These next five are from last week. I've posted them in the order they were written, as they are all about the same family, a different character's viewpoint/life each day.
A strange, interesting, Fun writing experience. Enjoy!


EXCUSES


It isn’t that Cory doesn’t know right from wrong. God knows his father drummed that into him plenty of times before he left. Of course when the boy got too big to bend over his knee, he’d take that chair out into the far end of the back yard, under that elm, and make him hang onto the ladder back of it while he stripped off his belt.

But he didn’t just whip him for the fun of it, no sir. All the long walk out there and clear through the whole thing he would talk to Cory in the calmest voice explaining what wrong the boy had done and why he must take his licks like a man. Always told him how many lashes he was to get and why, and never raised his voice or cursed either.

Now I believe in that saying, “spare the rod and spoil the child” as much as my husband Bill did, but after awhile I just couldn’t witness it anymore like Bill said I should. Though even if I was in the living room with the vacuum and the radio going full blast; I could still hear every one of those lashes. That’s when I would pray out loud for mercy and forgiveness. Hallelujah!

It wasn’t until Bill left and the father’s duty fell to me that things started going so bad. So I guess that you could say it’s partly my fault. Those first few times Cory got into trouble I really did try to discipline him like his daddy would have, but I just couldn’t pick up that belt. So I sat him down here in the kitchen and tried talking to him. He listened at first, but then he started tipping that chair back on its hind legs and chewing on a toothpick, not meeting my eyes.

Pretty soon he wouldn’t even sit down when I told him we had to talk. He’d just lean his elbows on the top of that chair ladder back and kind of grin at me. I have to say I didn’t care for that grin at all. He was eighteen when he ran off for good, and by that time he was much too grown for me to have been able to stop him.

Now you come here and tell me that my Cory has committed some terrible crime and will probably be living out the rest of his life in the state pen. How can you tell me such awful things about my only child? No matter what you say, I know that he is still my sweet boy. You can tell him for me that I will always love him.

You make sure you tell him that from me you hear?