They start young, don't they?

Shoplifters. That's what the lady at the checkout counter at Walgreen's said. I didn't really respond to that; I, like she probably, was amusing myself trying to recreate the events that just transpired. As I walked up to the counter, to purchase a snack for myself and a co-worker who had not had lunch, I noticed a little boy about 4 running out behind his mother asking a question. I think she was pushing a cart with a younger child in the seat but didn't really notice because I was intereseted in the boy who wasking asking what about this momma?

He apparently had pulled a bag of life-savers off the shelf and was asking her if he could have them. This was a bit rushed, and hard to notice since I was checking out. The lady behind the counter didn't notice at all and I considered mentioning that the boy seemed to take the candy out of the store before I realized that this would be a lost cause.

It seemed reasonable to me that her two most likely responses would be unconcern or freakish overconcern. Shoplifting, I'm sure, occurs frequently at Walgreen's with the mix of young shoppers, kids, and the weird store layout. In fact the latter is why I hate shopping at all such drugstores. Why do drugstore managers feel the need to put all the crap you couldn't possibly want at the very front of the store to bombard your senses as you enter. It makes me react strongly in distaste. But as I waited for her to process me I wondered what portion of shoplifting occurs honestly. How many thieves are unknowing 4-year-olds simply acquiring what they desire? This thought wasn't long before being interrupted by a bag of life savers being thrown throughthe still-open sliding door.

I'm not sure whether I could hear the mother say something before the toss, but distinctly overheard her afterward commanding him to pick that up! It may have been put that up! or put that back!, I don't know, but the boy entered again, quickly picking up the bag from the floor between the detector posts (the detector which I believe is intended to detect theft) and put the bag into cart near the front. [This is the same store where a woman last week bitterly complained that she would have purchased more had there been any carts available when she arrived. The carts were all in the small parking lot and she just couldn't walk all around the store without a cart. Walgreen's lost a lot of money that day she declared shortly after refusing to purchase an item because it was indeed not in the circular.]

So now we are both distracted, myself and the lady at the counter. She was a bit amused, not having seen much of this take place or at the least not caring what took place. I mentioned foolishly that I thought I had seen the boy leaving with the bag but decided not to mention the event, to which she responded they start young, don't they? I smiled to myself, amused, and took the bag out of the cart and placed it back onto the crappy shelf, half-expecting to be doing this again soon.