Carolyn was two and a half years old when she, Mother and Dad went to the Kaufman’s Department Store in Pittsburgh to go shopping. The ten-story building loomed over her at the intersection of Fifth Avenue and Smithfield Street. Carolyn clung to her mother’s hand as she navigated through the crowd to the entrance.
Men and women bustled around the store like army ants- each person dedicating to completing their own tasks. Although shopping with her mother and father was boring, Carolyn loved the escalators. Abe and Ruth trusted Carolyn enough to turn her loose while they did their shopping. Soon they disappeared into the crowd of bodies, leaving Carolyn at the newly installed escalators with strict instructions. Her small hands skimmed along the smooth wooden railings as the moving steps boosted her to the next floor up. Giddy, she got lost in joy of riding the escalators up and down, and up and down. Each time was just as exciting as the last. But then Mother and Dad came back.
Dad walked towards Carolyn and said, “Okay, we’re going home.” Carolyn protested, “No! I don’t want to!” Carolyn threw herself onto the dirty department store floor onto her stomach-her tantrum making quite a scene. She cried and screamed, pounding her fists onto the floor. She did not want to leave, and made sure everyone knew it. Passersby stared in disapproval. Immediately, her dad picked her up and placed Carolyn over his knee. He began to spank her, right there in the middle of the department store, which is not something that would be permissible today. Blurry from the swell of tears, her fake cries changed tenor and never again did Carolyn throw another tantrum.
