Traditional Values
By: Randall Austin
(© 2012 by the author)

The author retains all rights. No reproductions are allowed without the author's consent. Comments are appreciated at...

Chapter 28

One week after Martin Forestman's sons began their social service at Maple Valley Resort and Casino, Martin's brother Steven left on holiday, with his wife, to the Azores. When he returned three weeks later, he received a call from the head of the Governor's Commission on Overseers' Affairs. He immediately called Martin, told him he was dying to see him, and that he had received some very good news.

Martin made a dinner for them and brought out several bottles of his best wine. Over a leisurely dinner Steven told Martin that his son Jason was being freed. Martin asked how that could be possible since Jason was sentenced to a minimum of six years social service, and could only be considered being released for 'good behavior and faithful service' after his initial six years were up, and he hasn't yet been in service for even six weeks.

Steven admitted to being as surprised as Martin was, "But apparently the 'pending good behavior and faithful service' clause is subject to varying interpretations when you're dealing with convicted state overseers. If there's a 'good old boy' network at work among police and overseers here in Vermont, I'm not going to argue with it, certainly not in this case."

"When is he being released?"

"Next week."

"What will he do?"

"Probably celebrate for at least a month!" Martin and Steven laughed and toasted. The dinner over, Martin took a new bottle of wine, told Steven to bring his glass, and to join him on the couch in the living room.

Settled next to each other on the couch, Martin asked Steven about his vacation. "It was an important time for Claire and me. We have decided to split up. We're not sure yet if we will get divorced. Ever since Jason was indentured we have been being brutally honest with each other, and we have now come to realize that it's best if we separate. We really cleared the air between us out in the Azores. We have become, now, the greatest of friends, and ended up having the best time together in all our years of marriage."

"The days ahead will be difficult, but for the best. How are you and Barbara getting on?"

"Not well at all. She's accusing me of all kinds of nasty things, and I don't have the energy to deal with her. With her, along with my concern for the boys, I've been frazzled."

"How are the boys doing?"

"I don't know. I haven't seen or spoken with them for the last four weeks on the advice of Damian Appomattox, my Social Service's contact person."

"Why is that?" asked a very surprised Steven.

"The boys, as you knew before you left on your trip, were constantly calling me and telling me how horrible things were at Maple Valley. And you, as well as everyone else, told me that such complaining coming from servants in a new environment was common, and to just ignore it and that they would soon adjust."

"But on the day you left for your trip Alban called me, crying as I had never heard him, saying he wanted to come home. It was very hard. Then, on the following day, Bradley called, also crying, with a whole list of complaints. He told me that the overseers and hospitality workers are on their cases constantly, 24 hours a day; that when he complained that his snout rings and nipple rings hurt, they refused to make adjustments; the food is awful; he was promised that if he signed up for the mandatory spankings, he would earn special privileges, but that so far he hasn't seen any; that the hospitality workers are all basically just a bunch of thugs and pigs, who constantly talk down to and demean the rollerboys at every turn. And when he told me he was scheduled to be bullwhipped in four days, I was furious and told him I would see what was going on and get right back to him."

"I immediately got in touch with Damian. He said it was common to use the bullwhip for doing fine tuning on servants in new positions; that for initial offenses Maple Valley uses the carbon filament whip, which, although it hurts like hell, does not abrade flesh; and that Bradley would only be getting four strokes of the whip. While that information calmed me down, I was still very upset that my boys were having such a hard time of it. Damian told me the best thing I could do was to just have no contact whatsoever with the boys for at least a couple of months. He said that that would help the boys ease out of any sentimental attachments they may be holding on to. He said I was actually doing the boys a disservice by being a shoulder for them to cry on. He told me, basically, to just let go and to let Maple Valley do what they do so well; make any necessary adjustments in servants' dispositions and attitudes by dealing with each rollerboy on an individual, special needs, basis."

"Damian also reminded me that Bradley really was something of a complainer. He reminded me of the awful fuss Bradley made whenever he was faced with having to get nude, say, in front of his mother or sister. I mean, if he made such a big fuss over such a minor thing as a family member seeing his winkle, it stands to reason that he's probably the type that would raise a ruckus over anything. Damian told me that Bradley is basically a complainer by nature, and that I would do well to ignore his complaints. He told me that Bradley probably takes pleasure in pulling my ropes, and I needed to realize he's playing games. Bradley is, after all, a servant, and servants tend to try and pull the wool over their overseer's eyes."

"He also reminded me that all social servants get punished on a pretty regular basis for their own good, and that if I simply would get more into the culture of social service by hanging out with other owners and overseer more frequently, I would soon get over my misplaced free-person sensitivities."

"So I called Bradley back and told him to hang in there. I reminded him that he's a servant now, and that everything he mentioned sounded like pretty standard orientation difficulties, and that I was sure that things would be mellowing out for him and his brothers."

Steven nodded, "So do you know if things have mellowed for them?"

"I can only assume that they have. Damian told me not to answer the phone and to turn off the voice mail. He said servants complain, especially during orientation periods, and that it would be safe for me to assume that everything was progressing on par for the course."

