I Was at Risk for Becoming a Child Criminal

I know. I'm a girl and the photo shows a future Marine who had a habit of sleeping with all his new toys.
I know. I’m a girl and the photo shows a future Marine who had a habit of sleeping with all his new toys.

You wouldn’t know by looking at me, would you, but I was once ~almost~ (suspenseful drumroll) a child criminal. Hard to believe, isn’t it?

And yet, so true. I remember the day clearly. I had just learned to read and I sat alone in my bedroom pondering the words I was reading. The label clearly stated, “Do not remove under penalty of law.” I looked around the room. Nobody was there, but I could hear my mother in the other room. Would she care? Would she report me to the pillow police? Would the pillow explode when I removed the tag? Would I hear sirens in the distance travel closer and closer to my home? Would I see lights flashing through my bedroom window? The stress was too much to handle.

In the end I decided that tearing the label off the pillow was not worth the risk of being sent to prison. And with the exception of stealing a Chunky bar – yes, I admit it, I stole a Chunky bar… (I should warn you at this time, you are about to read what might just be the longest sentence ever) in my defense, the commercial made it look so delicious, I HAD to have it and my mother refused to get it for me, but as with all deceptive commercials, it never mentioned that it had RAISINS in it – I hated raisins, or maybe it did mention the raisins (it did), but I couldn’t pay attention to the words when the man eating what looked like the most delectable delicacy on the planet (Arnold Stang) appeared to be enjoying it so much, it just had to be the best snack ever, but the moment the candy hit my mouth as I bit into those raisins and I had nowhere to spit out the vile stuff, because my mother might find it, I immediately learned an invaluable lesson about instant karma… I managed to stay out of jail.

1951 photo of Arnold Stang with Henry Morgan
1951 photo of Arnold Stang with Henry Morgan

By the way, nobody in the history of history has ever uttered the words, “chunk o’ chocolate,” as deliciously as Arnold Stang did. Here are some Chunky commercials for your entertainment.

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6 thoughts on “I Was at Risk for Becoming a Child Criminal”

    1. But then what would THAT have looked like? My mother would have had to bury me in that pillow case after she strangled me (yes, in my family, it was never, “You’re going to get a spanking,” – it was, “I’m going to strangle you.)

  1. My sisters and I actually made up a song about “Do NOT remove this tag….under penalty of law….” We would go around the house singing it like a dirge. Oh the joys of a ’60’s childhood. Chunky Bars included……I loved anything chocolate, wish I my catholic school education would not have prevented me from even THINKING of stealing one!!!

    1. Oh, I am doomed to hell – I was raised Catholic. Damn those evil temptations in television commercials! It must have occurred before I ever went to Confession, because I’m sure I’d have looked like the most guilty kid in the history of Catholicism.

  2. Are girls thought dandies who love to eat candies?
    Depends on if they’re Chunky.

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