Stories From My Past: Cookie Mobster

When I was a kiddo, my gramma made the very many bestest chocolate-chip cookies in all the whole wide world. She'd make them in batches of about 430 at a time, so we could have cookies that would last my sister and I almost 2 whole days.

Often, I'd get gramma's cookies in my lunch box to take to school with me. One day as I was eating my lunch, a big kid came by and said, "Those look good."

We expounded on the goodness of cookies in general and these in particular for a bit, and then he asked, "Can I have one?" "No." "I'll give you a nickel." "Yes."

Without warning, a thriving business was born. I'd always eat a couple of the cookies myself, but the rest would go out first-come-first-serve to the "*I* gotta nickel!" crew. It wasn't that I was trying to make money, but once I'd said yes to the first guy, I couldn't say no to anybody else without being accused of playing favorites. I was stuck.

I was also in trouble when Mom found out. From then on, when she packed my lunch she'd ask me, "How much of this are you gonna sell?"

It's rough, being a young entrepreneur.

I tell this story because of a story The Golfer told me recently. It seems that he had a similar experience selling cookies from *his* lunch pail as a kid. He would take his cookies and sell them for a quarter each. He finally got caught when his mom asked him where all his extra change was coming from.

I could have been selling my cookies for a quarter each! Man.