Driving home with her mother and her Aunt Karen after a visit with Timothy Witherspoon, Flora asked her mom if she could marry Timothy. Barbara smiled, "I wouldn't mind if that was what you really wanted. I assume you know that Timothy would not be able to provide you with any kind of shareable income. But more than that, I think it would be difficult to work out living arrangements with a servant."

Karen's gaze steeled over, "You can bet it would be, thanks to the current administration in Washington! President 'Knucklehead' has made us the world's laughing stock on slave/servant rights. In just a bit over three years in office he has brought our country back to the middle ages with regard to slavery. Thanks to him and his letting states have almost total authority on slave matters, things have never looked worse for slaves. Already in Texas and Kentucky if an owner kills a slave it isn't even considered murder. In most southern states, slave offenses are also registered as civil offenses. So if an owner writes up a slave for sloppy work, before the slave could ever be freed, he would have to pay the civil penalty for any and all accrued slave infractions, and that usually means extended terms of slavery. Slavery and our president are both obscene!"

Flora admired her strong willed aunt, and wanted to be just like her someday in most ways. Flora differed in only that she would support slavery if there were humane laws in place. But Flora was glad, nevertheless, that some boys were social servants; it made them so soft, pliant, and kissable.

Martin, not much of a church-going man, couldn't understand why he sought counseling with Father Peter Lucarelli. He figured it was probably because he was attracted to him when he met with him regarding the Jay and Rasby situation. But whatever the reason, he needed to hear some confirmation from a spiritual authority that indenturing one's children was not a wrong thing to do.

Since Father Lucarelli was the chief overseer of the parish's social servants, Martin figured he would be just the man to give him some comfort in his turmoil.

The two men hit it off rather well, and it was only after at least 15 minutes of small talk in the office of Father Lucarelli that Father Lucarelli realized just what Martin was after, "So just what do you want to hear from me?"

Martin answered that he assumed that Father Lucarelli supported the social servant system. Father answered him, "Why assume that? Because a physician hangs out in hospitals where there is illness, does that mean he supports illness. On the contrary; he is there in an attempt to improve the lot of the ill, and hopefully to destroy the illness and the cause of illness."

Martin sank in his seat, embarrassed. Father Lucarelli thought how handsome Martin looked. He looked deeply into Martin's eyes, "Look, Martin. You've told me you love your sons. You've said that that love has grown since they became servants. If that is true, why don't you act on your feelings?"

"But society has said that social service is acceptable. One doesn't act on feelings. One follows society's values. Traditional values."

Father Lucarelli knew Martin wanted some kind of affirmation for placing his sons in social servitude. "Traditional values. Let's see, what are traditional values?" Father Lucarelli rubbed his chin. "The first value the traditionalists are always talking about is family. Family love. Sounds good. If you really loved your family, would you put them into social service for your own profit?"

The conversation went on for almost two hours. Martin left feeling more conflicted than ever. He had also wanted to discuss a few other things with Father Lucarelli. But after feeling like he must look like a slimeball to Father Lucarelli, he no longer wanted to bring up with the good priest that he was having sex with his own brother, and that he was now, as well, lusting after his own sons.

Several days later, Bradley, unable to reach his father, called his Aunt Karen and was able to get in touch with his mother through her. Barbara conveyed to Martin that Bradley was scheduled to receive ten strokes of the rawhide bullwhip in one week. While Barbara had little sympathy with Martin, she was pleased to see that her husband was as upset as she was over the scheduled punishment. She wanted the punishment stopped at all costs, and she told Martin so.

Martin got in touch with Damian Appomattox as soon as Barbara left the house. Damian once again attempted to calm Martin down, "Bullwhip, schmullwhip! It's not a big deal; at least not the way they do it at Maple Valley. The whole purpose of announcing a punishment and scheduling it for several days ahead is to gain the psychological advantage over the servant. Making a servant live in dread for several days of an upcoming punishment is part of the punishment and adds to its effectiveness. The hide whip they'll be using on him isn't going to hurt any more than the carbon filament bullwhipping he's already received. The only difference is that this time Bradley could end up with a permanent scar or two. That's why they're making him anticipate it for a week. Knowing that your back could be torn up and scarred for life adds greatly to the punishment's effectiveness, and it may well prove to be the thing that finally gets Bradley's ass in line. And so what if he ends up with a few battle scars? It'll just be something he can show his grand kids. No big deal!"

"But there's more than likely a chance that Bradley won't end up with any permanent scars. The average is that every eight strokes of the bullwhip results in approximately a one-inch permanent scar."

Martin took in all of what Damian had to say in silence. Damian knew he was making headway, and continued, "But what is really going on here is that Bradley is finally going to get a real man's punishment. Isn't it about time? He's a social servant and social servants get punished, and once in awhile they get severe punishment. To me, this all has a good feeling about it. Bradley simply has to be brought up to servant speed, and if it's going to take a few hard knocks to get him there, so what? Why is this such a big concern of yours? Are you his overseer? On top of everything else, please remember that Bradley agreed to his own indenturement. It's not like he was enslaved against his will. Bradley is an adult now and you need to let him follow his own chosen path. Stop meddling in his affairs!"

