. When we arrived in my room, I quickly got another handkerchief from my cabinet, wadded it up, and presented it to Donald’s mouth.
Donald opened his mouth, and accepted the wad. Frank finished by covering his lower face with extra pieces of duct tape.
We then forced him to sit on the floor, where I tied his ankles and knees with rope. Satisfied, Frank and I went outside and planned our next move. I carried with me my bag full of supplies.
“We should get Angela,” Frank whispered. “They’re in Betty’s room.”
“Yes, but not yet,” I replied. “Let’s call Chet and Jay to come here, then we attack her.”
“We can take that girl by ourselves. And we should not worry about Betty and Maggie. They always get her tied up, and they’ll help us in tying her up,” Frank argued.
“Yes, but we need them—Chet and Jay—to capture Andrew and David. By the time we finished tying her up, they’ll be here, and we can go to the forest,” I reasoned.
“Well, okay,” said Frank.
We went downstairs and called Chet and Jay. Luckily, they were at home, and they eagerly accepted our invitation to hunt for my brother and his friend.
Our plan to get Angela was simple—we barge in Betty’s room, interrupt whatever they were doing, and tell her that she was our captive.
We entered Betty’s room, and sure enough, Maggie, Betty, and Angela were playing with dolls.
They looked at us, and when they saw me carrying ropes, they knew what was up.
“Angela, we’re kidnapping you. Surrender, or we’ll have to be rough on you!” Frank announced.
Betty suddenly dropped the doll that she was holding and suddenly grabbed Angela.
“Oh you traitors,” Angela said without offering resistance. “Okay, I give up. But is this a regular game, where you try to capture Andrew, David, Donald and me?”
“Yes,” I said.
She laughed. “I’m sure you captured Donald already, but you won’t get your brother and David! And you’ll be captured—again!”
“We’ll see,” I said as I prepared my rope. “Stand over here and put your hands behind your back!”
“Aw! You should’ve struggled!” Maggie whined. “I’d be more fun if we have to hold you down while they tied you up.”
Angela merely stuck her tongue out at Maggie.
Frank laughed while I simply smiled as I wound a long piece of white rope around her crossed wrists, both vertically and horizontally, behind her back. I cinched it and knotted it off, confident that it was inescapable.
“Ooh! Can I gag her?” Betty asked.
“No, let me!” Maggie countered.
“Why don’t you, Betty, put the packing, and Maggie cover it?” I suggested.
Both agreed. Betty went to her cabinet, got a pair of socks, and rolled it into one wad. It was enormous relative to the size of Angela’s mouth, but it will fit.
Angela looked with dismay but simply opened her mouth. Betty giggled as she packed the wadding into her friend’s mouth. In the meantime, I handed Maggie a large bandana.
She folded it into a large bandana into a wide band, and at my direction, she made a knot in its center. She pushed it past her teeth and tightly knotted it behind her head.
“There!” I said. “Let’s get her to my room and tie him with Donald.”
We marched her to my room. I was surprised when I came back and saw no sign of Donald.