Tommy and the Judge
by Danny Boy
Tommy's Mother and Mrs. Rogers
When Mrs. Wilson's husband died tragically in a car accident, she watched as her twelve-year old son, Tommy, became increasingly disobedient and rebellious over the next few years. In seventh grade, he began running around with a group of older high school boys who always seemed to be in trouble for truancy, vandalism, or petty theft. Not that it was all Tommy's fault. With his dad gone, he lacked a father figure to help keep him in line at home. Had Mrs. Wilson not been so petite - she was 5 feet, two inches and a mere hundred pounds - she could have continued disciplining her son when necessary. But when he turned fourteen, she found she could no longer punish him with the usual method of spanking. Not that he didn't need a firm hand, especially the way things were deteriorating. Had her husband been around, he could have easily taken over in that department. Alas, those days were gone. Meanwhile, Tommy seemed to grow more and more disobedient. In the past, his mother had used corporal punishment on a regular basis with considerable success. For minor slips like not making the bed, cleaning his room or doing the dishes on time, Mrs. Wilson administered a brief but effective correction on the spot. Tucking her son under her left arm, she quickly slipped his pants and underpants down before giving him ten hard smacks. Though everything was over in less than a minute, such minor lessons never failed to elicit real cries and promises to be good. The majority of Tommy's spankings - perhaps three or four a week, were short little affairs of that sort.
Once or twice a week, Tommy committed a more serious offense such as back talk or minor disobedience. For misbehavior of that sort, he received a longer spanking over his mother's lap. These were three to four minute affairs, long enough to redden his bottom and send him to the corner for a good cry afterwards. When visitors were present who were not relatives or close family friends, Mrs. Wilson simply took Tommy into the den just off the living room before spanking him. Afterwards, she always brought him back and made him apologize to any visitors for causing a disturbance. With relatives, close friends, or homeroom teachers, no such privacy was deemed necessary. Consequently, most of Tommy's aunts, uncles, and cousins had seen him get spanked over the years. So had the minister and his wife and quite a few of his mother's best friends. With serious offenses such as lying, major disobedience, and poor grades, Tommy received a more prolonged spanking. These were announced a day in advance and given immediately after dinner or at bedtime. That way, he had plenty of time to think about his impending punishment. These longer spankings also involved additional rituals such as corner time and a more thorough scolding beforehand. On three occasions in fifth grade when he had done badly on a report card, Tommy's mother had invited his homeroom teacher, Mrs. Betsy Rogers, over for a patent-teacher consultation after school. He still remembered the first time Mrs. Rogers came by after he got a 0 on a big test. Tommy's mother asked him to sit quietly while they discussed ways to improve his study habits. After about ten minutes, Mrs. Rogers commented, "June, you've hit the nail on the head. Good work in school depends on learning good discipline at home. I've noticed that children whose parents care enough to closely supervise them and discipline when they break the rules are the ones who come to school with their homework done and who are well prepared for tests. My two boys know they are expected to have all their homework done by 8 PM if they want to watch any TV. And they also know what will happen if they get anything less than a B- on their report cards."
"What's that, Betsy?," Mrs. Wilson asked.
"The same thing that happens whenever they misbehave, June. They know they will get an old-fashioned lesson over mom's knee for the next three nights and be put to bed early. I find that nothing concentrates a child's mind on his homework better than a good bottom warming."
"I'm glad to hear that, Mrs. Rogers, because that's exactly how I handle Tommy. He knows he's earned what I call a "bad grades" spanking today because of this report card. "And while I normally spank him at bedtime, I think it might help if I took care of his punishment with you still here. After all, he has disobeyed your homework instructions as much as my rules about studying. Unfortunately, Bethlemen Elementary doesn't allow corporal punishment or I'd ask you to keep Tommy after school for a paddling if he showed up with incomplete homework. Since that isn't possible, the next best thing is for you to call me whenever you feel there is a problem. That way, I can make sure Tommy gets the correction he needs right away before he ends up with a bigger problem like this 0."
