i am a thief

it started early....
the first memories of stealing are at age 7....heading downtown with my older brother to shoplift at 'eatons' department store
i think it was more for the thrill of succeeding than anything else....as i don't remember swiping anything of actual importance to a 7 year old.
our family moved to another neighbourhood at my age 8
there were several shops within walking distance that sold candy, soda pop, chocolate bars, chips, comic books and such.
now we were into serious business....everything available to meet our needs
by this time i was old enough to begin part-time as a work animal for my father
delivering magazines, flyers and newspapers, cutting lawns, shoveling snow
the rule was simple for my brothers and myself
all of the proceeds went into my father's hand
from which he would allot us a meager allowance
certainly not nearly enough to keep us in daily snacks and such
by nine years old i was smoking cigarettes along with my running mates
we discovered a convenient source
our neighbour behind us was in the habit of leaving a box filled with cartons of cigarettes in the back of his station wagon
pilfering these got us started and of course we were soon addicted to nicotine and had to get our daily supply somehow
we then began almost a decade long routine of cruising for milk bottle money....as in those days on weekends it was customary for folks to leave empty milk-bottles on their front porch with cash inside for the milkman to collect and fill their orders.
we also discovered a clever method of "milking" globe and mail newspaper boxes for cash
it was several years before the boxes were upgraded to theft-proof designs
this provided basic cigarette money from my age 9 til about 15
i couldn't count how much i stole from my mother's waitressing tip money
whenever the opportunity seemed to present itself i stole
there was always a need for more cash
i was a working man by age 11
by this time i was attending school regularly as well as working 5 or 6 nights weekly at a local bowling alley as a pinboy
all of my peers smoked cigarettes, most were around my age or a little older
weekend days were filled with caddying at local golf courses or in colder weather delivering groceries by bicycle
during the summer it was caddying everyday as long as school was out
all of those earnings (which averaged $30 to $35  weekly for each of us five boys) went into my father's pocket with the exception of an "allowance" of $1 or $2 weekly
by 12 years of age our felonious sights were aimed somewhat higher
we began to perform "break and enter" jobs, hitting restaurants, gas stations, local business offices,
and even the bowling alley that employed us.
i don't think a week went by without us having stolen something to feed our lifestyles.
of course to be a successful thief it soon became obvious i needed to be a skilled liar
it didn't take a rocket-scientist to understand that getting caught would incur our father's considerable wrath.
3 different occasions we were able to make off with large sacks full of cigarettes from back counters at local stores we had "hit"
we were never nabbed for these capers....but on one occasion my father discovered our hiding place and confiscated them for his personal use.
what stands out upon looking back is this....nothing seemed wrong with this picture
it was a somewhat common story for many kids living on the edge of little italy in hamilton ontario
some of my running mates were named angelo, nino, pasquale
i was later to discover they were the actual sons of local mafioso
the culture was simple....there was no crime in stealing....only in getting caught
my dad knew i smoked from age 11, his rule was simple, go ahead and smoke, but don't let him catch me.
i never did....i will always remember my parent's birthday gift to me at 14 years of age....a carton of cigarettes and a lighter.
i was now legal in my father's eyes....i could smoke in the house....this was a big day for me !
somehow it represented a rite of passage....into what i'm still not sure
i was still a work animal and stealing was a necessity to sustain my habits.
something important happened at around age 13, i began to grow, and with years of physical labor behind me, i was becoming quite strong and fit, as well as a skilled fighter.
what this meant was that my father seemed less inclined to hit me, i was beginning to represent the possibility of physical retaliation in his eyes.
like the perfect bully and coward he was, he just moved down the line and continued picking on the younger smaller ones.

as described in "for bruce" entry....the stealing stopped at around age 16
the possibility of jail scared this thief straight

more true confessions from later life regarding stealing to come.....