In the middle of a frenzy of quote-copying and lines-writing at the library one night, my only pencil runs out of graphite. I fill my pockets with library-tiny pencils, switching whenever one grows dull. (They were admirably sharpened; thank you, librarians.) My cat plays with them for days, rolling them between her paws like a Lolcat trying to evolve thumbs. Tomorrow I will return them and my conscience will be easy again. Not really; I'm just tired of having them on my floor.
I made a list of all the other things I have stolen in my life: flowers from gardens, a ring from my sister, a Pocahontas necklace from my friend, a textbook from a church* (borrowed with the intention of returning!), and food from my college's dining hall.
I confess once I remembered the church textbook, I didn't want to share the list.
I confess I have listened to this song at least twenty times in the past twenty hours.
Are you innocent of theft? Have you a story?
*which I will confess I got into through a window
Probably not.
ReplyDeleteNow that I think about it, no.
ReplyDeleteNo. *blushes*
ReplyDeleteI take the fifth on this one.
ReplyDeleteSometimes when i'm not thinking about it i'll take the pen at the bank they give you to sign the back of a check or sign papers. I forget i'm holding it and i'll be in class with a bank pen before I notice. :)
ReplyDeleteoh, i'm always taking pencils from my schools..but i guess that doesn't count since i work there. those little pencils in the library sure are tempting. your textbook-from-a-church story is too funny!
ReplyDeleteI shoplifted a candy bar from the grocery store when I was six...
ReplyDeleteI tagged you for "kreativ blog" award.
ReplyDeleteI stole a spoon from a restaurant when I was a baby. My parents let me play with it while they ate and never noticed that I still had it when they left. We kept it and used it for years, and it was always my favorite because it was so pretty. I don't remember stealing it, but I kind of wish I did. Otherwise, I am a great thief of bobby pins, pens, hairbands, and SAGA food.
ReplyDeleteCassandra - :) That reminds me of a story in our family about the time my older sister stole some gum when she was a toddler...I wish I were good at retelling stories!
ReplyDeleteAnna - I like that story. If it had been me, I would have stolen the fork. I had a Little Mermaid-induced love of those things when I was little.
Yes. As a kid, I once stole a bunch of custom-designed stickers that my school had ordered for a ceremony (they had been pretty expensive). I found them a few years later and felt incredibly guilty.
ReplyDeleteI used to have an extensive library of bootlegged songs before deleting them all. I still listen to copyrighted material on YouTube sometimes. :(
And I've stolen quite a few ideas, passing them off as my own. I try not to do that anymore; I'm pretty OCD now about footnoting and sourcing.
I used to think stealing was no biggie -- so glad God broke me from that habit/mindset before I started shoplifting or doing more serious stuff!
Oksana - Ohh yes. I didn't think about that area of stealing. I never knew how to get music from file-sharing sites, but I have some songs on my computer that I got from library CDs and I've seen a few movies on YouTube as well.
ReplyDeleteYeah, I used to rip CDs that I got from the library. Oh, and this weekend, I have to do a school project on a movie, and I'll need to watch clips off of YouTube. Guilt trip... :P
ReplyDeleteI wish copyright laws were different. I love Creative Commons licenses -- license all of my artwork with them, because I believe people should be able to use it with my permission.
I really need to learn more about Creative Commons...
ReplyDeleteBut isn't every story somehow stolen—from our own life, from another's?
ReplyDeleteBeth - Indeed! I haven't had that thought before, but I suppose it's true! I like that. Actually come to think of it, I can remember Shannon Hale saying something like, "This is what writers do, we steal things."
ReplyDelete...
Yes, okay, I just looked it up in my notes from when I saw her: "We are unscrupulous a lot, we writers" and "I am an unscrupulous writer...and that's what we do." Heh. :D
Truth-i have OCD forever
ReplyDeletenoirlettes - Well. :( That sucks. I hope you're getting what you need to cope as well as you can.
ReplyDelete