My name is Andrew and this happened a long time ago. In the summer when I was 14 and my sister Diane 11, our favourite aunt and uncle rented a camp site at a nearby state park for three months. They had a fold-down tent trailer for themselves and several good-sized tents that they pitched for their three kids and whoever else was invited to join them.
We had been at the camp twice with our parents that summer, and once in August by ourselves. Our parents didn’t enjoy sleeping on the ground in a tent as much as we did, and decided not to go that time. Aunt Clara and Uncle Felix had two boys – Brandon, who was the same age as me, 12-year-old Eddie and a daughter named Ellie, who was just a bit younger than Diane.
Camping with them was always great fun. They had a couple of canoes, a bunch of games like lawn darts, croquet and badminton, and the lake was surrounded by forest on three sides. A railroad passed through the area and crossed the lake on a tall trestle. We liked taking hikes along the track – and that’s what got us into trouble.
About mid-afternoon on day, we were bored with swimming and games and decided to explore the forest. Aunt Clara put Brandon and me in charge, to make sure the girls didn’t get lost or hurt, and we set off about 3.30 and crossed the trestle to check out where the tracks went. It didn’t take long before we were out of sight of the camp.
It was a nice afternoon, not too hot for August, and there was a good trail alongside the tracks on the opposite side. We found an abandoned beaver dam where a stream crossed under the tracks, and a cave that looked like it might be a den for some big animal. I knew there weren’t any bears or cougars in the Park, but we teased the girls about being eaten by something.
The cave was deep and dark, but there was no sign of life inside, so we soon went back to the trail and continued on. I checked my watch to see what time it was, and discovered it wasn’t running—a dead battery, I thought. But the sun was still fairly high in the sky, so I figured we had lots of time. We found a place where the trail left the railroad and followed that for a while.
And we got lost. There were a bunch of side trails in that part of the Park, and neither Eddie nor I could remember which way we had come. The sun was beginning to set when we finally came out by the railroad tracks again, and we started back. It was getting dark when we heard sirens off in the distance. That told us we were heading in the wrong direction, and we hurried to follow the sound in hopes that they came from the camping area.
It was almost dark when we got back, and found some police and forest ranger patrol cars close to Uncle Felix’s tent trailer. When he and Aunt Clara spotted us coming out of the woods, they ran up and hugged us. They were happy and relieved to see us, but angry too, especially at Brandon and me, for not keeping track of time so we would be back for dinner. We had missed one of Aunt Clara’s best meals, a fish fry from the trout that Uncle Felix had caught that afternoon.
The rangers called in their search party by walkie-talkie and told them that we children had been found OK. By the time they returned, packed up their gear and left, it was close to bed time. “You put those men to a lot of trouble by getting lost,” Aunt Clara said. “We’ll talk about this tomorrow.”
When we were all in our tents and our lanterns were doused, Brandon, Eddie and I were talking. The girls were in a separate tent. “We’re in a lot of trouble,” Brandon said, and I asked him why. “When Mom says we’ll talk about it in the morning, that means a spanking.” I asked who was going to spank us, and Eddie said his mom usually did it.
Everyone was quiet at breakfast in the morning. Uncle Felix and Aunt Clara gathered us together afterward and lectured us about being more responsible. They were clearly worried about us, and upset that they had been forced to call the rangers to search for us. We apologised of course, and they sent us to the far side of the clearing while they talked it over.
When they called us back, Aunt Clara said they were very grateful that we had come back safely last night. But even so, Brandon and I were to be punished, as well as Eddie, even though he wasn’t officially in charge. “That way, he’ll learn what it means to take his responsibilities seriously,” she said.
The girls were sent to their tent, and Aunt Clara told me and Eddie to stay near the campfire while she and Brandon walked over behind the tent trailer. “He’ll get another lecture,” Eddie told me, “and then she’ll take his pants down and paddle him.”
I wasn’t sure what would happen to me. Aunt Clara and Uncle Felix knew that my mom and dad weren’t spankers, but they weren’t here, and our relatives might have punishment rights over me.
When Brandon’s spanking started, it was really loud. There wasn’t much privacy in the camp, even though they were out of sight behind the trailer. Nothing else sounds quite the same as a spanking. A couple of smaller kids walked by and heard the noise, and one of them said: “Somebody’s really getting it.” A couple of teenagers came by from the other direction and giggled. “Are you guys next?” one of them asked. Eddie told them to get lost, and they laughed. “Maybe we’ll stay and watch,” another said, but they walked off.
It seemed like Aunt Clara spanked Brandon for a really long time. When they came back, she told him to sit down and wait, and took Eddie by the hand to go behind the trailer. Brandon’s eyes were red and he was obviously uncomfortable when he sat down. “Was it really bad?” I asked him, and he told me Aunt Clara’s paddle stung a whole lot. I began to get nervous.
Eddie was crying when they came back. I was about to find out my fate. “Andy,” Aunt Clara said to me, “I know your parents don’t punish you with spankings, so you can explain to your mom and dad what happened, and they will punish you however they decide to do it. Or, you can take a spanking from me. It can be your decision.”
That was it. I could be off the hook. But that wasn’t fair to my cousins. And I was the most to blame for getting us lost. “I’ll take a spanking from you,” I told Aunt Clara.
My aunt nodded and smiled. “I thought you’d say that,” she said. “You’re a good boy.” She took hold of my hand and led me to where the others couldn’t see us. We stopped by a picnic table with a stout paddle resting on it. I was feeling really shy, and expected she could tell what I was thinking.
“Your pants and underwear have to come down,” she said, “and I’m the one who will do it. I know it’s embarrassing to have me undress you, but it’s part of the punishment. I’ve known you since you were born, and I’ve seen your bare bottom before.”
I stood nervously in front of her as she unzipped my camp shorts and let them fall. I squeezed my eyes shut and felt my face flush when she slid my underpants down. I stepped out of them.
“Lean forward over the edge of the table,” she told me, “and stretch your hands out and take hold of the sides. You’re not to move until I’m finished.” She started to spank me with her hand, which didn’t make very much noise, but it stung. I gripped the edges of the table and clenched my bottom cheeks. She stopped spanking and I hoped it was over and started to stand up.
“We’re not finished yet,” she said. “The next time you are accountable for the girls’ safety, I want you to remember this day. You’re a very good boy, and I love you very much, but you have to learn that there are consequences when you fail to live up to what’s expected of you.”
And then the real spanking began. She smacked my bottom and the backs of my thighs slowly and firmly with the oversized paddle, and my skin began to burn. What was almost worse was the loud slapping sound that I knew could be heard all over the camp site. I would be in for a lot of teasing from everyone who heard me being punished. It might be funny to them, but not to me.
The paddling seemed to last forever, but I didn’t know how long because my watch still wasn’t working – ironically the main reason I was in that awful position with my bottom bared.
I tried not to cry but couldn’t help it. Finally, Aunt Clara let me stand up and get dressed again, then sat down on the bench and held me close by her side. I cried some more, but it felt good to know that I’d accepted my punishment willingly. I knew Aunt Clara had made my bottom sore because she loved me, and wanted me to become a better person. I was determined not to disappoint her.
Contributor: Andrew