It's unfortunate, but the world is a very different place today. My grandson recently came home with a shiner under one eye. When he told me the story about how he got it, some kid just decided to land him one out of the blue, I asked him, "And what did you do?" He said, "I bloodied his nose."

I had to. I gave him a fist bump and congratulated him. His mother was like, "No! They have channels for reporting that."

Nope. The quickest channel is fist to face. I've never seen a bullying situation that couldn't be fixed with decisive head-on action. Lucky for him that no one at the school saw it happen because these days they suspend people for defending themselves. But I'm old school. If there's a fight, form a circle around them, and don't break that circle until one of them is on the ground and can't stand up. Let the victor walk away proudly, and hope the victor is the one on the right side of the conflict rather than the bully or instigator.

I teach my grandkids not to start fights, but don't run from them and don't lose them. Those are my three rules. Don't start 'em, don't run from them, and don't lose them. You follow those rules, I'll always be behind you.

Dealing with bullies is something we all have to learn at some point. If we're lucky, we deal with them without having to get physical, but if it takes getting physical, well, life isn't a bed of roses. I hope your son learned a good lesson and didn't get hurt with any lasting damage.