[May 19, 2024] We were on the ground, punching each other, yelling, grabbing, cussing, and rolling around in the dirt as we had just argued over something neither of us could remember. And the reason we fought was not as important as the fact we could fight and still remain friends despite bloody noses and bruises. Thinking for us little boys was impossible, so our solution was fighting.
Wilson was interestingly different than me, but he lived next door, and we were the same age, so he was similar enough to me that we could talk and talk and fight. He was somebody I could disagree with and fight with over differing opinions, like who had the strongest or smartest dad, the best house, or the best shot with a BB gun. You know, important stuff.
There was always tension in our friendship. Our parents thought we got along perfectly, but I didn’t want that, nor did he. Wilson and I wanted some stress between us. We could yell, cuss, and fight, and when we were done, we both felt much better and remained friends. And that was unexplainable.
If we got along perfectly, we wouldn’t want that. We would get bored, and that would surely break up our relationship. We wanted some trouble, mystery, craziness, and combativeness. That is why our friendship worked. We could trust each other, which is why we could talk and would fight about anything, things adults might avoid.
We could talk about pretty much anything with straight talk because we knew we could trust each other. We told each other the blunt truth, even when those truths were harsh and hurtful, which might lead to a fight between us, Wilson or me running off crying. But we always came back; that took grit and courage, which was hard.
For better or worse, we told people what we thought, and those people often did not like it. Older boys, who were more sophisticated and stronger and faster, didn’t like being reminded of their warts and problems in front of girls, so they would chase us and do some ass wuppin’ on us. That’s why Wilson and I had fast feet.
And this struggle never ended because we were constantly growing, changing, and maturing. It was unfortunate, but as we aged, we learned to shade the truth so the older boys were less likely for us to get beat up. Unfortunately, the truth was being sacrificed. That’s how it was at my hometown grade school in Mer Rouge, Louisiana.
It was hard being Wilson’s friend, not because we fought, but because sometimes we didn’t even know what we wanted. We had to work that out with our words, which was crude yet necessary for our friendship. For example, I had my 410 shotgun when we went hunting, and Wilson had his dad’s 16 gauge. I wanted to hunt doves, and Wilson wanted to shoot squirrels. We would bring our game back to our mothers to fix up for supper.
But the hunt sometimes would not happen. I could not say precisely why I wanted to hunt dove and Wilson to hunt for squirrels. Years later, I discovered that Wilson was not good enough with his dad’s shotgun to take down a flying dove. Squirrels were just easier. One day, my Dad found us fighting in the drainage ditch beside our homes. “Why you boys fighting?” I had no answer because I couldn’t understand it or say why. Wilson thought I’d lied to another friend about his poor hunting skills, which would be a sin. So we fought.
A good friendship takes work. With my neighbor Wilson, I learned that a great friendship sometimes takes fighting, struggling, and a bloody nose.
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NOTE: See all my letters here: https://www.theleadermaker.com/granddaughter-letters/
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Please read my books:
Gen. Satterfield, I almost missed this letter. Been rather busy at work lately. You and your friend Wilson must have been a lot alike.
❤ Gen. Satterfield, I just love these lovely letters and you sure do know how to tell a story. ❤
Gen. Satterfield, my good friend and colleague, well done again with a letter to your granddaughter and one that tells of one of your best friend Wilson. Truly a lesson here in how to work through your problems with him and good to see that the adults did not interfere.
A beautiful letter.
And I have to say YES that is true but this letter is also a learning tool. Remember what Gen. Satterfield grew up to be! He is not just some bum on the street. We should note that he didn’t have any special schooling, money, flashy cars, shinny clothes, $300 tennis shoes, a big house, and professional parents. He had a family and that is why he called himself “rich.”
https://www.theleadermaker.com/letters-to-my-granddaughter-no-1/
Read his first post, No. 1 to get an idea of what this means.
Here is what he wrote:
Let’s be clear from the outgo. None of my relatives had much money. They lived modest lives, traveling little, doing what they thought was right for their families, going to church, believing in God and his principles, scratching out a living from what was around them, and hanging on tight to their family because that was what made them who they were. They were not politicians, robber barons, professionals (in the modern sense of the word), formally educated, or money rich. Still, from everything I know, they were happy with their existence and humble to their very core. Here is my first letter to my eldest granddaughter. She is seven and the only grandchild who can read. The title might be a surprise. I was rich growing up.
God Bless, General Doug Satterfield.
There are many reasons that I love these letters to Gen. Satterfield’s granddaughter but I will not lay them out here because some of them are obvious and others have addressed them. What I wanted to note is that these letters serve a purpose beyond the obvious. They show us what a two-parent and extended family looks like and the value it gives to their kids. And it shows also that giving kids room to expand their own horizons, letting them run loose but also protecting them from evil is a good thing. And, that small towns can be valuable as a great place to start. We cannot do everything for our kids and eventually we have to push them out of the nest, but they should be taught to want to fly away.
