My family carries a number of distinguishable traits. We are ultra-competitive, we have a magnified sense of fairness, we are very literal in our humor to the point of annoyance, and we are rule followers. My sisters and brother and I were instilled with a code of ethics that has served us well. As a result, my foray into the criminal world was brief and consequential.

The only item I ever stole was when I was a little fella of about six or seven. The object of my sticky fingers was a two-cent piece of grape bubble gum from a candy rack near one of the registers at Howard Brothers in Pearl. While Mom and the checkout clerk were busy with Mom’s items, I felt an irrepressi...

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