Kevin

I wanted to respond to your comments about bullying. I remember that I was bullied in the 3rd and 4th graded. At the time I justified it to myself that it was racial–I was one of very few anglos in a primarily Hispanic school. To combat the bullying, I started taking Karate. The result was interesting: I never used the Karate in a fight. However, the confidence I gained made me immune to the bullying–I eventually even befriended some of my former bullies. I learned that the bullying in my case had less to do with race and more to do with the fact that angry kids were looking for a victim. As an uncertain, bewildered newcomer to the school, I was their most obvious target. This in no way excuses their attacks, but it explains some of the mechanism.

Thank you for the strength and confidence of your characters. Many of them have a quiet and confident weirdness that I still aspire to.