Tatum
O`Neal
A Paper Life
Harper Collins,
2004
Pages 27/28
My mother could be a
harsh disciplinarian, but it was Seth (mother`s boyfriend) who
really scared me. When Griffin (brother) and I misbehaved - or
when Seth felt like it - he`d whip us with switches cut from the
fig tree. Often we were beaten for stealing from the jolly jug,
our local general store. We would take candy, because we were so
hungry, and also dirty magazines, partly inspired by the weird
nudist publications we saw at the Johnsons, but mostly because
they were forbidden.
Once when he came
after me, I ran to my mother, clutching at her, begging her not
to let him beat me - if need be, to punish me herself. She did
it, with her belt
Pages 36/37
Griffin and I were
sent to Tree Haven boarding school in Tuscon, Arizona. It was the
first structured environment I`d ever experienced, and the
culture shock was profound. Academically I lagged far behind my
classmates, and socially I was totally lost, with really no idea
how to communicate with the other kids. I tried to attract
friends in the only way I could imagine, by reminding people
repeatedly, "My father is famous. My father is a movie
star."
Needless to say, that
strategy didn`t work. Soon I fell back on an old feel-better
habit - stealing - and got caught snatching earrings from a
classmate`s draw. In the principal`s office, I was spanked with a
perforated wooden paddle, which was more unendurable and
humiliating, coming from a stranger, than the countless beatings
I`d received at the hands of Seth and my mother.