From the Top Shelf - An Aunt's Firm Hand, part 1

Today's selection is from Corporal magazine, which was a publication that is such a lovely vignette of 1950's small town America at its most quaint. Here is the first part of a letter from a young person who finds that Aunt Louise has very strict attitudes on how young people should behave while living under her roof. Whether the letter was written by a young man or woman is unclear, so I hope that allows you to put yourself into the writer's shoes.

Dear Corporal,

I've been staying at my Aunt Louise's for two months now during the summer break. It's a delightful summer cottage right near the seashore and I'm having a ball. The only fly in the ointment is my aunt's ideas on discipline.

My three cousins and myself who were invited down here for the summer thought that one of the advantages we would enjoy was doing as we pleased with no interference from our parents. It hasn't worked out that way at all!

Soon after we arrived Aunt Louise posted a set of rules on the kitchen bulletin board for us to follow. The list had regulations for behavior and dress, curfews, dates etc. The rules were pretty tough. They were OK for a 14 year old, I suppose, but since Jan and Ellie were 17 and Laurie and I were 19, they were quite strict for us.

We argued with our aunt about them but she was adamant and told us we could either accept them or leave. We four talked about it privately and figured we could probably cover up for one another and, since there were four of us and only one of her, we were sure we could carry it off. We did not want to leave.

We didn't know how she intended to punish us if we did misbehave but, boy, we soon found out!

All of us are proud of our figures, especially Laurie who likes to show hers off. At the beach she always wore the tiniest bikini she could buy. She knew Aunt Louise wouldn't approve but since the beach was only a ten minute walk from the house, she couldn't resist taking a chance. She used to put her bikini on in her room and then wear a beach robe over it to go back and forth to the beach so Aunt Louise wouldn't see.

One day she came in just before supper and started to go up to her room to change. However Aunt Louise insisted she stay downstairs and eat right away with the rest of us. After supper was finished, Aunt Louise said she had been told by a neighbour that Laurie had been at the beach, surrounded by boys, wearing an indecent swim suit.

Then she made Laurie take off her robe. Aunt Louise gasped when she saw what Laurie was wearing. The bikini she had on was the flimsiest, briefest I've ever seen. Our aunt bawled her out and then left the room. When she came back she was carrying a paddle. The paddle was about 16 inches long including the handle, four inches wide and 3/8 inches thick. It was made of some kind of smooth blond wood. Laurie started protesting and backed away but she was grabbed by the arm. Aunt Louise sat on a straight-backed armless chair and forced Laurie over her lap. Laurie's right wrist was pulled behind and held in the small of her back. Aunt Louise put the paddle down and pulled Laurie's bikini bottoms down to her knees. Picking up the paddle again she gave us all a lecture on proper dress while Laurie struggled in vain.

Lecture over, Aunt Louise raised the paddle over her head and brought it down hard on Laurie's bare bottom with a loud SMACK! Laurie jumped but remained silent. SMACK! down it came again. We were all startled by the loud noise it made. SMACK! SMACK! SMACK! Laurie's buttocks had been pure white compared to the beautiful copper tan she had everywhere else but now they were turning blushing pink. SMACK! The girl winced each time the paddle landed but still she kept quiet.

I guess she was trying to be brave. After about ten whacks, she began to squirm and kick. SMACK! Number 15 landed and was greeted by a loud "Owwwww!" The rest of us giggled.

SMACK! "Owwwww!" SMACK! Yeeeeowwwww!"

At 20 swats the crying started. Soon she was bawling like a baby but Aunt Louise kept going. 25, 30, 35 SMACK! "Owwwwwww please stop!" SMACK! "Ooooohhhh please don't!" SMACK! "I won't do it again." SMACK! "Bahwahwahboohoooooo"

Around 50 it stopped. By then Laurie's bottom was brilliant red and swollen up with a few bruises beginning to appear. Aunt Louise let her up and she grabbed her fanny with both hands and, with the bikini tangled around her ankles, she hopped around the room clutching her sore bottom and howling at the top of her voice.

Aunt Louise never mentioned the incident again. We found out that was her way. Once a spanking had been given, the slate was wiped clean.

A few days later a blackboard appeared on the kitchen wall. Aunt Louise announced that anytime one of us did something wrong which wasn't bad enough to earn an on-the-spot spanking, they would be given a demerit. Any of us who got more than 10 in a week would be spanked on Saturday.

Two weeks later we watched Ellie get it. Four times during the week she had been given demerits for minor disobedience; three demerits each time for a total of 12. Just before bedtime, Aunt Louise sentenced her to three whacks for each demerit. Ellie pleaded but it did no good.

She was pulled down across our aunt's lap and her jeans were lowered to her knees. Her panties followed and her blouse was pulled up well above her waist. The paddle descended and she yelped. Unlike Laurie, she made no attempt to be brave.

SMACK! "Eeeeee" SMACK" Yeeeoooowwwwwww!" SMACK! "Oh I promise to be good!" SMACK! "Oh please stop!" SMACK...........

By 20 swats Ellie was letting loose with some pretty ear splitting shrieks. Her bottom was crimson and bobbing up and down. Every time the paddle smacked them, her bottom cheeks quivered like bowls of jelly. Smack after resounding smack echoed through the room intermixed with Ellie's yelling and pleading for mercy. After the 36 whacks had been administered, Aunt Louise remarked that she certainly had behaved like a big baby, and made fun of her as she continued to cry and wail.

Did the author manage to escape a spanking that summer? To be continued...