This is wrong on several levels. Spelling is only one.
I often wonder how people put in circumstances of overwhelming temptation avoid it. If you love candy and work at Gertrude Hawk how do you not filch a few smidgens now and then? If you work at a fast food restaurant and have a taste for French Fries do you never grab one once in a while? A bartender with a powerful thirst for the brew never draws a cold one for himself?
I suppose I am saying that I am weak beyond redemption but for me the idea of resisting temptation when it is all around you seems like a lot to ask. But we do expect that the people who work in certain jobs resist their urges to help themselves in our society.
Not everyone can of course.
The news is full of adults in charge of youngsters who sample forbidden fruit and get caught. Accountants in charge of keeping the books sometimes keep a little for themselves off the books.
And recently trusted employees of charity organizations bought hot tubs and trips to Disney world for themselves instead of the kids who they were charged with helping.
It’s wrong of course but its also human nature. And we all aspire to be better than that don’t we?
So that’s why I can understand but of course can’t condone the actions of David Faison. You probably have never heard of Dave. Mr. Faison’s story made the national news but only just barely.
I suppose the government doesn’t want it widely known that one of its worst nightmares came true. For you see David C Faison worked at the treasury department for more than 30 years before he finally gave in to temptation and stole some hundred dollar bills.
$67 thousand worth to be exact about it.
David stole the uncut sheets of hundreds to feed slot machines in Atlantic City among other places. He was video taped at one point feeding the Benjamin’s into the slot machines at the rate of ten a minute. Hey why not? It’s not like it was his money or something. No word on what he won.
He lost $37 thousand which suggests Dave wasn’t real lucky. He is even less lucky now that he has been caught as the Treasury department has absolutely no sense of humor about such things and Dave could land in the slammer for up to ten years.
He would be about seventy when he gets out. So I guess the story has a moral here. Don’t steal from the treasury.
And if you’re going to eat smidgens that you don’t pay for, be prepared for the wrath of Gertrude Hawk.
