I committed my first crime in a Baton Rouge grocery store when I was four years old. A pad of stationery caught my eye–pale pink with darker pink lines, a bouquet of flowers in the bottom right corner. I asked my mom to buy it for me. She refused. I stuck the notebook under my shirt, into the waistband of my shorts. What happened next is, to this day, the subject of debate. I have a vivid memory of making it all the way home, hiding on the carpet between my twin beds, drawing on it with a thick crayon–just a few strokes–then running, wracked with guilt, to find my mom. She insists she caught me right away and forced me to own up. (“You were four years old! Of course I saw what was happening!”) Either way, she took me to the cashier and I handed over the stolen goods with a tear-streaked face. Either way, I learned right there in that supermarket that I am capable of breaking bad.
Okay, I'm off to order some Kate Baer! And I'm so glad to know that I'm not the only one among us who attempted grocery store larceny. I bet a whole book--a long essay? a scholarly article?--could be written about tampons and the checkout line. Don't you think?
Thank you so much for that recommendation! I'll definitely check it out. And let me know if you end up reading On Writing and Failure--it's delightfully short!
I second the recommendation for Kate Baer! As for grocery store stories- a favorite in our family is about my husband attempting to steal canned pumpkin as a toddler, because there was a picture of pumpkin pie on it and he had recently learned how delicious his grandmother’s pumpkin pie was. I also think about how much what we buy reveals about us- still remember once in my 20s putting a box of tampons and a large chocolate bar on the conveyor and thinking that I was such a cliche to anyone watching, lol!
I am also frequently scared of poetry. Do you know Kate Baer's work? Her poems feel more accessible to me and I especially liked her book "I Hope This Finds You Well." I'm curious to check out On Writing and Failure now!
Okay, I'm off to order some Kate Baer! And I'm so glad to know that I'm not the only one among us who attempted grocery store larceny. I bet a whole book--a long essay? a scholarly article?--could be written about tampons and the checkout line. Don't you think?
Thank you so much for that recommendation! I'll definitely check it out. And let me know if you end up reading On Writing and Failure--it's delightfully short!
I second the recommendation for Kate Baer! As for grocery store stories- a favorite in our family is about my husband attempting to steal canned pumpkin as a toddler, because there was a picture of pumpkin pie on it and he had recently learned how delicious his grandmother’s pumpkin pie was. I also think about how much what we buy reveals about us- still remember once in my 20s putting a box of tampons and a large chocolate bar on the conveyor and thinking that I was such a cliche to anyone watching, lol!
I am also frequently scared of poetry. Do you know Kate Baer's work? Her poems feel more accessible to me and I especially liked her book "I Hope This Finds You Well." I'm curious to check out On Writing and Failure now!