Thwacking People Out Of Love

 Being a Quaker elder turns out to involve more than sitting in the corner looking venerable. It also involves dealing with people who bring untrained puppies into the Meeting for Worship. And doing so firmly but lovingly. It has a lot in common with the office of churchwarden in the dear old, corrupt old, silly old Church of England. Churchwardens it occurs to me, are issued with staves as a symbol of office- and not only as a symbol but also as a defensive or offensive weapon- used to keep order and maintain decency in the sacred building. It is essentially a quarter-staff as used by the outlaw Little John to thwack persons of whom he disapproved....