"That's a very sensible plan, June. I already call Beth Thompson and Eunice Rainer if their boys start messing up on their school work and it's made a real difference."
"Splendid, Betsy. I'm glad I can count on you. And I hope you don't object if I take care of Tommy's punishment now. A little extra embarrassment should help the next time he thinks about not studying for a major test like this."
"I'm happy to help out by staying, June. I've noticed how embarrassed my boys are when I have to spank them in front of a relative or family friend. It seems to make an extra impression. If you think it would help, I could even come over again if Tommy flunks another test? I don't think Tommy would enjoy that, would you, young man?"
What else could Tommy do at that point but look down with a red face. He knew better than to protest in those situations even though he hated having his pretty homeroom teacher (who he had a crush on) see him get spanked. A "bad grades" spanking was always a more prolonged affair with extensive scolding and corner time. And that's exactly what his mother gave him that afternoon and two more afternoons before the year ended. His pants had come down and he had been soundly spanked in the living room while Mrs. Rogers watched approvingly. Afterwards he had been sent to the corner with his red bottom on display for ten minutes while the two mothers discussed the merits of regular spanking. Eventually, Mrs. Wilson had called Tommy out of the corner, his pants still at half mast, and made him waddle over apologize to Mrs. Rogers and promise to work harder. The worst part was when Mrs. Rogers herself pulled up his pants. Though Tommy hated those spankings, the quality of his school work had gone up considerably after each once. Mrs. Rogers even mentioned it in some of her comments on his written work.
"I knew you could do well, Tommy. Apparently that spanking helped a lot. Keep up the good work."
At the end of fifth grade, Mrs. Wilson asked Mrs. Rogers if she might be willing to tutor Tommy that summer to make sure he was all caught up for the fall. After further discussion, the two women decided Tommy would get two hours of extra help each Sunday afternoon. And for the next three months, Tommy had to bicycle four blocks to Mrs. Rogers's house at 2:00 on Sunday. To make sure they wouldn't be disturbed, Mr. Rogers took his two sons out to the movies or to play in a nearby park. After a little chit chat, Mrs. Rogers took Tommy downstairs to the basement where she had a quiet study. At first, the tutoring sessions went smoothly, in large part because Tommy made sure to work hard on his lessons. But on the third week, he arrived without finishing his assignment. It wasn't long before Mrs. Rogers noticed. When she pressed Tommy for an explanation, all he could do was mumble excuses about playing baseball the day before.
"I think we ought to call your mother up about this Tommy. Maybe she should be checking your homework before you come over.
"No, please, Mrs. Rogers, don't call my mom. I'll get it from her if you do. Please, I promise I have my work done next week".
"Since you already promised that at the very beginning of the summer, it's clear your promises don't really mean much, do they? What would your mom do if she knew her expensive tutoring was going to waste?"
"She'd,. ummm she'd she'd punish me, Mrs. Rogers."
"So you agree that you deserve to be punished or failing to complete your homework and for wasting your mother's money and my time?"
"I..I... su..suppose so, Mrs. Rogers."
"And how would your mother punish you, Tommy."
"With you know, with a ... a ... a ... spanking".
"That's exactly what you deserve now, isn't it Tommy?"
With butterflies in his stomach, Tommy hung his head and said nothing.
"Tommy, we can do two things. I can call your mother up right now and have her come over and take you home. Or I can punish you myself and then see what we can do to salvage today's work. Which would you prefer'?"
After a long pause, Tommy managed to murmur, "The second, I suppose".
"Whatever you prefer, Tommy. Your mother has lready given me permission to spank you if you don't do your homework properly and that's exactly what I intend to do. Now stand up, young man, and come with me to the sofa."
