It’s Thursday! Time for Mama Kat’s Writer’s Workshop! The prompt I chose to write about today was: “a time you got in BIG trouble as a kid”.
If ever there was a shy, timid child, it was me. I never wanted to do anything that would result in being reprimanded or punished and never wanted attention brought to myself.
But, one time as a child, I really did get in big trouble.
The pastor (or “preacher”, as we always called him) of our church during my childhood years was a very gentle, kind man who was loved by the entire congregation. Carol, his daughter, was around my age. Since Carol and I were the only girls in the neighborhood, she and I played together quite a bit.
One day when we were playing, Carol did something that really made me mad. Although I can’t recall the details, I remember that I was very upset. So, to get back at her, I did the unthinkable.
I let the air out of her bicycle tires.
My mother found out; I can’t remember how. (I seem to have erased a lot of this from memory.) When she did, she seemed certain that this sole act would deny me access to the gates of heaven. And I think she was worried that she might be in danger too. After all, she was responsible for this child that had suddenly veered off the straight-and-narrow.
My mom’s chosen method of punishment was always a scolding. And this was probably the worst one ever directed at me. She could not BELIEVE that I had let the air out of someone’s tires, ESPECIALLY the preacher’s daughter! I can still remember her horror. I don’t think the preacher and his family were too bothered by it; I seem to recall them assuring us that it wasn’t a big deal.
But to my mom, it was. Looking back, it saddens me to know that I disappointed her by committing this childish (albeit mean-spirited) prank.
And I’ve never let the air out of anyone’s tires again. Ever.
these days of mine 