BOB STORY Pittsburgh, 1960 I was always one of those kids who cried easily. It was a thing that I had little control over. I grew up in a time when fathers thought that a boy like me was an embarrassment. These events occurred at such a time. It was one of those miserable days. I hadn't slept well the night before. I had awoken in the early hours feeling cold and wet. In the light of dawn I had found something dry to wear and taken a towel to sleep on, but the sleep was troubled. There were probably many times that day that this cranky 7- year old found cause for tears and by afternoon my father had had enough. As we sat down for lunch, something upset me and my dad decided it was a time for correction. Normally, the "I'll give you something cry about" mode was selected. However, on this day, my father chose a new route. "If you act like a baby, that's how we'll treat you." I was hauled up the stairs to the room I shared with my older brother. I was very frightened...my father had ordered my mother to get a diaper and some pins. He said it again, "If you act like a baby, then that's how we'll treat you." It was summer. I was wearing black, low top Keds, jeans, and a red and white striped T-shirt. Dad loosened my belt and pulled down my zipper forcefully, as he did when I was to receive a spanking. Why he didn't take off my sneakers is a mystery because he struggled to pull my jeans off over the shoes. This seemed to make him even more angry. I continued crying. My underpants were pulled off and I was seated on the edge of the bed, wearing only a T-shirt, socks, and shoes. I waited, wondering if I would also be spanked. I feared this more than anything. My father did not have a light hand. It didn't take my mother long to return with the diaper. I watched as it was laid on the bed beside me and folded. Then, my dad picked me up and sat me on the diaper. He pushed my chest back so I laid on it with legs still dangling off the edge of the bed. He secured the diaper around my waist with 2 large safety pins. I was wimpering now. In a strange way, I felt relieved because my bare bottom now had some padding in case I was going to be spanked. My brother stood behind my mom in the doorway. He was giggling. I felt a hot, uncomfortable wave of humiliation now as my fear began to subside. What happened next should probably not have surprised me, but it did. My parents had talked a lot about what would happen on our vacation to my grandparents in Missouri. Specifically, they had spent a lot of discussion about me, my bedwetting, and "we can't let him ruin the folks' mattress the way he ruined his." I squealed "no" when a pair of plastic pants were produced and pulled over my shoes and up to my knees. I have often wondered where they came from. Still, I was not a very big child. The pants were probably not hard to find. I remember, they were translucent vinyl with snaps at the sides. While my body was used to the cloth feel of a diaper, this was different... but familiar, somehow. Dad stood me on my feet and, not using the snaps, pulled them up over the diaper. The next installment is very memorable, and bizarre. I was ordered to go to the hall mirror and look at myself. I was to learn what a big baby looks like, it seems. Eyes low, I walked out of my room and past my snickering brother. He danced a bit, as I recall, happy that someone should receive such a delightful punishment. Little boys are strange that way. The full-view mirror of the hallway first reflected the black low- top tennis shoes. But as my gaze rose, I saw another little boy...not me. It was a bit funny, a 7-year old in sneakers and rubber pants. But, when my visual study caught the silhouette of the pin through the plastic, I had a strange surge of excitement. It had occurred to me...THIS IS WHAT I ALWAYS WANTED!. It explained so much and even at seven, I knew this. The rest of the day was not uneventful. My jeans were restored, over my baby clothes. That was how I would spend the day. I didn't wet them. I was too afraid. I would behave as my father wanted. I would be good, quiet, and obedient. We went to a family picnic that evening. I clung to my mother, hiding my secret from anyone who did not care to notice. My brother did his best to inform the rest of the kids that "Bobby is wearing diapers." I finally walked home alone and fell asleep on the couch. When I awoke the next morning, the diapers were removed and it was over. At least for the time being.