"Death Of A Bully: The End Of Johnny Buoy"

Fortunately for Johnny Buoy as his life passed through his unseeing eyes, he never saw the spectacle around him as he lay dead on the mall’s floor. Just one day past his eighteenth birthday, Johnny’s life came crashing to an end at the hands of one of his longtime victims, Gunther Lagatagaloski. He never knew what hit him. From the time that Gunther saw Johnny walking towards him at the mall, Johnny’s time on earth was fading.

In his usual bullying style, Johnny approached Gunther’s news stand. "Yo, Lagatagashit, how’s life as a senior citizen paper boy? You know you’ve had your little piece of shit stand in this mall forever and I’ll bet you haven’t made more than $50."

Gunther smiled at Johnny, "It’s your lucky day, Johnny Buoy. I hear you’re an adult now."

"Wow, dude, you’ve become a genius in your old age. How ‘bout giving me a pack of smokes from behind your counter there, Lagatagashit", asked Johnny.

"Sure thing, tough guy. You’re of age now."

"Yeah, whatever, you old fart…give me the cigarettes."

Gunther turned around towards the counter behind his stacks of magazines and newspapers only he grabbed his old Louisville Slugger baseball bat instead. In an instant, Gunther wheeled around and swung the bat. A spray of blood from Johnny’s head landed on Gunther’s face. Johnny crashed to the ground with a thud groaning. Gunther leapt over the front counter of his little shop and pounced on top of Johnny still swinging his bat. The beating lasted all of two minutes. The bully lay on the floor dead never to harass anyone again.

A crowd gathered around the scene. Suddenly, everyone began to applaud. Gunther slowly raised his head, a smile began to form at the corner of his mouth. He could not believe his eyes. They were cheering for him. He had just viciously beaten a young man to death. Nora Cramdall with her gray hair up in a bun came up to Gunther and kissed him on the cheek, then winked at him. Clayton Poleman, the town’s only mailman, clapped Gunther on the back and said, "Way to go, man! We all wanted to do what you just did, but I guess we never had the guts."

Just then someone started blowing a whistle over and over. It was police officer, Ned Meyer. The roar of the crowd began to diminish as Meyer made his way to Gunther. Upon reaching Gunther, he gave one last long shrill toot from his whistle. "Mr. Lagatagaloski, let me be the first to officially congratulate you. You have made this town a much better place today. Johnny Buoy has harassed everyone in this town, young and old alike. You have done a great service to your community today."

"Wait just one minute there," came a cry from the crowd. Mayor Roland Bowling emerged from the crowd.

"Mayor Bowling, I cannot explain my actions today. I guess I kind of loss control for a minute and it just happened", said Gunther.

"Gunther, you will have the time you need to explain. Are you okay," asked Mayor Bowling

"I’m fine. I just could not take another day of that guy coming to my stand here and forcing me to give him cigarettes everyday for free. I could not take another day of his taunting me. I guess I just snapped."

"Nonsense, Gunther. Everyone knows what type of person Johnny Buoy was. You were not the only one he did this to", said officer Meyer. "That kid was a menace. He had a rap sheet longer than I am old."

"I guess you have to arrest me now. Everyone saw what happened. I don’t deny doing it. I will accept my punishment," said Gunther as Johnny’s blood dripped from the bat and Gunther’s hands. Gunther held out his hands for Meyer to handcuff him.

"Gunther, I just need you to come down to the station and make a formal statement," said Meyer.

"You’re not going to arrest me, Ned," asked Gunther.

"No sir. I believe you did a serviced to our community," said Meyer. "What do you think, mayor?"

"Absolutely. You’re a class act, Gunther, a real hero".

Then the mayor turned to the fast growing crowd and said, "As an official declaration, I declare this date to be celebrated every year forevermore in this town as ‘Gunther Lagatagaloski Day!".

The crowd erupted in cheers and applause shouting in unison: "Lag-A-Tag-A-Loski, Lag-A-Tag-A-Loski!"

Flash bulbs went off as people took pictures of the scene to have as a memory of the day that Johnny Buoy died and a community was re-born.