We knew what it meant and even went to great lengths to 'get rid' of it. It got hidden in progressively harder to find locations - under dressers, behind cabinets, etc. At one point, it was lost so long that we really thought it was gone for good! But, lo and behold it has returned!
This Christmas the gift that most caught me off-guard was - YEP - the RED PADDLE! I couldn't believe my eyes! It is not a fearsome thing to behold but it certainly stirred some memories. I do feel honored that I was chosen to be it's recipient, but I was a little sad that Matt and Jake wouldn't have it. Now that we all have children, this is going to become more of a practical need! But, it was more out of a (warped!?) sense of nostalgia that I decided to make them replicas of it.
The replicas are authentic in size, shape and thickness. I struggled with whether I should send them - didn't want to communicate anything negative. This was just a humorous way to share the memory. Of course, it is a "working" model, too!
1 comment:
What a "wonderful" memory, Gabe. I have to admit that I have to struggle to conjure up some postive nostalgia regarding the board of education. As I told you previously, when Dad and I were packing up furniture to move to Arkansas, I found the red paddle under a chest in your bedroom. Cannot imagine why I had not found it before then because I knew, I thought, all the great places to look. Perhaps it is because that after the last application to someone's backside there was never another occasion to use it.
I would much rather have used a switch as your Mammaw Landes always suggested. The problem there was that the only "bush" in the yard was a holly shrub. That would have probably fallen under the catagory of child abuse--every leaf sported at least three nasty spikes.
I pray that the opportunities to use ole red are few, not so much to protect your children's psyches, but for your own emotional wellbeing. I received no immediate or longterm gratification from using it; I had to rely on the scripture that promised that you would not die when subjected to the "rod."
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