My first job in Minnesota as a young man in recovery was for
Spencer Gifts. I started selling fart machines for minimum wage, and I was
really good at it. So good, in fact, that only a month in they gave me a raise
and a promotion. I was a sales supervisor and had the keys to the store, the
combination to the safe, and the codes to the computer. I had never had any of
those before and I managed to steal so much over the years. But this would be
different. I had no compulsions to take what was not mine.
A few more months in, I was asked to take an Assistant
Manager position at one of the stores in the Mall of America. It was called
Dapy, a sister to Spencer’s. It was known from the beginning that the store was
closing but that I would have another store ready to accept me by the time it
closed. Little did I know that store would be 86 miles away in the terrible
town of Rochester.
I can’t actually blame the town for my expiry. When I moved,
I stopped going to meetings, stopped talking to my sponsor, and it was only a
matter of time before I picked up a bottle or a pipe.
But all that would take some time, and I’ve written heavily
on the subject before, so back to the story. I made the move along with my
manager from the other store. I found a small apartment near Soldier’s Field on
the Southwest side of town. I had a chair, a bed, a television, and a night
stand. And that’s how I lived for a couple months. Work became everything. Our
goal was to turn the store around. It had been failing for a number of years
due to poor management, and we were going to right the ship.
Shortly after starting, I caught an employee red-handed
stealing a fuzzy folding chair. And shortly after that, I realized that theft
was a much larger problem when a group of kids walked in, grabbed a bunch of
wallets, belts, and lube and walked right out. I knew that our policy was not
to confront shoplifters unless all laws regarding theft had been followed. Here
are the steps to prosecute a shoplifter: 1. You must observe the person walking
in, without the merchandise you suspect them of stealing. 2. You must observe
that person take the product from the shelf and conceal it on their person or
on their personal property. 3. You cannot lose sight of this person until 4.
They exit the store. That’s what you need for a retail shoplifting charge.
Well, I knew how cops worked, so as long as I knew that somebody was stealing,
all I had to do was say all of those things in the police report.I had a gift for spotting potential thieves. Perhaps because I once had that look in my eyes.
We had a little two-way mirror in the back of the store
where I would wait for them. And it happened often. Two or three a day for
about a year and a half. I earned a reputation, and toward the end, kids would
walk through, see me, and just leave. They knew I would catch them. With my help, we made the store profitable
again. I really enjoyed working for that company, and when they opened up a
position in loss prevention in New Jersey, I applied. Unfortunately, it was
then that the issue of my criminal record came up. I knew then I would never be
able to advance within the company, so I found my job at Kemps.
I often think about how things would be now if I had gotten
that job in NJ. But I realize that I never would have had the experiences that
I now have. I wouldn’t know the people that I met down in Fillmore County. And
I wouldn’t be writing this right now. It’s the combined experience of a
lifetime that makes me what I am today. And it’s nice to be able to look back
and see that, even if only for a few years, I actually did something positive
with my life. Another reminder of the things I do, and the man I am when I am
completely sober.
