The Legend of Leroy

Flash fiction

Angie went and married that no-good Billy Joe Herschel. Billy Joe sees himself as a tiger a predator, always angry, always hungry, and always wanting respect from those higher up the social ladder, and fear from those below. But, in fact, he is a woman-beater, a coward. He likes to pretend he is the baddest dude in the county, but he doesn’t pick fights when he goes into town. Those city people would squash him like a bug, not knowing his reputation and all. They would fight rings around a country boy who is all bluff to real men and a terror to those he can beat up on.

One day he picked a fight with Leroy Minks, Don Minks’ kid, not knowing that skinny little Leroy had been going into town every weekend to take boxing lessons at the Columbia Gym — same place Mohammed Ali learned to fight.

I don’t have any memory of Billy Joe ever beating anybody as bad as that Minks kid beat up on him. It made Leroy a county-wide legend and tickled pink Angie and all the women Billy Joe had beaten up. I saw the fight and I watched Leroy explode on that weasel, Billy Joe Herschel.

Well, that’s one bully that won’t show his face around here for a mighty long time. And Leroy, being a nice kid, ain’t gonna crow about his victory. No need to — the whole south end of the county has already heard about it. The kid is gonna go far, and the whole county is on board with helping him get there.