Tommy got up, his bottom already tingling, and alowed his young homeroom teacher to lead him over to the nearby sofa where she sat down. "Let's get these pants and underpants off, shall we? I think you'll learn a better lesson if yu stay bare bottomed for the rest of your visit." Tommy blushed as Mrs. Rogers quickly removed his shoes, undid his belt, and took down his pants. He blushed even more at what she saw when she lowered his underpants to his ankles. Not that she spent much time looking. Quickly raising her skirts to her hips, she drew the sniffling youngster across her knees and immediately began giving his chubby bottom a crisp, firm spanking. Though she didn't spank as hard as his mother, it was more than effec-tive. Within three minutes, Tommy had become the same crying, kicking little boy he became over his own mother's lap during her more extended spankings and which Mrs. Rogers knew first hand from her own sons. Mrs. Rogers noted all this as she continued spanking Tommy's pink bottom. Though he was almost a sixth grader, he was clearly one of those older boys who still learned a good lesson from a bare bottom spanking and even seemed to accept it on some level. Other than verbal protests, he had offered little of any physical resistance when she lowered his clothing and placed him over her knees. No doubt he was well trained at home. Mrs. Rogers guessed that Tommy's mother spanked him at least two or three times a week. After further thoughts along these lines, Rogers decided on a new plan for their weekly meetings. She paused to announce it to the crying boy before continuing his punishment.
"Young man, I'm going to give you a good lesson like this every Sunday for the rest of the summer if I have to, do you understand? From now on, I'm going to tally up all of my correct ions on your homework each week and decide at the end of our tutoring session if you've earned a correction of this sort. Do you understand me, mister?"
"Oooow yess, Mrs. Rogers pleeeeeeease don't spank me anymore
OOOOhhhhh pleeeeeaasse nooooo
After that first spanking, Tommy finished his lesson sitting bare bottomed at his desk just like Mrs. Rogers had promised. Only when the two hours ended did she put his underpants and trousers back. After fastening his belt, she sat down and drew the standing youngster into her arms for a hug and said, "There, now then, young man, we re all finished with your lesson today, or should I say, both of your lessons. You were a very good boy to take your spanking so well, Tommy. If only you were as good at doing your homework more carefully. Do you know what's going to happen every week if you come here with mistakes or incomplete work, mister?" Tommy felt strangely secure in his teacher's arms. Instead of saying anything, he simply hugged her back harder and nodded.
"Good. So does that mean you are going to bring me at least B+ work next Sunday?"
Once again, Tommy nodded and pressed even more closely against his teacher. In response, she began softly rubbing his bottom through his pants as if to rub away any sting and remind him of what she meant. "I certainly hope so, Tommy, or this bottom of yours is going to be very red and sore again. Do I make myself perfectly understood." Again Tommy nodded as he surrounded to the new reassurance brought on my Mrs. Rogers's gentle hand. Though Tommy did arrive the following week with his homework done, he found this did not free from another spanking. For Mrs. Rogers instituted her new system of tallying up all the red marks she made in his homework at the end of the lesson. After weighing the severity of the error, she wrote down a number next to each correction mark to indicate the number of spanks earned for that particular mistake. As a math exercise, she asked Tommy himself to add up the number of spanks he had earned at the end and announce the tally. She then checked his addition and added another twenty spanks if he made a mistake. Thus Tommy found after the third week that every visit to Mrs. Rogers brought a spanking at the end (or if his homework was in obvious disarray, at the beginning). It didn't seem to matter how hard he worked. Mrs. Rogers always seemed to find a few mistakes, some large, some small. Each mistake meant a red mark and a number which Tommy had to add up. And after he finished adding those numbers, she led him to the couch where she took down his pants, pulled up her skirts, and put him over her stocking thighs. Later, Tommy wondered if the same thing would have continued the next summer had not Mr. and Mrs. Rogers moved to another state in June.
