One fine summer day, a younger boy named Barry moved into our neighborhood. His parents shaved him totally bald, which seemed a little strange to me. However, I just shrugged and didn't think about it - adults often did things which seemed strange to me. There was no telling what an adult would do. At least you'd always know what to expect from other children.
Barry and I became great friends. We’d ride our bicycles around, play in the nearby fields, and build forts in my backyard. It was great fun, and he seemed very wise and knowledgeable beyond his years.
One decided we’d start a club, a secret club to which only specific, superior people could belong. Of course, only he and myself met the criteria for membership.
We’d spend hours and hours talking and laughing and playing in my treehouse in the backyard. We’d write little silly notes to each other, all in code, of course. We used a special secret code to make sure that nobody would learn our silly little secrets.
One day Barry decided we needed a club symbol. I didn’t learn until many years later that the symbol he chose was a swastika - the favorite symbol of the German Nazi party. We began using thus symbol on all of our secret correspondence.
"It’s our special code", he said, "It has a special meaning. Using it means we are superior people. We are better than anybody else."
Barry was a slick little kid, I’ll admit that. He could charm the pants off anyone, and he thoroughly charmed me. I was completely under his spell, and would have done just about anything he asked.
Fortunately for me, Barry made a serious mistake. He began drawing his "special symbol" in chalk all over the neighborhood. He drew it on the sidewalk, on walls, even carved it in trees. It didn’t take the neighbors long to see them, and they didn’t like it one bit.
Apparently someone had a talk with Barry’s parents, because I remember seeing him going all over the neighborhood, removing all of his symbols.
"Yeah", he told me, "My dad wants me to remove keep remove all of our symbols. He doesn’t want anyone else to know what we are."
"Uh", I said, "Why, what are you?"
I thought, how exciting, maybe he’s a Martian or something, here to conquer the Earth. Maybe he was an alien scouting out life forms for a colony on another world. The truth was much more serious.
"We’re Nazi’s", he said, matter of factly.
"What!" I exclaimed, backing away. I didn’t recognize the symbol, but I knew what a Nazi was - one of the most evil creatures in the universe!
"Yes, we’re members of the superior race, and we’ll eventually destroy all of these Jew scum inhabiting this neighborhood", he said quietly, intensely, his voice dripping with hatred. "You can be part of our great mission, if you want."
"You’re evil!" I yelled. "Perverted! Twisted! Leave me alone!"
With that, I ran back to the safety of my house.
Barry and his parents moved away a short time later. I suspect they never stayed in a neighborhood for very long. I suspect the neighbors always asked them to leave.
Unless otherwise noted, all photos and text is Copyright © Richard G Lowe, Jr.