"And you, Martin, rather than worrying non-stop about your sons, you need to finally sit back, relax, and take pride in your three beautiful sons and all that you have done for them. By your concern for your sons you have proven that you have nothing but their best interest at heart. You've done so much for your boys by giving them such a wonderful upbringing and education. And now, by unselfishly turning your boys over to Social Services where they can serve and be a delight to the entire community, and not just yourself, you have, so to speak, put icing on the cake. Icing in the form of complete obedience. Obedience, after all, is the primary object of all sound education. Obedience is the mother of success, and success the parent of salvation. And the reason social servants are such special people in our eyes is because it is usually only servants who can get to that exalted level of obedience towards which we all strive."

"You have done good not only for your sons, but for all of society. Remember that every time a new person joins the ranks of social servitude, everyone benefits, both free and servant. Servants basically generate 'free' money into the economy thereby improving the overall financial well-being of all the citizens of Vermont."

Martin attempted to get back to the matter of Bradley, "Since servants do add so much to the quality of life for all of us, maybe it would be good if I showed Bradley how much I appreciate what he is doing and intervene for him, just this once."

Damian was quick to retort, "What you need to do Martin is to keep your nose out of it, and let the overseers over at Maple Valley do what they have to do. The overseers at Maple Valley are some of the highest paid in the state, so you can be sure they know their stuff. And, also, one of Bradley's best friends is one of Maple Valley's lead overseers, Andrew Ricker's son. You can be sure nothing untoward is going to happen to Bradley. Just relax. Bradley is a servant now, doing servant stuff, learning the ropes. He's young, smart, and resilient. He'll be fine! Just keep your nose out of it. After all, Bradley wasn't forced to sign the papers of indenturement. I'm sure he knew what he was getting into. Give him some credit. He was an 'A' student after all!"

"And it's time that you, Martin, face reality, as well. If you thought your sons could get through service without a bullwhipping or two, then you've had your head in the sand."

Damian saw the conflicted look on Martin's face, "If you were to stick your nose in there and do a parental objection to a scheduled punishment, you would be setting up a real bad vibe between Bradley and the overseers. Just stay out of it! Overseers respect servants who submit to a bullwhipping without trying to get out of it through family intervention. Overseers can't stand that."

"But overseers don't mind servants doing a little bit of last minute pleading once they're getting strapped to the whipping frame. In fact, they're amused by it. I can assure that once they strip Bradley and start securing him to the whipping frame he'll be doing some pretty serious pleading, just like they all do. I've seen it often enough. Bradley will be bawling and promising this and that, breathing heavy, and heaving. It's actually a satisfying spectacle to observe; a servant coming face to face with the consequences of disobedience."

"In fact it might do you good to witness it for yourself. As you may know, as a parent you have a right to witness any and all punishments on your child. I think it would give you a whole new respect for the work that the overseers do out there. And they treat family members out there very well and, not to downplay the seriousness of Bradley's punishment, but you'd probably have a very good time. You'd get to meet other parents of rollerboys, get to talk to the hospitality workers and overseers, and see their side of things. And maybe you could even give Bradley a good old-fashioned pep talk while you're out there. And your presence at his whipping would give Bradley a nice dose of humiliation that could add dramatically to the bullwhipping's effectiveness."

Damian saw that the idea interested Martin, "Martin, it's time that you, as a person who has indentured his own sons, start taking comfort in the fact that servants are disciplined on a regular basis, rather than worrying about it. Punishments in general help the social service system run smoothly. Watching social servants get punished always feels good to me because when you punish a servant you are, so to speak, oiling the wheels of social servitude. It never ceases to amaze me, watching servants hop around like little monkeys after their spankings, how discipline really is a good, life-improving, experience for a servant. It really does change them for the better. Punishments help ensure that the system runs smoothly. Remember our adage out here at the County. "If a servant gets punished, it's because he deserves it." Bradley is no different than the thousands of other servants out there. Most of them do not have their parents stepping in and stopping deserved correction."

"Martin, you've told me yourself how much comfort it gave you when your boys were at home and being so super obedient. Well just imagine what they'll be like if you just let the highly trained overseers over at Maple Valley do their thing. When Bradley gets out in 13 years you won't be able to stop him from licking your shoes clean!"

"Martin, this whole bullwhipping thing is another non-issue Bradley is trying to use to pull your ropes. Servants complain about the smallest things all the time. It's what they do, and I see it every day. Just ignore it, Martin, please!"

"I think Bradley is a pretty typical garden variety worker boy, and this whipping will do him a world of good. Once he realizes that if he keeps up his stubborn ways his pretty little body is at risk of getting torn up by the whip, he'll get with the program in no time, and very soon he'll be scurrying around, shuffling to please, just like any other little corporate janitor slave."

"Martin, my advice; relax, pour yourself a scotch, and be grateful that your sons are in such a protective environment."

Martin took the advice, and was able to relax and enjoy a very good night's sleep after his chat with Damian Appomatox.

To be continued...

Posted: 06/15/12