After the fifth grade, I stayed most of the same classmates as I did in the sixth. We behaved much better in the fifth grade than the sixth; some of it was additional maturity and some of it was a teacher who was our also our athletic coach for our fifth-grade and sixth-grade teams. (I don't think any of us wanted to get swats from this well-muscled man.) In fact, I only remember one paddling the whole year. It was the day that Rocket Boy's glasses got broken.
The culprit was a long-legged, athletic boy named Luke, and his new sneakers. He had a pair of genuine Converse "Chuck Taylor" All Star basketball sneakers, black high-tops. These were the first real athletic shoes we'd seen. I pooh-pooed their superiority over the generic, store brand sneakers most of us boys wore.
Luke came up with a very dangerous technique to demonstrate their lightning-quick response: jump up, pop me on the head, and sit back down without being caught.
The first time he tried it, nothing amiss happened. The second time, we had a major malfunction. Luke caught me in the glasses, breaking the frame and knocking one out one lens. I let out a shriek and ran from the room.
Coach first figured out the cause of the matter. Then, he got me in touch with Mom on the phone. After all was arranged, it was time for a Luke to receive the penalty for his glasses-breaking.
I know that they went to the basement of our three-story school to give Luke the paddling. (We were on the top floor, and things were disturbed enough with all the disruption.) Luke got five swats, and they were LOUD. They were heard all the way from the basement to the top of the building.
After all was done, it was time for recess. Luke came up and apologized to me. By that time, Mom was down at school and we got my glasses repaired with just a little gluing and fiddling around at the optical shop.
Luke also got sent home with a note. His father said, "Lucas! You stupid kid! Never hit anyone, especially with glasses!" and he got another butt warming in the evening.
On my 25th anniversary, Luke asked me, "Are your glasses holding together?"
Once I recognized him as the contributor to this little escapade, I asked him, "Has your butt cooled off yet? You got a real sizzler at school and you also got one at home..."