Many years ago, when I was nine years old, I stole a yo-yo from a variety store – then lied to my mother about it. She gave me the mother of all spankings and to this day, I remember the stinging of my rear end and the humiliation I received.
Yo-yos were at the height of their fad and I wanted a Duncan yo-yo, but times were hard and money was tight. Dad was working 10 to 12 hours a day, six days a week. We were lucky he had a job and being from a large family with four sisters and two brothers, Mom took care of running the family and discipline. Most of the time the spankings were fairly private; however, if the transgression was bad, then the spanking was done in front of the family.
Nearby my school was a small shopping centre and I would go over and look at the many yo-yos they had for sale. I kept asking mom if we could buy one – she always said no, we can’t spend money foolishly. I tried again and again but the answer was always: “No – you have a yo-yo.” But my yo-yo was old.
A couple of weeks went by and finally temptation got the better of me. I was in the store by myself and I noticed that nobody was around, so I took the Duncan yo-yo, which I had been admiring, and put it in my pocket. I spent some more time looking around, then went back to school.
There was still time left during our noon recess and I put my new yo-yo into use. I was pretty good and some of my friends came by and watched me. Carl, my best friend, asked me when I got it. “Today,” I replied. “You finally talked your mom into it?” “Yeah,” I said, not giving much thought to my answer.
When school let out that afternoon, I spent another 30 minutes with some friends playing with my yo-yo before I went home.
What I didn’t know was that Carl had told his mom that I had got a new yo-yo, and he wanted one too. Carl’s mom and mine were good friends and she called my mom about my new yo-yo. She asked why she’d bought one when she’d indicated there was no way she could afford one? My mom replied that she hadn’t bought me one. “Well,” Carl’s mom replied, “he told Carl you’d bought him one.” Mom told Carl’s mother that she would find out the truth.
I arrived home and mom asked me where I got the yo-yo. Without giving a thought, I told her Carl had given it to me. “That’s not what I heard from Carl and his mom,” she replied.
By this time, I knew my tall tale was caving in. Mom said: “Where did you get this yo-yo? You’d better tell me the truth – you’ve already told me a lie.” I finally confessed and told her I had taken it from the store near the school.
She marched me down to the store, mom every so often grabbing hold of my ear and yanking it when she felt I was walking too slowly. When we arrived at the store, she asked for the store manager and explained what happened. She paid him the price of the yo-yo, then made me give it back to the manager, asking him to give it to a needy child as a gift, which he agreed to do.
Mom told the manager she wanted him to see the punishment I was going to get for stealing the yo-yo. Out of her purse came the hairbrush and, in one fell swoop, down came my short and briefs. She gave me ten hard spanks on my bare bottom right in front of the manager and a number of customers. The manager thanked my mother and we walked back home.
After we had dinner and all the chores were completed, I was ordered to my room and told to get ready for bed. I balked, saying it was too early.
Mom said: “You are getting a family punishment tonight – do you want your dad to use the razor strop or my hairbrush?” Then I realised I was getting another spanking. Mom added: “You have 30 minutes to get ready.”
I rushed away to get ready. I took my bath and got into my pyjamas, then I came downstairs. The entire family was sitting in the living room, waiting for me. Mom told everyone what happened and why I was getting a family spanking.
She told me to get a dining room chair and put it in the centre of the living room. Then she sat down and I had to stand next to her. She gave me a long lecture and told me what I had to do to earn the money she had to spend on the yo-yo.
Then she yanked my pyjama bottoms down to my ankles and over her knee I went. She gave me about 20 hard spanks with the hairbrush. By the time she finished my spanking, my pyjama bottoms were completely off. Then she made me spend about 20 minutes facing the wall, with my hands on top of my head and my bare, red bottom on show to all.
Finally, I was excused and I went to bed without my pyjama bottoms. I slept on my stomach that night. I learned a lesson that day – never to steal or lie.
Contributor: Bill