It was summer time in southern California, around the middle 60s (1967-1968). I was six or seven years old and we lived in Home Gardens, a small to medium subdivision in Riverside County.
My cousin Theresa was staying with us that summer. I don’t know why she was visiting or how old she was; she was most likely in her middle teens. Theresa would baby-sit Little Brother and I when needed.
Let me first say that the quotes, exact dates are from my recollection of nearly fifty years back, and that I was just a little kid at the time. I remember it was summer and we were on school summer vacation. It could get pretty boring, day after day, trying to find things to do.
It seemed like every time I would walk in the house Mom would say,“Go out and find something to do!”
Kids of that era didn’t have the luxury of cell phones for calling, texting and playing games; nor did we have computers, video games, fancy bikes and skateboards. We didn’t even have microwave ovens for heating hot pocket pizzas, chicken nuggets or popcorn that most kids have these days. It was just different times, I guess.
I was standing up the street from our house when an older kid, came up to me and started talking to me, I don’t think I even knew his name. He conned me into getting into my Mom’s purse and taking a dollar so we could go get candy or something like that. It’s funny, I do not recall actually going into my parent’s room to look for the purse, but I probably didn’t take much caution to be real sneaky or stealth about what I was doing…probably just went in and went out. I do remember reaching inside the purse or clutch or whatever it was and deciding to surprise my ‘friend’ by taking two dollars.
I returned from my mission, reached into my pocket eager to show him the money which included the extra dollar bill. I pulled out the two bills, not knowing that what I actually had I pulled-out was two TWENTY-DOLLAR bills rather than two single dollars. I remember when he saw that, he just took off running – probably got scared and didn’t want nothing to do with that. After all, that was a lot of money back then.
After the older kid’s quick departure, I don’t recall actually walking to the store or anything. I just remember being at Helen’s Market, a small mom and pop’s (what they call today a mini market). Not sure what I bought, most likely just candy, but I do remember the man looking down at the counter at me and saying something; was probably wondering where I got all the money as I most likely just whipped-out all the twenties to pay him, like I said earlier, I’m not crystal clear on that.
While I walking home from Helen’s, a sense of fear crept up on me when I realized what I had done. Scared, I took all the change from my pocket left from the twenties (which seemed like a bag full of cash), squatted down alongside a bush and poked the money underneath it, hiding it. Again, not being a seasoned criminal, I did not check to see if anybody was around or looking at me.
Back home sitting on corner-group bed in bedroom with younger Brother playing an album on a little kid’s portable record player we got from our grandparents for Christmas, I was playing a Robin Hood story or something like that when I heard Dad pull up into the driveway home from work. We went out to greet him as we always did.
I think we were all were in the living room when he asked if we wanted to go to the drive-in movies, we said, “Yes!”
I remember being back in my room with Little Brother and overhearing my Dad through the wall talking to my cousin Theresa, saying something like, “It’s okay, just give the money back,” or something like that.
My cousin cried-out and kept saying, “I didn’t do it Uncle Buddy" with a sort of 'whiny southern twang' , "I didn’t do it!”
They kept going back and forth like that. My cousin’s persistent reply grew louder with each denial until I just couldn’t take it anymore, Irritated with all that I went out to living room and told Dad what I did; The only thing I remember after that, was watching Dad on his knees after dark, reaching-in to get the money out from under the bush.
I asked Dad many years later if I had got in any trouble for that and he said kind of laughing “Hell no I was worried about getting that money back!”
I also asked if we went to the movies and he said we did.
A good lesson. I'm sure glad that you spoke up and got your cousin off the hook. That was a lot of money in those days. I often relate that I shocked my parents when my good brother and I were picked up by the police for smoking and catching a smoldering fire in a building on our block. I was labeled a "firebug," after that.
I enjoyed your true confession, fuzzy though some of those recollections were. I'm thinking if the shoes were on my feet, I'd feel so guilty I'd remember every detail down to the weather that day. Maybe subconsciously, you didn't want to dig up more than the money your father did from under the bushes.
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Jack Kelly was a child performer, son of New York model, Nan Kelly, brother of actress, Nancy Kelly, brother-in-law of actor Edmond O'Brien and cinematographer Fred Jackman, Jr. On TV, from 1957 until 1962, he was James Garner's brother on the show,