I can only pray that there are many, many more of these letters coming our way. 👍❤😊👀✔
Stacey, I’m with you on that one. I’ve been binge reading these letters again on the tab https://www.theleadermaker.com/granddaughter-letters/ When I feel down and out, I go there and start reading the letters. They take me back to my childhood and now I’m remembering things that I never thought about for years. Childhood is a special time and it takes parents to get boys through those times and have them become good men. Gen. Satterfield has shown us the now, it is up to us to make it happen. On a side note, June 14 is Flag Day in America. Celebrate the time.
Nothing like reading a letter to “my granddaughter” by Gen. Satterfield on a Sunday morning as the leaves outside are popping out and Spring is finally here. Number 73! Hard to believe that it has now been a full year of letters. Nothing could be better except more letters. Thank you sir.
Great letter, Gen. Satterfield. Thank you sir!!!!!
““Why you boys fighting?” I had no answer because I couldn’t understand it or say why either.” – Gen. Doug Satterfield and a classic line.
And that hits to the heart of why boys are boys and their growth should not be shut down by women. Boys are boys and girls are girls and female teachers – and feminized male teachers – need to stay away from them.
A fine example of a great letter to Gen. Satterfield’s granddaughter. Superb. Loving. Wonderful. We want more of this kind of letters.
Another top of the line article and this time on the trials and tribulations of a little kid and his neighbor friend. They fight and struggle and wonder why they fight and struggle. And now, after all these years, Gen. Satterfield has figured out why and also why it is so important to let those young boys sort things out for themselves. When schools interfere in this learning process, they are helping create little monsters. And I can say this as a High School teacher with many years in the public school system. I’ve seen it slowly devolve into an open, unsuccessful daycare and that is unfortunate. See this article by Gen. Satterfield “Why Schools Can’t Keep Teachers – https://www.theleadermaker.com/why-schools-cant-keep-teachers/
Yep, got that right. And yet their woke ideology tells them otherwise.
Great article, Gen. S. and made me think back to my childhood and all the fights I got into. Makes me smile.
Hi Bryan, yeah, I think his letters are popular because he does write in such a way that we are all reminded of our innocent childhood days. These loving letters 💖 are a reminder of those times that are the best of times and with our mom and dad. 🙏 Each day I pray to the memory of my mom and dad.
….. and give thanks.
Ursala, yes ma’am, this is point is important for us that are reading these letters to gain more than entertainment. Reminding us of our own childhoods is okay and fun to read about but also this is about having BOTH a mother and father at home and helping out their children to become good future adults. And while that system is flawed, that is in a way okay because even the flawed system of family helps us know what not to do at times. These letters are a great learning tool. And I like the fact that Gen. Satterfield gave us a single tab on his website to easily go to them all. Well done, once again, sir, and please continue to write. I know that the original goal was 100 letters and now we are beginning to approach that number, please re-consider going beyond that. We are still in the letters about you when you are still a child growing up in the Deep South. Thank you and thanks all of you for reading my ramblings.
Wow, well said Max, as usual.
👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍
…. and a loving letter too.
Gen. Satterfield is all over this and has been for some time now. See this article by Gen. S. “Public Schools: State Law Hits Reality” https://www.theleadermaker.com/public-schools-state-law-hits-reality/
Now, and on occasion, Gen. Satterfield really gets to the heart of what a kid thinks, or is not capable of thinking, and explains what their reaction is or is not. In this case, Gen. S as a little boy fights with his next door neighbor because they don’t know how to talk thru their problems. This is really classic and should be a lesson to all female teachers in primary school to not interfere too much in how boys learn to sort themselves out. Too much of primary education is about stopping boys from learning how to deal with their emotions and frustrations. Classic outcome is increased crime, more road rage, more spousal and drug abuse, great destruction of families and higher divorce rates. Our primary school teachers, in their grand mission to help boys and our society are doing neither.
Excellent point and also well written. Our boys are being told to shup up and sit down and that is not how they should be treated. That may work for girls and so female teachers, indoctrinated in the latest teaching craze to demonize boys and manhood, are doing nothing but wrecking our nation, and all the while they think they are saving it, and that they should be rewarded and congratulated. Blah.
Our schools are cesspools of stupid. The best a kid can hope to get out of it is alive.
Ouch! Great comments from Willie and letter by General Satterfield.
Be sure to get Gen. S’s book “55 rules for a good life” and read it.
https://www.amazon.com/55-Rules-Good-Life-Responsibility/dp/1737915529/
Wow, another wonderful and beautiful letter to his granddaughter. ❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