My mother had a piece of sturdy wood molding (Dad being a finishing carpenter)that she used, to lift the cloths out of the old ringer style washing machines (then you had to feed the cloths through the rollers without getting your fingers in there to ring the water out of them. Remember them dangerous things). Well she was doing the laundry when this happened.. And keep in mind, the child abuse laws then were not what they are today. Kids did wrong, kids got spanked.

I of course being myself (I think I was five or six), was doing something that really made her mad. It had something to do with jumping in the puddle that formed when you drained the ringer washer to put new water in them. There were not drains or sewers, it went on the ground. I was jumping up and down and splashing in it. She yelled a few times at me to stop it, but like usual, I ignored her. Let me tell you,she took that chunk of molding without warning, broke it over my rear end. And I mean .. WACK!!! Took me out just like a Samurai warrior. I was so shocked it did not hurt I done a really dumb thing then. I started wiggling my butt at her and singing.. That didn't hurrrt, that didn't hurrrt!! Then she came after me with that little piece of molding.. That woman was mad. I mean out of control mad. I thought she was rabid. I mean that woman was foaming at the mouth mad. Good thing I could run like the devil. I hid out until the old man got home. And she never told on me. That was the real strange thing...

The next day I went in the shop and got her a new stick... and told her I was sorry. And of course she forgave me.