I remember this big leather strap my Grandfather kept in the bathroom.
I never knew what it was there for, although I was always afraid of it.
I used to watch these films where the women were told to get the strap and that was what they brought out. They then paddled the women with that strap. I knew how much it hurt when dad would slap our bottoms for doing something that was going to hurt each other, or ourselves, and that was painful enough. I couldn’t imagine that black leather strap going over my delicate derriere. When I got older, I peeked through the crack in the door and watched as my Grandfather was using this long handled straight razor to shave his face. He would rub the straight razor over the belt, which he later told me would sharper it. He told me that any self-respecting barber could supply a better straight razor shave than you could even get with a new razor. He showed me how to do a straight razor shave by putting shaving cream on a balloon. He shaved the balloon with his straight razor. He said that was how you did a straight razor shave. When I got older, I wanted to find out if you could still get a straight razor shave at a barber shop. The man smiled when I asked about the straight razor shave. He told me that few people even knew what a straight razor shave any more, and I was in for a real treat.