An Unforgetable Afternoon
by M.C.
How a chance encounter changed a girl's perspective on life.


I'll never forget that afternoon as long as I live. It was an event that
changed my perspective about who I am and what I can be; call it my epiphany
if you will. Up until that time you would probably call me a pretty normal
sixteen year-old high school girl - a member of gymnastics team, a solid B
student who dated off and on but not seriously. I guess the only thing a bit
unusual about me was that I had been studying karate since the age of five and
already earned my black belt (my mother insisted I learn martial arts as a way
to build self-confidence). Anyway, here's what happened:

Every day right after school I went to my karate lesson. But this afternoon my
instructor was sick so the lesson was cancelled. I was, therefore, coming home
about two hours earlier than my mother expected. As I approached my house, I
heard some very unusual sounds coming from the inside. WHACK! CRACK! THUD!
They seemed to be coming from my mother's bedroom. So instead of entering
through the front door, I snuck around to the back and peeked inside the
window to see what was making those sounds, and I saw an unforgetable sight!

There was my mother, all five feet-six inches and 135 pounds of her, beating
the living daylights out of Robert, my six foot-three inch, 220 pound
step-father of two months (my real dad died in an automobile accident several
years earlier). Mom had the much larger man helplessly pinned backed in a
corner and was pounding him at will with her fists. Robert was bleeding from
the nose and lips, and appeared to have at least one black eye. As she beat
him, my mother was also giving him a stern lecture."How many times do I have
to explain this to you Robert?" I heard her say in a loud, firm voice. "When I
come home from work I expect you to have the household chores finished; not be
watching some silly game on T.V.(As you can tell, mom is very strict about
things like chores. I guess it's because she used to be a drill sergent in the
army). The lawns haven't been mowed, the laundry hasn't been done and the
house is a mess."

There were tears running down Robert's face and I could clearly see he was
crying. Mom stopped her beating for a moment and looked up at him. Then she
grabbed him firmly by his shirt-collar and literally dragged him over to the
side of the bed. She sat down and yanked the hapless man across her muscular
thighs. "I think what you need Robert, is a good old-fashion spanking." I
watched in amazement as mom pulled his pants and boxer shorts down (Robert was
too badly beaten by this time to offer any resistance whatsoever) and began to
whack his bare bottom hard with her strong right hand. And as she did so, mom
continued her lecture about what she expected of him around the house.

Robert had always seemed like a tough, macho-type guy to me, and yet here was
my much smaller mother treating him like he was a small child - and a naughty
child at that. The scene was so unreal - it was actually quite comical - that
I couldn't help myself and began to laugh out loud; and then my heart
froze...for that's when my mother, hearing my laughter, looked up and saw me
there.

A few awkward moments of silence followed (well not total silence, I could
still hear the sound of Robert sobbing). Then my mother smiled at me and
said,"Why don't you come inside and make yourself a snack Jenny. When I've
finished with Robert, I think you and I need to have a little mother/daughter
chat." Then, as if nothing at all had happened, she went right back to
spanking my step-dad.

I went into the kitchen and made myself a sandwhich. A few minutes later the
door to mom's bedroom opened and Robert walked out. He had his head down as he
walked past me but I could tell he was still crying. He immediately went
outside and began to mow the lawn. "You can come in now Jenny," I heard my mom
call out,"it's time for our chat."

When I entered her bedroom, mom was sitting on the bed brushing her long brown
hair. "You're home early dear. I wasn't expecting you so soon." After I told
her about my instructor being ill, mom smiled and said,"Well then, I suppose
you're wondering what that was all about?"

"Well yes...sort of." (An understatement if ever there was one).

"Well honey, it's like this. After your father died, I thought I'd never get
married again But then I met Robert and things just seemed to click. I am,
after all, still a fairly young woman (she's 42). Robert is generally good man
but like all men, he still has a bit of that male chauvanism inside of him and
can be a bit lazy at times - and you know what I think about that. Anyway, I
gave him a couple of months to change his attitude on his own but I didn't see
him making any progress. So today when I came home and caught him watching
T.V. before finishing his chores, I decided it was time to *encourage* him to
move in the proper direction (smirk)."

"By beating him up and spanking him?"

