I sold my soul for a bowl of Cocoa Puffs

My whole life I have been raised knowing stealing is wrong. Heck God even told Moses to tell "us" that. This is the story of how i sold my soul for a bowl of Cocoa Puffs.

Picture it, LaVerkin Ut 1994

I was given the privilege of attending a "behavioral modification facility" called Cross Creek Manor. (disclaimer, i just checked their website and it is VERY different from when I went there.)

One of the worst things about attending there was the food. It was horribly fattening, ugly, unappetizing and VERY regulated. One example is the "mixed" veggies of carrots, green beans and potatoes (all cubed) were ALL the same color. Scary!!!!

Breakfast was the one meal that was relatively acceptable. Most days it was cereal, corn flakes, rice krispies or bran flakes. Other days was cream of wheat (yuck!!) or powdered eggs. On the rare occasion we were treated to Cocoa Puffs. We were only permitted ONE bowl of Cocoa Puffs.

About 3 months into my stay there, I wanted another bowl of Cocoa Puffs on Cocoa Puff day. The staff member said "No" I was not permitted to have another bowl. I am not sure why I did it, but when he left the dinning room to go check on the other side (the dinning room is split down the middle by the kitchen) I got up (also not allowed) and got a 2nd bowl of the chocolaty goodness. The bowl was eaten and enjoyed. Much to my dismay when the staff member came back into the room one of my oh so lovely group mates narked me out.

The form of punishment that was utilized at this facility was essay writing. Each "infraction" was given a level and the level corresponded to how many words were required. Each essay was required to answer the same 4 questions: What was the problem?, How did you handle the problem?, How should you have handled the problem? and How will you handle the problem in the future.

That bowl of Cocoa Puffs was deemed a Class 3 essay requiring 1500 words on why i "stole" a bowl of Cocoa Puffs.

Was it worth it....heck yeah, those were some darn good Cocoa Puffs. Is stealing wrong, yup!!