I'm writing down my family history for my children and grandchildren since I'm the only one who has heard all the stories and remembered them. I'll share this terrible story with you, and make you happy you were not born in 1905, and make you feel like a good parent. The little boy, Viggo in this story was my father, and the story is true. My grandfather believed that when it says in the Bible, 'Den man elsker tugter man' (those you love you discipline) it meant beat your kids if you love them.

Viggo was a very sweet boy, and a very good boy. He was so quiet that his father almost forgot about him now and then, and when he did notice him, he said he was sure he must need some discipline, no little boy was so well behaved that he didn’t need discipline, and it had been a while since the last time he’d hit him, so he surely had some punishment coming for something or other.
It made Viggo so sad and so depressed that he was punished even though he had done nothing to deserve it, that when he was five years old, he decided to drown himself. The house was close to the beach, and Viggo walked over the dune in front of the house and across the sand of the beach. He was just beginning to crawl into the water, thinking he’d drown faster if he crawled, when his father caught him by the scruff of the neck and asked him what he thought he was up to.
“I’m going to drown myself” said Viggo.
“So, you want to drown yourself?” asked his father.
“Yes” said Viggo.
“I’ll teach you drowning” said his father. He dragged Viggo back home with him, pumped up a bucket full of cold well water, and said, “Now we’ll see if you want to drown yourself.”
He ducked Viggo’s head into the water in the bucket, pulled him out and said, “That’s how it feels, do you still want to drown yourself?”
“Yes!” said Viggo, and his father ducked Viggo’s head into the bucket again. His father asked again, and Viggo said yes again. This went on for some time, but his father had to give up at last, Viggo said yes every time.

Viggo hated his father, and tried to stay out of his way as much as he could. His dream as a little boy was to grow very big and tall and beat his father soundly. He did grow to be a tall man, but he lost his desire to beat up his father.

My father also grew up to be a wonderful and fun father.

And with this jolly childhood story, I greet you all this week.
Hugs all around.

birte