My gut feeling was to confront this person and tell her that it is one thing to correct a child, but quite another to shake him into submission. But did I say that? No, I just walked out the door. And what was my justification for silence? First, I didn't want an angry confrontation with a gal who would likely tell me to mind my own business. Second, I didn't want to cause an embarrassing scene, and third, I didn't want to face the possibility of a lawsuit. But looking back, I should have at least had the woman checked out to see if she might have been a child abuser.

When I was a junior high student, I got into trouble for too much talking in class. My teacher made me write "Silence is Golden" one thousand times. I think I learned my lesson too well. Silence can also be deadly.