Such had been Tommy's experience with discipline throughout his childhood and early teens. Now that he was too big to spank at fourteen, Mrs. Wilson was faced with a deteriorating situation at home. Things improved that summer when Tommy's unmarried Auntie Anne came for her usual six week visit. Larger and much stronger than her sister, Auntie Anne immediately saw to the heart of the problem and had a long discussion with Tommy's mother. The two women then sat Tommy down for a frank discussion. After pointing out how disobedient he was becoming, Mrs. Wilson told Tommy his aunt would be handling his discipline for the rest of her visit and in future summers. Just in case he missed her point, Tommy's mother added, "This means you will continue to be spanked whenever you misbehave. I have asked Auntie Anne to take down your pants and put you over her knee if you act up. So mind your manners or you will be a very sorry little boy nursing a sore bottom. Do you understand me?" Since Tommy had been used to frequent spankings for all sorts of offenses, he accepted the new summer rules without protest. After years of traditional discipline at home, the last few months had been a little strange anyway. Even before Aunt Anne had arrived, Tommy had assumed something like that would happen, given the occasional spankings he had received from her in the past. Within a few days of his mother's warning, Tommy found himself back under the familiar routine of minor spankings every other day and at least one extended session every week. Almost immediately, both women noticed a real improvement in his behavior. Tommy even managed to come home on time from his weekend games of touch football and softball. Even Tommy realized things seemed to be going more smoothly. While Tommy's good behavior continued for a while after Aunt Anne left in August, he began slipping back into his old ways once the threat of any effective punishment vanished. By the middle of the fall, he was once again coming home late and hanging out with a rowdy group of older boys. Finally, in late October, he was arrested with two other boys for throwing rocks and breaking streetlights. It was then that Mrs. Wilson met Judge Simsbury. Ruth Simsbury was a strong, no-nonsense woman with twenty-five years of experience in juvenile courts who presided over Tommy's hearing. As always in such cases, she had a long talk with the parent in her private chambers. Mrs. Wilson explained how she was losing control over her son and how she could no longer discipline him. She also described the improvement seen in Tommy's behavior during her sister's visits. Fortunately, Mrs. Simsbury had handled many boys like Tommy over the years. She went over a number of options she normally used for first and second time offenders. These included fines, weekend detention in the juvenile home, or a firm punishment from the judge herself. This had often worked with first or second offenders in the past. Of course, permission from the parents was needed. After further discussion, Tommy's mother and Judge Simsbury settled on what they both agreed would be an effective plan of action. Mrs. Wilson then told the judge how relieved she was at finding someone who could help straighten Tommy out. After exchanging a few more views on child raising with Mrs. Wilson, Judge Simsbury telephoned her bailiff, Judy Billings, who had been waiting with Tommy the whole time in a nearby office. For the last hour, Judy and Tommy had been chatting amiably. Judy even asked him to call her by her first name rather than Officer Billings. At first, Tommy had been surprised to find such a young, pretty woman in a police uniform. She looked more like one of the college students his mother had hired as babysitters. When he asked her about that, she laughed and explained how female officers were common in the juvenile court system. By the time the phone rang, Tommy was almost feeling relaxed. It was only when Judy's face turned serious, while she spoke on the phone that he remembered where he was. When she hung up and grimly asked him to come with her, Tommy felt a certain queasiness return. As the heavy door to Judge Simsbury's chambers closed behind them with a solid thud, he licked his lips nervously and stood there quietly. The stern judge minced no words.
