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Corner Girl Fiction by Angela Bauer, as told to her Introduction Recently my loving husband Don Davis saw a conversation about memories of childhood punishments on a Facebook group. That was illustrated with a painting of a very young girl sniffling while standing in a corner, only comforted by a small dog. Chapter 1 Donny Meets Joel Donny remembered that painting by Bessie Peesie Gutman. Her paintings often were decoration in See’s Candy Stores. A print of that painting hung in the bedroom of his best friend Joel Woodhouse. Donny first met Joel a month before they were to start Third Grade in September 1940. Donny had turned eight that June; Joel would not turn eight until January 1941. Joel’s mother, Virginia Lee Woodhouse, had recently divorced his father. Virginia and Joel moved from Boston to Greenwich Village, New York where she bought a townhouse a couple of blocks north of the loft where Don lived with his parents. Growing up Donny had been told that while his mother Kate Harris had been a student at Vassar College she was friends with a gal a year younger named Virginia Lee, who owned an advertizing agency. It turned out this was the mother of Joel. For that reason Joel had been enrolled in the private school Donny had attended since Kindergarten. The first time Don saw the painting in Joel’s bedroom he thought it was weird decoration for a boy’s room. Donny also did not understand why an especially large adult wooden hairbrush was on a small table, bristles-up, under the painting. Donny did immediately understand why on a shelf, Joel had a stack of DyDee service gauze diapers and several PlayTex stretchy latex baby pants. Clearly Joel also still was a bedwetter. In June 1939 Don’s sister Claire had been born. With her came a nanny. Don’s old changing table was brought out of storage and set up in what had been his nursery. For reasons never explained, within the first week of seeing his sister’s diapers being changed, Don regressed to bedwetting. The Dydee Service order was modified to include larger diapers to fit Donny, and PlayTex pants were purchased for him. Claire’s nanny was willing to also diaper Donny, but she objected to bending down to do so on a bed. A nearby nursery store sold Don’s parents a larger changing table to fit him. Thus both of the children’s bedrooms had changing tables. In Joel’s bedroom the shelf with the diapers was under a changing table identical to Don’s. Of course at just over one-year-old Claire was diapered around the clock. Don did not remember when he was originally diapered or being toilet-trained. He did vaguely remember wetting his pants during pre-school and being diapered, maybe when he was four, so he did not rebel being diapered for bed. Although Don was able to avoid wetting while in school, after a couple of months of bedwetting he began pants wetting. Eventually Nanny Diane was hired to care for Don. She always carried a diaper bag while taking him to and from school or any place else he needed to go. None of that embarrassed Don. Because Virginia Woodward was an advertising executive, Joel had a diaper bag carrying nanny named Clarisa. When he was home his diaper bag stayed under his changing table. The same was true for Donny. He first met Joel on a Saturday when Virginia brought him to visit her friend Mrs. Kate Harris Davis. Most of the Davis loft was a large room serving as a dining area, family and living room. Thus Joel did not see Don’s changing table. Joel did not wet his pants then, or if he did he did not need a diaper change. Both Kate and Virginia had been raised in strict Southern families. While at Vassar they had reminisced about being punished by bare-bottom spankings with hand and hairbrush. During warm weather Virginia was frequently switched. Donald Davis, Sr. had two significantly older sisters. Both delighted in beating him without mercy. Even before Donald proposed to Kate he made it clear that he would not permit spanking their children. He also added that he had no objection to spanking disobedient women. When she dared him to do so, Donald spanked Kate over his lap, bare bottom, so very hard using just his hand that she sobbed pleas for mercy. Thus Don was not spanked growing up. The pre-schools, Kindergarten and elementary schools he attended had been selected by his father because none used corporal punishment. Don knew that a family living in his building had a daughter a couple of months older than him, and a son two years older. Both were spanked by their parents. The first time Donny visited Joel with his mother Kate it was Virginia who greeted them at the door. Joel was not to be seen. “He’s up in his room. His nanny Clarisa is changing his diaper,” Virginia nonchalantly explained. “That’s no problem,” Kate answered. “Right now little Donny is wearing big boy pants, but I’m carrying his diaper bag in case he has an accident!” Until Charisa brought Joel downstairs many minutes later, the mothers compared notes about bedwetting and diapered boys. Don did not even blush. It turned out Joel and Don both had rubber sheets on their beds all their lives. A couple of days later Nanny Diane brought Donny to play with Joel. A maid answered the door, explaining, “Master Joel is getting a spanking from his nanny right now. Mrs. Woodward is at her office.” Joel was still sniffling when Clarisa brought him downstairs. Below his shirt he was just wearing a gauze diaper inside translucent PlayTex baby pants. Clarisa explained, “This one always wets for several hours after a spanking!” Diane admitted, “Knowing about Joel wetting, I decided to diaper Donny before we left home. I’ll leave his diaper bag. When he wets enough would you mind changing him?” “That’s no problem,” Clarisa replied. “When he gets naughty do you want me to spank Donny? Mrs. Woodward told me to make that offer. “When we lived in Boston she had an agreement with the mothers of all of Master Joel’s pals, girls as well as boys. If he misbehaved at a friend’s home he got spanked immediately. If a friend misbehaved when playing with Joel either Mrs. Woodward or I would administer a spanking.” “That’s a touchy subject,” Diane said. “When I was hired about a year ago Donny had just resumed nightly bedwetting and also day wetting. His father told me that I did not have permission ever to spank Donny. “Mr. Davis is much older his wife. I am sure he spanks her fairly often. She’s virtually admitted that. She also has told me even she is not allowed to spank Donny. Honestly, he needs to be spanked as often as all youngsters!” “As I said, I only made the offer,” Clarisa said. “Do you mind if I give Mrs. Davis a phone call?” Diane asked. “Please use the phone as much as you want,” Clarisa answered. Diane did call Kate, who said she would talk to Virginia about spanking Donny: “One of us will get back to you as soon as possible,” Diane promised. What Kate said to Virginia was: “Much to my chagrin my husband forbids me to spank Donny, although I agree with everyone he can be a brat. I admit my husband spanks me and I’m sure I have deserved many more spankings. “What Donald never said was that the parents or nanny of Donny’s friends are forbidden to spank my brat. Virginia, it would be a huge favor to me if you and your nanny spank Donny often and very hard so that he learns a good lesson. I’m sorry I am not in a position to promise to punish Joel when necessary.” “Okay, Kate! What’s the worst that could happen?” Virginia asked. “If your husband spanks me that would hardly be my first time since Vassar! It could be your husband is the disciplinarian I’ve always needed. If my ex had spanked me more often we might not have divorced.” “Virginia, as much as I love you, I want my guy to confine spanking to my own delicate derrière!” Kate answered ending with a giggle. Immediately Virginia phoned Clarisa: “Donny’s mother wants us to spank him often and hard! I am going to come home as soon as possible. Find a reason to scold both Donny and Joel. As soon as I arrive I’ll spank both of them. Earlier today did you spank Joel with the hairbrush?” “Yes, Mrs. Woodward,” Clarisa answered. “That is perfect, since this first time I want to spank Donny with just my hand. First I’ll spank Joel while Donny watches. You must remember that in Boston Joel always wanted to be the first one spanked,” Virginia said. Soon after that conversation ended Clarisa decided to perform diaper checks. Both boys had wet enough they needed to be changed. Neither had boy asked to be changed. Clarisa was very pleased that Donny cooperated very well while his diaper was changed.