It was the first time I committed robbery.
My dad and I were shopping in the local Canadian Tire one sunny afternoon when I spotted the forbidden fruit. I saw the delicious package of Trident orange gum displayed near the checkout. I could almost taste the sweet gum chomping between my teeth as I eyed the small package from the line-up where I stood with my dad. I pictured myself handing out pieces of gum to attain neighbourhood allies the next time us kids all got together for Cops and Robbers.
I concocted a plan to liberate the gum while my dad was busying himself with paying for the tools he had picked out. Then, once we were outside the store, I would share the loot with my dad who would congratulate me for my clever plan and we would skip all the way to the car munching on our orange wads of gum.
You see, I thought my dad was the coolest. My dad was (and still is) quite a tall and solid fellow. He looked intimidating. I had heard around the schoolyard that some of my classmates thought he was tough after he dropped me off at school one day. My seven-year-old brain interpreted this to mean that he would think tricking a store out of a pack of gum would be admirable and commendable.
So I went through with the plan and stashed the gum under my shirt before slyly slipping past the security detectors at the door. What a good thief I was!
I popped the orange prize out from under my shirt as we walked back to the car where I finally declared: "Dad, check this out..." like a hardened criminal would say as he displayed drug money in a briefcase to a fellow conspirator.
My dad's face expressed the exact opposite of what I hoped it would. My little seven-year-old brain was confused.
His brow became furrowed and a frown formed on his face. He explained that I was going to march right back in there and declare my dirty deeds to the cashier for all to see.
Crushed, I moped my way back inside to explain everything and the woman told me she was very disappointed.
On the way home my dad gave me a lecture on why it was wrong to steal, cheat, and lie, among other things.
That fateful day left two lasting impressions on me: I have forever lost all appetite for Trident orange gum and I have never again confused being tall with being criminally inclined.
