Sock it to 'em.

Dad had a sock drawer.

I don't think that there were many socks kept in that drawer. At least not that I remember. I only remember one sock residing in that drawer. It was dark brown and it was full of change.

"Why did your dad keep his change in a sock?"

This was back before piggy banks were invented. Huh? What? No, that's not right. Come to think of it, I am not sure why he did that. I just know that he did. Maybe he was trying to hide his change from the likes of me.

Obviously, if I am telling you about the sock, then you know that I found the sock. And the goods therein.

Once I found it, I came up with the most brilliant plan. Take some of the change, go to the Circle K and buy a ton of candy. Bring it home and sell the candy for half the price that I bought it for.

Genius!! (Remember, I was maybe 8 years old.)

Apparently making money wasn't as important as making friends. I was a hit. I mean, why go to the store and buy a candy bar for $.45 when you can buy it from me for $.25? They loved me. Sometimes they could haggle me down to $.15. This may be where my displeasure for haggling began.

I would buy the candy, set up shop, sell it all then take my un-profit and buy more, each time sneaking more and more from my dad's sock. My booming business lasted about 4 hours.

Well, eventually my theifery was discovered and my store went bust. I remember feeling horrible for stealing my dad's money...from the dark brown sock...hidden badly in his sock drawer.

It was then, at that  young age,  that I learned three great lessons:

Hiding your money in a brown sock in a sock drawer is just asking for trouble.

I should never go into business...having friends is still more important to me than making a buck!

Never take something that isn't yours because in the end you will get caught, feel guilty...

...and blog about it later.