Cori’s Story

I grew up in a very pious Catholic family. My parents were very religious but exceedingly strict. My dad was the sort of person who would take a bamboo stick to you if you violated the rules, or were disobedient or disrespectful. One day, when I was eight years old, he came home from work and said, “You come here and you kneel down.” He got the maid to pour raw mung beans on the pavement out in the sun. Raw mung beans feel like sharp pebbles. He said, “Kneel on those beans”. Then he went in and he grabbed his Florsheim shoes with wooden shoe trees inside them. Then he said, “Now you hold these shoes and hold them like you’re crucified while you’re kneeling on the beans. If you lower those shoes, you are going to get whipped.” As soon as my arms went down, out came his bamboo cane and he whacked me.