St Joseph's College - A worthy walk, but my Dad did not like it...

Slowly but steadily I cruised through my studies. I was in grade four, and I had an encounter:  I got a severe caning from my father for walking back home with my brother after school. This was how it happened. We had monthly season tickets to travel by bus. I had mine and my brother's tickets with me all the time. On this particular day, we boarded the bus to school and when the bus conductor came to issue tickets as usual I said "SEASON" meaning that we had a monthly pass. On certain days, mainly because most of the conductors were known to us, they did not ask us to produce the season tickets. My brother and I got off the bus at Darley road and proceeded to school.

After arriving in my class, I checked my pocket for the season tickets and did not find them. It did not take long for me to realize what had happened. I had left the tickets at home. There was no money to pay for the return trip. I confided in one of my cousins who was driven to school by his father. He immediately offered us a lift home. To bring us home his father has to drive on a completely different route almost in the opposite direction. I made up my mind, and said "No, we are walking back home".

After school my cousin met me and I told him that we will walk back home and not to bother about a lift. My brother who was only about eight years old at the time, walked approximately 4 miles back home with me. We arrived home just about 30 minutes later than usual but it was not noticed by my mother and therefore no questions were asked. When my father returned from office, however, he came straight to me and asked me "how did both of you get back home from school today?" I replied "by bus as usual"  he got so angry, and caned me severely.

That was the only time I saw my Dad that angry. My Uncle had phoned him and told him that both of us declined his offer of a lift and walked back home. That was a memorable day in my life. Although I was severely punished by my father for lying to him and for making my little brother walk all that distance, I was proud that in a situation like that I did not depend on any one but made it my way.

                                                              Chapel of the College