Mom giggled before answering,"Well honey, I use whatever works. You know that
old saying, 'spare the hand, spoil the husband'."

"Do you think he learned his lesson?"

"If not then he'll get another, and another...until he finally learns. I run a
tight ship Jenny, as you well know."

"Did you also beat daddy up and spank him?"

"Only in the beginning of our relationship honey; until he understood what I
expected of him. After I was discharged from the army I entered college. Your
father was the star of the baseball team and also a bit of a chauvanist at the
time. But because I loved him, I decided to change him rather than split up.
It did take a few beatings and a spanking or two before I got him to see
things my way. But once he did, he became the kind, loving man you knew as
your father."

Robert was one thing, but I grimaced at the thought of mom beating up and
spanking daddy. When she saw the expression I had on my face mom sighed, put
her arm around me and said,"You see Jenny, early on in my life I discovered
that guys - be they boys or men - will only truely respect a female if she's
strong and tough; tougher than they are. If you're not, then they'll always
try to take advantage of you; and that's as true in the workplace as it is in
private life. As a policewoman, I see how men cringe when confronted by a
strong, confident female. They may not like you, but they'll sure as hell
respect you; and to me that's far more important. That's why I want you to be
strong and tough too."

"Is that why you insisted that I start learning karate when I was five years
old?"

"Yes honey, and you can see the results for yourself. You have much more
self-confidence than your friends who don't study martial arts. And if they
know you can pound them to plup, guys won't try to take advantage of you.
By-the-way, I was so proud of you when you beat up those two bullies in the
park last month. (Mom and I were out jogging in the park when I saw two large
boys picking on some smaller kids. I went over to them and told them to "knock
it off". I guess they weren't used to being talked to that way by a smaller
girl so one of them said "make us". I kicked their asses but good and forced
them apologise to the kids they were bullying; then sent them home crying.)
And I especially enjoyed watching you bonking their heads together, that was a
nice touch." (Mom and I giggled after she said that).

"So you see Jenny, by being a strong, tough female, you can dictate the terms
of your life instead of it being the other way around as it is with most
women. You'll be in charge, just as I am; and you'll be a better person
because of it." Mom and I hugged each other, then she added (with fake
sterness), "and now young lady, since you're home so early, you have plenty of
time to do your homework and finish your chores before dinner. So march
yourself upstairs this minute and get started. I expect you to have everything
completed and ready for inspection before dinner!" (She wasn't kidding about
the inspection either by-the-way. Both daddy and I had to go through one every
evening before dinner. Having an ex-drill sergent for a mother can be an
*interesting* experience I guess).

Five Years Later...

While raising my arm above my head, I couldn't help thinking to myself,"That
was indeed a wonderful talk I had with mom that day. I learned so much from
it." Then I brought my right hand down hard on Gary's bare buttocks. SPANK!
"Like how to deal with men for instance." SPANK! "And how a strong female does
indeed get the respect she deserves and can take control of her life." SPANK!
"It truely was an eye-opening experience." SPANK!

"Jenny. Please stop this!" Gary cried out. "You're hurting me!"

"That's the point silly boy." SPANK! "If you would have finished cleaning up
our apartment before I came home from class today, this wouldn't have been
necessary. You know how I feel about not doing your household chores. Just
because you're the starting middle linebacker on our college football team
doesn't mean you can get away without pulling your weight around here." SPANK!
"As my mother might have said,'spare the hand, spoil the boyfriend'." SPANK!

Tears were running down Gary's cheeks now. He gulped hard and whimpered,"Yes
Jenny. I'll clean the place up. I promise. Please stop spanking me."

I let Gary cry for a couple of minutes before telling him to get up. I gave
him gentle hug (just the way I had seen mom do to Robert after another one of
her *sessions* with him), then softly said,"Very well then honey. I'm off to
teach my martial arts class now (I'm earning my way through college by
teaching self-defence classes for women), and I hope for your sake that our
apartment will be spotless by the time I return."

"It will be Jenny. I promise."

As I left our apartment and made my way to the dojo where I teach, I reflected
on that *interesting* event five years ago and how it changed my perception on
life. Yes, our apartment would indeed be spotless by the time I returned; of
that I had no doubt. And I had the lesson my mother taught me to thank for it.