This story contains bare butt strapping and may not be acceptable to some readers.
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Corporal punishment was a way of life for us. Our strict, preacher father would tolerate nothing short of faultlessness from my older brother Paul and me. Paul, though twenty-years of age, was still a regular victim of father's sadistic thrashings; and would remain susceptible until he'd attained adult status.
Three more years would pass before I'd be safe from his sadistic whippings, that would be suffered until his preordained number of distinct, strap impressions were burned into the sinner's, bare buttocks; and accompanied by screams for mercy and absolution.
"Father's instrument of terror - the Mule Paul had christened it because of its violent kick - was a strip of leather he'd cut from an old horse harness. Twenty-six inches long, four inches wide and three eighths of an inch thick, it would've been the envy of a prison warden. He hung it on the barn wall, handy to his hay-bale, whipping platform as a reminder of the horrible suffering we would endure for our presumed transgressions.
I was doing my chores in the barn when my friend, Jerry Cartwright dropped by. "Hi, Bengie," he greeted, grinning, guiltily.
"Yo, Jerry, whazzup? I asked, studying him suspiciously. He unrolled the waist of his t-shirt to proudly show me two, bent-out--of-shape cigarettes and a sulfur match. "Bengie, where the hell did you get those devil sticks?" I asked, shocked.
"I stole them from the general store," he said, grinning devilishly.
"Oh, my God, Jerry," I said, arching my eyebrows, "You'll burn in hell for stealing," I warned him.
" Ah, I'm not worried about that, Bengie," he said, holding one near his nose and sniffing the tobacco, "Mmmm, it smells good...did y' ever try smoking?" He asked.
"No, It's the first time I even saw one this close, did you?"
"Nope, it's gonna be a memorable day fer us both," he said, smiling widely, as he awkwardly scratched the match on the wall.
"Y' only got one match, huh?" I asked, concerned. He wasn't striking it with any sign of confidence.
"Yeah, I have to be careful I don't screw it up."
"Ya should just light one, in case we don't like it, huh?" I suggested.
We sighed with relief when the match burst into a flame. "Hope the cigarette smell better than the match. Ya wanna go first? He asked, offering it to me.
"Naw, I think I'll wait. You go first," I said, being cautious. The cigarette glowed brightly when he took a long suck on it; and I thought he was going to choke to death.
"Hey," he said, trying to suppress another fit of coughing, "it's not bad, Bengie." He passed it to me but I didn't suck it with as much passion; still, the feeling that I was going to vomit was immediate.
"Yuk, Jerry, it's freakin' awful," I managed to say, despite my coughing.
""Yeah, Bengie, but you have to keep doin' it," He explained, taking another puff. "Here, try it again," he insisted.
My father had always traveled to the barn on an old tractor that could be heard from miles away. But, unfortunately, on this occasion he'd come on horseback and caught me, enclosed in a shroud of smelly smoke, taking the cigarette from between my lips; and I felt the mule kicking my butt.
"Do you wish to finish smoking your devil stick, first, boy?" He asked, tauntingly. Jerry, knowing of my father's passionate love for his strap, and perhaps hoping the smokescreen had hid him; he slowly edged towards the door.
"Jeremiah!" The reverend called loudly, "I'd prefer that you stay, if you don't mind." Jerry knew, very well, that it had been an incontrovertible command.
No words were spoken, nor were any expected when my father silently expressed his wish by removing his long, black coat and rolling up his shirtsleeve. Embarrassed, because Jerry had been ordered to stay, I hesitated.
"Well, boy?" My father said, gruffly.
Glancing, apologetically, at Jerry, I removed my jeans, underwear and t-shirt. I tried to hide my long, uncut cock that swung annoyingly when I fetched the mule and handed it to my father. Then, my nakedness crying out, I laid on his hay-bale, whipping platform. "The roll!" he shouted, his patience already worn thin.
"I'm sorry, Father, I'm nervous," I said, apologetically, as I got off of the platform to make a roll out of a down-filled, sleeping bag. I placed it across the platform and laid my abdomen over it to elevate my bottom. He slipped his hand through the looped handle and placed the business end of the strap on my butt; measuring to assure himself that his distance and stance were correct.
"If you don't mind, Reverend Schmacker, I really must go now, or I'll be late for dinner," Jerry lied, his voice cracking.
"Stay right where you are, Jeremiah, I want you to observe the suffering He is owed to compensate for the hurt Benjamin has caused Him." Reverend Schmacker explained. Jerry, shifting from foot to foot, raised his eyes to the roof; probably pleading with Scottie to beam him up, I thought. "Of course, Jeremiah, you realize that I'll have to give your father a complete report of your sinful activity," my father told him, firmly.
"You really shouldn't bother yourself, Reverend Schmacker, he already knows I smoke cigarettes, Sir." Jerry lied.
"Somehow, Jeremiah, I find that difficult to believe. In any case, duty obliges me to inform him," the Reverend said, firmly closing the door on further discussion.