Ollie

The drunken beast continued to bash the locked door with his sledge hammer fists.

“Let me in, open the door, wait until I get inside!”

Ollie and his mother cowered in the cupboard of the tiny apartment.

The door cracked from the repeated blows of the drunken behemoth. Ollie’s mother shook in fear, the stench of wine on her breath numbed her for the imminent beating.

Ollie wet his pants as the monstrous shadow darkened the doorway and entered. Ollie was 6 years old.

The monster ripped the cupboard door off its hinges.

“There you are!” The man mountain pulled Ollie’s mom from the cupboard and threw her across the room as Ollie cowered in the corner of the cupboard.

In his blind rage, the drunkard hadn’t seen Ollie. He covered his ears to block out the screaming, it felt like hours, then it went quiet, shaking, he emerged from the cupboard, urine burning his inner thighs. His father lay passed out on the bed, his mother was bleeding and whimpering in the corner. He ran across to her, she pushed him away.

A week later the child welfare took Ollie away from his living hell, to a slightly better level of hell.

A few weeks after that, Ollie’s grandmother, a petite woman, of small stature but gigantic character, with an iron will and strong morals, a woman of faith and strength, fetched Ollie from the child welfare and took him in as her own son.

His ‘Gran,’ lamented the weakness of her daughter, and resented the man she had fallen in love with. Bad choices and alcohol had destroyed Ollie’s parents, who were destroying Ollie and his 3 siblings.

‘Gran’ decided, that Ollie, being the youngest was worth saving. The rest were ‘too far gone’ and had lived on the streets, in and out of child welfare throughout their childhood. They had formed friendships with ‘rough elements’ and were living with their new adopted families of the street. ‘Gran’ decided that would not happen to Ollie.

Ollie started to attend school. ‘Gran’ would wake him at 4am. He would have breakfast, Home baked bread and eggs, and have to catch the train at 5am. He would catch the train home from school at 3pm and ‘Gran’ would be there waiting at the station for him.

Ollie met his future wife at 16 years of age, and married at 21 years of age, she was the only woman he ever knew intimately.

Ollie learned a trade, he became a fitter and turner, and learnt how to weld and other metal work. Later, he found success selling industrial products for the mining industry.

Ollie had a family of his own. He ensured his family would not repeat the mistakes of his childhood and worked hard to provide for his family. His children had the opportunity to attend university, and one chose to study a business degree, and is a director of a multinational corporation, the other is a successful business owner, both have families of their own.

Ollie’s parents died, before ‘Gran’ died, their lifestyle was not conducive to longevity. Ollie never shed a tear for his parents, he was numb.

When ‘Gran’ died he cried like a baby, “I lost my mother today.”

Ollie helped his siblings every month, buying food for them. He tracked them down to a dilapidated apartment in a rough part of town. They were slain by the alcohol demon, so he had a golden rule ‘They never get money, only groceries to live on.’

Ollie is my Dad, he is my hero.