Back when I was in high school, it was cool to eat the cafeteria lunch. The homemade yeast rolls were to die for, they served frozen pizza every Friday, and the only beverage choices were regular or chocolate milk. It was cool to go to school dances and actually dance with your date. It was cool to skip school (closed campus) and not get caught, because if you did, you knew you were going to get a paddling.
Yes, you heard me right, licks! That’s what spankings were called back then. I should know because I was a too-cool 16 year-old skipping school, with my then boyfriend, to hangout at my house.
As we were leaving to head back to school, my very strict military step-dad pulls up – I was a goner, and my face went white! He didn’t even get out of his car, he firmly stated, “follow me.” He was going to escort us back to Apollo High School, and I knew he was going to turn us in.
Sure enough, he marched us right through the center of the school cafeteria (at lunch time for all the students to see us), opened the Principal’s door and says, “Frank, this is my daughter, and they were skipping school”. Principal List, who lived in our neighborhood, looked me in the eye and said, “Suzy, come on in, put your hands on the desk and bend over, you are going to get 5 licks for skipping school.” Can you imagine?!
I’d like to tell you that I remember the pain of the spanking, but not so much. What I remember is feeling humiliated for getting caught and my own parent, walking me through the cafeteria for all to see! For that, I never skipped school again. You know the saying, “parents have eyes in the back of their head”? I believed it and thought my step-dad had a sixth sense when it came to catching me in the act of teenage misbehavior.
I think back to that story and so many of my other high school memories and smile. I’m so grateful for the lessons that shaped me into the person I am today.
What stories have shaped you? I’d love to hear about it. Please comment or send me an email.
Suzy Martinek 