See Also:
Beginning of a FAMOUS Hero: The Randy Pausch Story.
Life Lesson #77 – Honesty is the Best Policy.
Addison and his friend were in the store together while Addison’s mom did some shopping. They were walking up and down the aisles just looking at stuff when they wound up in the hardware section. Addison spotted a set of allen wrenches, just what he needed to fix his bunk-bed at home. It had a metal frame and some of the brackets were getting loose. One of those wrenches could fix it right up.
“Well, just put it in your coat pocket,” said his friend.
“I don’t think so,” said Addison!
“Oh, and next you’re gonna tell me that it would HURT somebody to take something from a store,” said his friend. He knew Addison was big on the whole “HELPING is the opposite of hurting thing, and that HEROES HELP others.”
“Well, I hadn’t really thought about it like that,” said Addison. “But I guess it’s true, because it is stealing from the store which cuts into profits. And in turn, the store has to raise prices to make up for it so it hurts everyone who shops there. So I guess… Yes, that is what I’m gonna tell you. Not only that, it is called shoplifting, and it’s a crime. Bad idea all the way around.”
Later, Addison told his mom about the conversation with his friend. She was so happy that he had stood up for what was right. Then she said, “You know, your example could have HELPED him a great deal to understand right from wrong. You just might have been a HERO.”
– Jim Lord