Thursday, April 07, 2016

Desk top Stapler




    The other day I ran into a guy I had gone to high school with, Ricky. He's always been a great guy and happens to be best friends with this other guy, Brett, who lived a block away from myself growing up. We chatted for a moment and he mentioned how he and Brett were "just talking about me". I can't imagine how it is that I would come up in conversation so I asked "about what"? He quickly responds "The stapler, Brett still has his". I shake my head to the fact that it's been 17 years and this still comes up. He went on to remind me how funny that was and I agreed faithfully.
    Back in my junior year of high school I had this part time job at Sears hardware. One evening I was tasked with cleaning out an area in the warehouse that was seldom used. Upon doing so I stumbled upon a big box full of desk top staplers that had been forgotten about for some time and long since discontinued. The manager makes a quick announcement that if any employee wants one they are 10 cents a piece and then we'll mark them to $1 for any interested customers. I reach in my pocket to reveal a crumpled up one dollar bill and say "I guess I'll take all ten".
    The next day I brought all ten staplers with me to school. My first class was this strange 2 period long English and History class. One teacher would teach English and another would teach History in the second hour. Neither teacher liked me personally. I passed out the staplers amongst friends in class. We were slowly making our way into the first hour when very suddenly a police officer walks in. He addresses the class that he's looking for me. The history teacher, Mr. Sullivan, promptly points me out to him. "Pete, why don't you get all the staplers back from your little buddies and come with me" he says firmly. The staplers are frantically handed back to me and I am escorted from class. He walks me to the police liaison office, sits me down, and asks "Where did you get all these staplers"? I told him very simply "I bought them".
Cop- do you have a receipt?
Me- Not with me
Cop- hmm, because it looks like you stole them.
Me- I work there
Cop- Well, where do we go from here?
Me- Why don't you just call them?
  He gets the phone from his desk and I provide him with the phone number. This really whacky and high strung lady who worked the customer service desk answers. The cop delicately says he has a student in possession of about ten staplers and is quickly cut off by her boastful and completely ecstatic "Pete!! Yeah, we sold him those. Ten cents each so he bought the whole box!"
   He had the dumbest look on his face as we both heard that coming from the phone. He thanked her and hung up the phone, turns to me and says "So what now"? I made it back to class right before the end of the second hour and gave everyone back their stapler. My legacy was made that day.
    The history teacher called the cops on me.

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