Mo (The Tough Guys)

Well well well, as a petite woman who is a little bit of a kickboxing fanatic (oh yes!) I gotta say, you go, Bobby! That a boy!

Mo McCooper
4/15/10 – 4/22/10
The Tough Guys

By fifth grade there were three of us tied for the smallest boy in the class.  Tommy Murphy was as short as Bobby Neely and I but he was huskier and weighed more.  That was most important in most playground games and sports.

Neely’s older brother Eddy came home from World War II on leave.  He taught Bobby Ju Jitsu.  That was bad news for the bigger and or older bullies in the “brick row,” (our neighborhood), school or the playground. 

Bobby would speak slowly and softly to the bully asking him to stop hitting or pushing our friends. The bully would usually laugh at or insult “Neely” who would quickly grab their fingers and/or wrist and force them to the ground.

Bobby would tell them to apologize and leave. They always did. Neely didn’t grow very tall but he just got tougher and tougher with a great sense of humor. He was a great friend all through my childhood.