"Tommy Wilson, you seem to have forgotten the respect you owe your mother, your teachers at school, and the other adults in our community. You've lied, cheated on tests, disobeyed your mother repeatedly, and gotten into more serious trouble as well. Just because your father is gone doesn't mean you can do whatever you want without suffering any consequences." "With this latest act of criminal mischief, I could do one of three things. I could issue a heavy fine. Unfortunately, that would only penalize your mother who is having enough of a hard time paying her bills as it is. I could also send you to the juvenile home for a week. Believe me, we both considered this carefully but rejected it for the present. Or I could discipline you right here in my judicial chambers as I often do with first or second time offenders. I agree with your mother that the main problem is a lack of discipline at home. Apparently, your behavior improved markedly when your aunt visited last summer. It's too bad she doesn't live around the corner so you could get the regular discipline you need. Had she been around, I don't think any of this would have ever happened." "Tommy, your mother and I both agree you need to have your pants taken down right now for a sound spanking. I have spanked many bad boys here over the years and quite a few of them thanked me for it years later. Maybe a good lesson over my knee this afternoon will teach you to obey your mother and respect the other adults in this community. While I'm warming your bottom, I want you to think about how you've been acting lately and what you are going to do to get back on track. If you keep on acting this way, you'll end up spending six months at the Baptist Reform School. And if you think a spanking from me hurts, wait until you see how they take care of bad boys at BSR. Young man, where do you think you're going?"
At the first mention of a spanking, Tommy had begun edging toward the door and now made a dash for it. Fortunately, Judy was expecting just such a move and quickly blocked his path. Before Tommy could get anywhere, she seized his wrists, raised his hands well above his head, and led the struggling boy back toward the center of the room. By now, the thickly carpeted, heavily curtained judicial chamber have taken on an ominous quality. Shaking her head at Tommy's latest display of impulsiveness, Judge Simsbury stood up and came out from behind her big oak desk. Crossing over to a straight-backed chair against the wall, she sat down and pulled up her judicial robes to the middle of her sturdy, plump thighs. After receiving a final gesture of approval from Tommy's mother, the judge nodded to her bailiff. Judy then brought Tommy over until he was standing directly in front of the judge while keeping his hands above his head.
"Now then, mister. You seem to think you are big enough to run around with a bunch of sixteen-year olds getting into all sorts of mischief, don't you. But you're not fooling anyone in this room. I'm going to show you what you really are. And that is a very, very bad, little boy who is about to learn what happens to bad little boys who disobey their moms and end up in my court. I've handled a lot of naughty youngsters like you over the years. And I've found a sound spanking is the most effective remedy for bad boys of all ages, especially teens. Nothing cuts a teenager down to size faster than a bare bottom spanking from a female authority figure, especially a judge." "I want you to think of this spanking in three ways: first as a punishment for an act of vandalism which will cost the town a hundred dollars in repairs, second as a lesson to mind your mom from now on, and third, as a warning of what to expect if you continue to misbehave. I just hope a good lesson gets you back on the right track until your Aunt comes for her visit in June. Perhaps she can stay longer this summer. It's clear you are going to need a firm hand for quite a few more years."
"You can't do this to me," Tommy protested.
"Oh yes I most certainly can." Judge Simsbury calmly replied. "By the time you leave today, you are going to be one, very well spanked little boy."
"I'm afraid she's right, Tommy," Mrs. Wilson echoed. "I've specifically asked Judge Simsbury to punish you. Remember how much better you behaved last summer after Aunt Anne took charge. Besides, you've brought this on your-self and now you're going to have to take your medicine."
"Your mom's right, Tommy. You may feel that you're too big to be spanked but I'm going to show you otherwise. I'm going to take down your pants and underpants as if you were a small child and put you over my knee right in front of your mom and my bailiff Judy. And then I'm going to give you a very sound spanking you won't forget for a long, long time."
At that point, Tommy's eyes showed real panic. When Mrs. Simsbury bent to remove his shoes, he even began kicking. Unfortunately, he was no match for the older woman who soon had both shoes neatly placed on the floor. When Judge Simsbury then reached for Tommy's belt, he redoubled his attempts to break away. Mrs. Wilson spoke up sternly.
