WINONA SYNDROME

Consider shoplifting as a hobby?

Have you stolen anything before in your life?

I spoke to a friend who had a Winona syndrome, that he eventually overcame after listening to dharma talk on the effects of karma if he steals. He will be poor and lacking in the next life (Just in case you are wondering, NO, it is not the Monk).

He made me remember about the old times.

When I was little, I used to play with the neighbourhood kids in my late grandma’s kampong. Being mischievous, we would do anything, and one of them which still remained vivid in my mind was, we stole some ice creams.

We would go to this sundry shop in a group, and when one of us paid the shopkeeper for ONE ice cream, the rest of us, would scurry away with more. It didn’t help when the shopkeeper was always busy inside the shop and left the ice cream box outside – not a genius for doing business, wasn’t he?

To make things worse, his traitor niece was our play mate. The same goes to some BBQ dried squids, sweets, chewing gum, etc till the shopkeeper found out from his traitor niece and complained to our parents, who let us go but not without a stern warning. That ended our very brief shop lifting stint.

While in TAR College, my housemates and I were all living in an inadequate condition. We tried to be thrifty as much as possible. Whenever we celebrate a friend’s birthday, we would all go to KFC – and towards the end, apart from ta pao-ing the chicken bones for Fei Chai (a stray cat that we adopted), we would ta pao a few bottles of chilli sauce as well.

Taman Bunga Raya – that was where I lived when I was in TAR College, was well known for mango trees. Almost every house has a mango tree, except for ours as our landlady had renovated the porch into a kitchen. We would scout for big juicy mangoes in the afternoon, and when night falls, we would bring a stool to pluck mangoes at the marked trees. My two friends would climb and pluck the mangoes while I timidly watch the surroundings. They should have changed the name of the residential area to Taman Mangga Hilang (Stolen Mangoes).

I remember a friend who stole newly planted shrubs from the Seremban palace. And a doctor that I worked with, after Form 5, conveniently uprooted the plants, planted by the DBKL (KL Municipal Council), giving me excuses that she was entitled as she had paid a lot of tax money for them. (I wonder what consequences this post might lead to, since all Malaysians had just burnt a hole in the pocket for paying taxes to inland revenue).

Come to think of it, all I had stolen before was purely glutton related. It is not surprising I will remain overweight for a very long time.