When I was about five years, I went to a small grocery store at Sand Creek with Mama. I had never stolen anything in my life at that time. I saw a piece of peppermint candy just lying on the old wooden floor. It most likely had fallen out of the scoop when the grocer put some of the candy in a bag. I had the devil on one shoulder and an angel on the other prodding me on to snatch it or not snatch it. The devil won, so I waited until no one was looking and sneaked around by the candy counter, picked it up and took it home. I felt so guilty I did not enjoy eating it, as much as I would have, had it been given to me. I am sure the grocer would have thrown it in the trash, but I was taught by my parents not to beg so I did worse, I just took the candy from the floor. Another time, when I was around 10 years old, I was at our neighbor Walt and Clara Bowl’s home, a mile to our south with mama and daddy. Lila and I sauntered into the bedroom while my parents and the Bowles were visiting. I spied a couple of old letters in a holder on the dresser and one envelope had a stamp on it unlike any I had in my stamp collection. Again, the devil won me over. It took some courage and time before I mustered up enough courage to do my dastardly deed, but I removed the stamp from the old letter and took it home with me. Again, I know Mrs. Bowles would have given it to me had I asked. Those were the only things I ever felt like I had stolen during my childhood. When I was an adult, I took a rubber doll like the one I had as a child from an old abandoned house. The house had not been lived in for many years, so I felt no one cared about what was in it, but that was not the thing to do at all. I always felt guilty about taking it and thought about taking it back, but never did. I could never enjoy it and am not even sure what happened to it. Not many people can count on one hand things they have taken as I did, but I wish I had a 100% clean record just the same.

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Created December 26, 2020

Updated: 14 June, 2021

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