Do you know, in all these years I've never considered that. My injuries excused me any physical punishment, but maybe she did think I'd suffered enough.

Your mom was brave to play truant when her dad held those positions. When I was in my teens I used to smoke, and one day while larking about with friends I fell on my backside and the matches in my back pocket went up. I was uninjured but it burned a huge hole in the pocket that took some explaining. Thanks for commenting, and I'm glad you liked the piece.