"Tommy, if you don't stop this fuss right this instant I will ask Judge Simsbury to come over tomorrow night and give you another spanking after dinner. You need this spanking and quite a few more if you ask me." By now Judge Simsbury had unzipped Tommy's pants and slid them down each leg to his ankles. As she re-moved his clothing, she continued scolding him as if he were a small child. "Tommy, I gather you don't feel quite so old now knowing that you're about to get a good spanking on your bare fanny. By the time I'm finished, Tommy, you're going to be sobbing like a baby, promising to obey your mom, and telling me what a good little boy you're going to be." Turning to Mrs. Wilson, Judge Simsbury added, "June, I'd like to take his pants off completely before we get started. Nothing makes a teen feel like a small child faster than having an older woman strip him below the waist."
"I couldn't agree with you more, Judge Simsbury. As long as Tommy continues to act like a child, he certainly needs to be treated like one."
It was bad enough that two strange women could see Tommy in his underpants. But knowing what was next made the situation even more unbearable. So did the judge's continual scolding.
"Now, let's get this naughty little boy's underpants down so we can teach his bottom a good lesson. If you were my child, Tommy, I'd put you to bed early with a spanking every night for a week for breaking those streetlights. So don't let me see you in here again, young man, or you'll get a paddling next time and a few home visits as well. Do you understand?"
"Please, Judge Siinsbury, please don't spank me please don't spank me I promise I'll be good, I swear I will. I'll obey mom I'll obey mom I"
Even before his spanking had begun, Tommy was already reverting to a little boy, in part out of genuine submission but also in the hopes of placating the judge and his mother.
"I certainly hope so, Tommy, but I never listen to the promises made by little boys before a spanking. They'll usually say and promise anything."
Tommy flinched as the judge slipped both hands into the back of his underpants and worked them down over his chubby fanny before sliding them down to his ankles and off. She then opened her thighs and pulled the tearful child well between them. At this point, Judy lifted Tommy completely off the ground and forward over Judge Simsbury's left thigh before lowering his upper torso on the other side of the judge's leg. The judge then clamped her thighs shut, effectively imprisoning the youngster with his head hanging near the floor and his legs kicking helplessly in the air under her right thigh. He could struggle all he wanted in this position but it was impossible to get any leverage or free himself in any way. He couldn't even reach back easily to shield himself. At first, Tommy struggled with all his might to escape. Unfortunately, the sheer intensity of his efforts rapidly depleted his strength while con-firming his complete helplessness. Experienced in such matters, Judge Simsbury calmly waited until the boy exhausted his strength while rubbing his bottom gently as if to remind him what was coming. She also continued to scold him and to describe the spanking he was about to receive. As she suspected, Tommy's struggling did not last long. Within two minutes, he suc-cumbed to a combination of exhaustion and a sense of overwhelming helplessness. Though he continued to wave his legs in a scissoring motion, it didn't help. But it was too late. His spanking had already begun. And what a thorough lesson it was to be. Judge Simsbury spanked with a vigor and force which surprised even Mrs. Wilson. It was clear she was highly experienced in administering such judicial punishments. Her hand rose and fell quickly and she snapped her wrist for extra force at the last moment. Each spank landed on an area adjacent to the last as she slowly and methodically worked Tommy's bottom in a roughly circular pattern. Since she spanked fairly quickly - with about one spank every two sec-onds - she made a complete circuit every ten seconds.
For the next five minutes, one could only hear three things in Judge Simsbury's chambers. First there was the familiar sound of a maternal hand on a naughty child's bare bottom. This blended with the equally familiar sound of loud crying. It was clear to all three women that Tommy was learning a very good lesson. Finally there was Judge Simsbury's continual scolding which employed the kind of language normally reserved for someone half Tommy's age. As Mrs. Wilson watched with real admiration, she saw Judge Simsbury reduce her _c_o_c_k_y teenage son to a very submissive, sobbing little boy in just five minutes. At that point, Judge Simsbury paused and said, "Tommy, we're now only half finished with your spanking. Your bottom's al-ready bright red but it's going to be a lot redder when I'm through. Do you hear me? This is the time when a little boy like you begins to learn a good lesson. Upon hearing he was only half through, Tommy began sobbing with a truly infantile tone. Though he couldn't have noticed anything given his state of mind, all three women exchanged knowing glances. They all recognized this tone and the way it promised a very good little boy by the end of his spanking. With a little luck, the effects of the lesson would even last until Aunt Anne arrived.
