I Will March For You

Short Non-Fiction Story by Cynthia Johnstone

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He had God-fearing parents, quick to fetch the belt at the first sign of sin; as if the sin were a prairie dog who dared to venture outside its hole. “This is what you get!” I imagined my Grandfather hollering, cracking the rodent atop its head, “And don’t you even think about coming back now, ya hear?” Spitting to the side for good measure. 

My dad was the recipient of some harsh beatings, according to my mom. “His parents were crazy!” she says with so much gusto I worry it can’t be good for her heart. “They made him read the bible for an hour every day, then they’d quiz him on the verses and if he got one wrong, they would smack him on the hand with a ruler and send him to bed without dinner.”