mouth out with soap. For serious
offenses I’d get sent to the
principal’s office. Only the principal
could give you an official hiding.
You’d have to bend over and he’d
hit your ass with this flat rubber
thing, like the sole of a shoe.
Whenever the principal would
hit me, it was like he was afraid to
do it too hard. One day I was getting
a hiding and I thought, Man, if only
my mom hit me like this, and I
started laughing. I couldn’t help it.
The principal was quite disturbed.
“If you’re laughing while you’re
getting beaten,” he said, “then
something is definitely wrong with