For his part, Tommy was long beyond feeling embarrassed. In a strange way, the ongoing fire in his fanny and his utter helplessness allowed him to vent all sorts of suppressed feelings of rage, grief at his father's death, guilt over giving his mother so much trouble, and anger at him-self for getting involved in rebellious behavior. In the heat of the moment, none of these feelings were experienced consciously, much less separately. All Tommy knew then was that he had been very bad and was getting a sound spanking which his mother would have given him had she been strong enough. By reducing him to the state of a helpless child, Tommy's spanking allowed him inwardly to shed the "grown-up" toughness he had borrowed from the older boys, to become the frightened, young boy he still was in many ways. He could give loud expression to all his secret worries without shame. He could once again allow adults to set proper limits and make sure he stayed within them. He could be free from the terrible sense of responsibility which haunted him since his father's death. He could escape the constant pressure to act tough and grown-up when he knew, deep down inside, that he wasn't ready to shoulder such burdens. On and on Tommy's spanking went. His chubby bottom was now scarlet under the steady, methodical rhythm of Judge Simsbury's hand. Whereas he had cried out distinctly with each spank in the first half of his punishment, he now emitted a continuous, childish crying less tied to each spank than to a larger and continuous emotional release. It was as if Judge Simsbury had spanked Tommy back to the age of six and erased all vestiges of adolescent rebellion. Though this was already a somewhat familiar reaction to Mrs. Wilson, she still found Tommy's complete transformation in the judge's hands to be remarkable. Here was traditional domestic discipline at its most effective in reach-ing to the very heart of the problem and teaching a real lesson. Indeed, when Judge Simsbury finally stopped and took the sobbing child in her arms for a long hug, Mrs. Wilson was surprised to see her son cling fervently to the judge and promise repeatedly to be a good boy. In return, the judge comforted the penitent youngster with additional hugs and soft reassurances. Alas, if only Tommy had been able to remember the lesson he had learned so well that day. While he was very well behaved for the next few months, he eventually started slipping back into his old habits, disappearing after school, not coming home until it was dark, and failing to complete his homework. A few home visits from Judge Simsbury at bedtime helped a lot but were not enough to keep him on track. The following spring, he was caught shoplifting. Once again he was back in Judge Siinsbury's court. And once again, Tommy found himself face down over the judge's lap, this time getting a good paddling in front of his mother and another female bailiff. Though a year older, Tommy proved no match for Judge Simsbury's wellworn paddle and was quickly reduced to a sobbing little boy. Once again, the judge comforted him with a hug afterwards and once again Tommy found himself hugging back, strangely comforted by the knowl-edge that the judge cared enough to discipline him as his mother had once done. Fortunately, the paddling that spring and the discipline im-posed by Aunt Anne two months later when she came for her annual visit helped get Tommy through the summer without further serious trouble. But three months after turning sixteen, he landed back in juvenile court, this time for drinking beer and shoplifting again. At his second arrest the year before, the judge had reminded Mrs. Wilson that she would have to send Tommy to reform school for six months if he was rearrested as a juvenile. After a long discussion, Mrs. Wilson agreed with the judge that this would have been the best solution even if it was not strictly required by law for third offenders. It was essential, to get Tommy back on track be-fore he got into worse trouble and found himself in adult court. When the judge dismissed Tommy to the lock up, he wondered why she hadn't paddled him this time. And he worried about his fate for the next six months. Two hours later, Judy drove him to the Baptist Reform School for Boys and left him in the care of the managing director, Miss. Ann Hopkins. The End