…”Actions have Consequences”…

Ok, go back, no waaay back in your memories of when you were really young & growin’ up. Remember ALL those things you did! Right now you’re probably thinkin’ of school days, ridin’ bicycles, baseball, football, fishin’, sidewalk skatin’, climbin’ trees, Cowboys & Indians (we all had heroes here), cartoon shows, catchin’ lighten bugs, & playin’ army. Now keep in mind I’m reminiscin’ from a Little Boys perspective. Those of you that were Little Girls can substitute as needed. All those times you did things right and got that “Special Reward” for such an accomplishment on your own. How you thought it out & on your own took the action needed to accomplish it. Are you there yet? OK, OK, for those of you that are still thinkin’ I’ll pause a moment for you……Ok! A moment ago, at the beginin’ of this, remember where I said “ALL of those things you did”!  Now flip over to the OTHER memories you have. Yeah those you always kept to yourself, that you don’t like to talk about, because they just weren’t acceptable by our parents. And with those came a different type of acknowledgement for what you had done. Yes, the OPPOSITE of  REWARD! I can hear it now, just as clear as I did back then, & I might add too many times, “Get yourself outside & get me a {{{{{ SWITCH ! }}}}}, & don’t you DARE make ME have to go out there get and one! Right then, at that moment in time I knew I had screwed up Big Time! Now, the Reward/Punishment was just minutes away. The cryin’ has already started, the apologies are flowin’ on deaf ears, cause it’s hard to hear with Steam Blowin’ from’em like that check valve in Mom (or Dads) head just Blew! “Hurry up, you’re just puttin’ off what YOU KNOW is about to happen, now the heavin’ & heavy breathin’ starts, the tears are now floods flowin’ down my “Cute Little Cheeks” (as they used to call’em)! NOPE!, that ain’t workin’ either. I slowly turn toward the farthest door, prolongin’ the inevitable as long as I can. Then I hear footsteps behind me, the room around me is vibratin’ like an Earthquake is beginin’, I look back over my shoulder and cry out “I’m goin’, I’m goin’ “. Now the Sniffles kick in, they don’t help either, the footsteps are gettin’ closer, again’ I cry out, this time louder, “I’m goin’, I’m goin’ “! I’m now outside standin’ in-front of  “THAT Ole Bush”. I don’t even remember exitin’ the house now. As I’m standin’ there I hear all those limbs/SWITCHES callin’ out “Pick ME! Pick ME”! They seem to sense what’s comin’. This is their chance for payback for all those times I ran thru’em, beat’em with my baseball bat in fits of frustration cause I didn’t get my way on somethin’, &  breakin’ their tiny little limbs. Yeah, payback is comin’ & they know it! My little hand reaches for one, my mind tells me NO!, you know its not the right one! My watery, blurry, vision shifts to one that seems to be reachin’ out to me, sayin’ “I’ll treat you right, whisperin’ gently, pick me! “My inner ears almost split from the shatterin’ {{{{{ “SNAP ! ” }}}}} I hear. I gently clean off the leaves & little spurs to protect myself from damage.The heavy breathin & cryin’ start again, I turn toward the door I must now pass thru on my way to my own death I feel is comin’. “Son, I’m waitin’ on you” comes from beyond that door. As I step thru it I stumble hittin’ my head on the floor, intentionally,  hopin’ it will bring mercy my way, it doesn’t. “Get up out of that floor, go to your room and take those pants off!, I’ll be right there! By this time, I gaspin’ for air, I’ve run out of water for tears, my tear ducts are now just dry sockets. Now the Beggin’, Pleadin’, & Stumblin’ thru the house begin’. My little ears hopin’ to detect some sign of forgiveness behind me, ….none! I arrive at The Gallows, I hear the Executioner approaching, I have exhausted all pleas, I shuck my pants, my little Tighty-Whities just aquiverin’ as is the rest of my little body is, as my legs are now on the verge of collapsin’ from under me. Now I start mumblin’ unintelligible words. The Executioner demands her SWITCH! It falls from my tiny hand, “PICK THAT UP”! demands the Executioner. And now the Orders Of Execution are recited, ” Do YOU know why this is happenin’! I nod in agreement. Lean against that Death Wall (the Bunk Beds). Grasp those Iron Rings (the upper hand rail). Do Not put your hands down (as to protect myself), Do Not start the Death Dance (runnin’ in place hopin’ for misses), if these occur we will cease until it STOPS & then START OVER! Do You Understand”? At this point all I can do is nod in submission. Then it begins {{{{{Whish’, Whish, Whish …}}}}}, my mind blocks out the pain & agony. I collapse to the floor (sit on the edge of the bottom bunk). I have survived the Lashin’ (Whoppin’) I knew I deserved, at this point it didn’t matter what I had done, it was all over with. The Executioner approaches me, she leans down with tears in her eyes, & says “I Love You”! Do you understand why this has happened? I reply, “Yes Ma’am”. She tenderly wraps her arms around me & we sit there and cry together, both apologizin’ for our actions. Me for my wrong committed, & I knew it! Her for the punishment doled out. She was tellin’ me it hurt her worse than it hut me! I never understood that! Until I became a Parent. Back then, we couldn’t spell “Time Out” & it probably (knowin’ myself) wouldn’t have worked on me.  And as an adult, a Daddy, & Granddaddy, I know I’m a better person for it. I learned at an early age, all though it took me too many of those lessons, that Actions have Consequences…”Hold’em Hook”…..BG>