Casey walked the Little Dublin section of Burywater whispering
over and over: "I'm sorry. I didn't mean it."

Those who heard the words did their Burywater stare at him: eyes
attempting to focus on his mouth with a deep crease furrowing upon
their foreheads and their own mouths hanging wide open which soon
was followed by a terrible sneer that would send the forty-five year
old man running away to another street or to hide deep inside the
McCaulay Lots.

Near Woods Avenue, called Hermit's Refuge, two fifteen year old
guys spotted the trembling man.

"Hey, wait up!" one of them shouted though they were walking
toward him. They both did two minutes of the stare.

The man stuffed his shaking hands into his pockets.

"Want to get your ass kicked?" Ears McKenna said,
making an ugly face to buttress the threat.

"Yeah, you're coming with us to Rabid Squirrel Woods!" Ambrose
Cronin said showing him his two fists.

Meekly Casey joined them with bowed head.

"Hey Tony ginzo, look what we found!" the kid they called Amby
shouted. "I'm sorry. I didn't mean it," the man whispered.

After doing the stare, Franchi said, "What's he a Grady sub?"

Amby and Ears nodded enthusiastically.

"I'll go get the little fucks!" Franchi said rubbing his genitals to show
his excitement. He and Fats Hungerford, when having the eight year
old boys join them and the other big guys in the game of "White
Horse", would try to land on the young asses and try to go through
pants.

"Hey but first I got to say - he smells of Ivory soap like the rest of
you harps do!" Franchi said.

"No he was a good ballplayer for the Brasscos and some mic
reporter said he was going to be another Hall of Fame-er like
Conners of the Giants was," Amby said.

"So did the creep drop a fly ball or strike out with the bases loaded
to lose a pennant or something?"

"Come on you dirty cabbage eater tell Tony what you did!" McKenna
said having overheard old lady Cassidy telling his mother that Casey
was sorry for having "dicked" a nice Irish girl when she wasn't
looking and he was the reason all their sons were going blind.

"Tony when you're getting the kids, me and Ears will take the old
bastard to the woods. It's only fair to show him what he's got to do.
Hey a little blarney never hurt."

"I'm sorry. I didn't mean it."

"That's only fair. Come on!" Ears said pushing the man forward.
A few minutes later Franchi joined them in the woods; leaving the
young kids corralled with the older guys. He told Casey if he did
good - he could become a regular in scaring the pants off the little
shits with Grady who was off to Boston for his once a year retard test.

"I'm sorry"- "Shut up and listen!" Amby shouted while slapping
Casey on the back of the neck.

When twilight fell completely into darkness, the big guys, some of
whom would become fodder for the Korean War only able to get a
tie out of it but returning home with a new word "Gooks", unleashed
the younger kids who ran screaming "like little sexy clits" to
different hiding places.

"OK, Sorry Man listen up. You take this flashlight and when you
see a little jerk sitting under a bush or something you look down
at him or them and flash it under your chin! See, like this!"
Ears shouted.

Amby pushed Casey on his way into a tree and then corrected
his direction with a big shove to Casey's shoulders.

"I'm sorry. I didn't mean it," Casey said as he climbed up onto a
giant rock, that stood when Mattatuck Indians had been massacred
hundreds of years before, and when he reached the top added:

"IIIIIIIIIIIIII'mmmmmmmmmmmssssssssssssssoooooooooor
rrrrrrrrrrrryyyyyyyyyy yyyyyy!"

"Take the creep to the street! He's a numbnuts! He's a waste!"
Patsy shouted; realizing by the young kids' laughter that terror
had flown the coop and gone south for the night.

"Go get the hell out of here - you dirty rapist! The girl was only
asking for an autograph! Just follow the path. Get out of here! Who
needs you?" Ears said spinning Casey vehemently around and a
mighty kick in the ass by Amby began Casey's long journey home ....

^