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Little nine-year-old
Mo spent the whole
weekend at home
practicing with the
jump rope. She
wanted to get really
good at it so maybe
the other girls at
school would want to
play with her. All
she really wanted
was to fit in. She
was a pretty little
Jewish girl and her
family was
reasonably well-off
financially. But
her schoolmates
simply did not
accept her.
She may
have been a teeny
bit overweight, but
that shouldn’t have
mattered. She was
very smart and
precocious. She
liked to sing and
loved poetry. At
one time she had
ambitions to be
president of the
United States. But
for whatever reason,
friends were hard to
come by for this
little girl.
One day
a boy named Matthew
called her “Big Mac”
because of her
size. This was
especially hurtful
to Mo since she had
a schoolgirl crush
on Matthew. But the
nickname stuck and
continued to sting
each time she heard
it. The girls were
cliquish, and like a
lot of little girls
(and grown -up
girls, too, I might
add), they were way
too pre occupied
with looks and
clothes.
Oh, then
there was the
party. One of her
classmates, Tori,
was going to have a
birthday party.
Everyone knew Tori’s
family had money and
the party at her
house was to be
huge. Everyone in
the class was
invited. Everyone,
that is, except Mo.
She came home after
school completely
devastated by that
news. The two girls
were in the same
Brownie troop! Why
on earth wouldn’t Mo
be invited?
Well,
the next day,
unbeknownst to Mo -
and certain that the
omission was simply
a casual oversight -
her mother made a
phone call to Tori’s
mom. And no, it had
not been an
oversight. She
really was not
invited. But Tori’s
family responded
with good manners,
albeit reluctantly,
and an invitation
was duly sent out.
Mo’s mom never told
her about that
call. And Mo was
thrilled to be
invited. Then she
heard the real story
from a couple of
catty girls at
school: “You’re only
invited because you
mother called and
begged them to
invite you!” Arg!
Ouch! That really
hurt. Little girls
are not always so
sweet and innocent,
are they?
Well, in
the end Mo decided
not to go. It was a
matter of principle
by that point. It
was a matter of
pride. If they
didn’t want her at
their stinkin’
party, well fine.
She didn’t want to
go. Well, that was
her story and she
was sticking to it,
anyway.
As you
might guess, the big
birthday party was a
hit with those who
attended. Tori’s
daddy really went
all out for her that
year - and after
that too, I’ll bet.
You might be
imagining a back
yard party with a
magician, or maybe a
D.J., or something
else most kids would
love to have at
their parties.
Nope. Not this
one. One of the
attractions at this
“little get
together” was the
world’s smallest
pony. Oh yeah, and
a fella named
Michael Jackson was
the entertainment.
Yep. The real
Michael Jackson.
Not
surprising, when I
tell you who the
birthday girl was.
It was little Tori
Spelling, daughter
of television mogul
Aaron Spelling. And
the little girl who
refused to go after
her mom wrangled her
an invitation?
Well, although she
never did become the
president, she did
spend a little time
with one. It’s a
Little Known Fact
that the little
girl who was picked
on, teased and
called hurtful names
by classmates at her
Bel Air elementary
school, the proud
girl who refused to
attend the biggest
party of the year,
was little Mo.
That’s short for
Monica. Monica
Lewinski. |
