I read somewhere that people with inattentive ADD usually don't steal unless they are trying to hide something

Well I have a good example of that... I got caught in the act about 5 years ago. Had the money, so I paid and ran off. I didn't know what they would do, they took down my license plate. So when I got home I made a phone call pretending to be my Dad to ensure the security office that "proper punishment will be taken, and the authorities shouldn't get involved"

Erm what did I steal?... I'll just leave it at "see the thread on Sexual Fetishes"

The experience did scare me straight.

I'm curious if anyone has a similar story. I can't really thing of many things someone would steal to "hide something" Like stealing money to hide an addiction I guess.

hi bob,

i don't know if this counts, and technically i'm diagnosed as combined, but i've found myself standing outside, having not paid for some random thing (not anything embarrassing, per se, stuff like shampoo or a bag of grapes), and just kept walking.

i guess you'd classify it as stealing since i recognized the action (sometimes i don't realize until i get home and i have the actual basket with stuff in it) and did it anyway. there is a sense of embarrassment because i feel like i can't go back in and explain that paying really didn't cross my mind. i can't even imagine what their response would be... i have gotten 'caught' on my way out and that's humiliating enough without my actually initiating the awkward conversation.

upon re-reading your post, though, i think you're referencing a somewhat different phenomenon, though, because i'm definitely not shy and would have no qualms purchasing something...um...more graphic in nature... maybe that's the 'h' of adhd in me:)

best,

Oh it wasnt pornography... I got no problems buying that, or venturing into a sex shop.

Oh it wasnt pornography... I got no problems buying that, or venturing into a sex shop.

Just an odd fetish with a certain article of clothing :D
boy was I embarrassed

I occasionally will pay for items -- then walk out without them. (I so need an assistant...)

When I expropriate goods, I am very aware that I am doing so --I am not doing so because I am embarrassed or ashamed. Often I will go about acquiring an item or items simply because it's a challenge. I am not alone in this, it's simply part and parcel of blue-collar life...

Well, I left Kentucky back in '49
An' went to Detroit workin' on a 'sembly line
The first year they had me puttin' wheels on Cadillacs
Every day I'd watch them beauties roll by
And sometimes I'd hang my head and cry
'Cause I always wanted me one that was long and black

One day I devised myself a plan
That should be the envy of most any man
I'd sneak it out of there in a lunchbox in my hand
Now gettin' caught meant gettin' fired
But I figured I'd have it all by the time I retired
I'd have me a car worth at least a hundred grand

I'd get it one piece at a time and it wouldn't cost me a dime
You'll know it's me when I come through your town
I'm gonna ride around in style, I'm gonna drive everybody wild
'Cause I'll have the only one there is a round

So the very next day when I punched in
With my big lunchbox and with help from my friends
I left that day with a lunch box full of gears
I've never considered myself a thief
But GM wouldn't miss just one little piece
Especially if I strung it out over several years

The first day I got me a fuel pump
And the next day I got me an engine and a trunk
Then I got me a transmission and all of the chrome
The little things I could get in my big lunchbox
Like nuts, an' bolts, and all four shocks
But the big stuff we snuck out in my buddy's mobile home

Now, up to now my plan went all right
'Til we tried to put it all together one night
And that's when we noticed that something was definitely wrong
The transmission was a '53 and the motor turned out to be a '73
And when we tried to put in the bolts all the holes were gone

So we drilled it out so that it would fit
And with a little bit of help with an adapter kit
We had that engine runnin' just like a song
Now the headlight' was another sight
We had two on the left and one on the right
But when we pulled out the switch all three of 'em come on

The back end looked kinda funny too
But we put it together and when we got through
Well, that's when we noticed that we only had one tail-fin
About that time my wife walked out
And I could see in her eyes that she had her doubts
But she opened the door and said, "Honey, take me for a spin"

So we drove up town just to get the tags
And I headed her right on down main drag
I could hear everybody laughin' for blocks around
But up there at the court house they didn't laugh
'Cause to type it up it took the whole staff
And when they got through the title weighed sixty pounds

I got it one piece at a time and it didn't cost me a dime
You'll know it's me when I come through your town
I'm gonna ride around in style, I'm gonna drive everybody wild
'Cause I'll have the only one there is around

Uh yow, Red Ryder, this is the cotton mouth
In the Psycho-Billy Cadillac come on, huh, this is the cotton mouth
And negatory on the cost of this mow-chine there Red Ryder
You might say I went right up to the factory
And picked it up, it's cheaper that way
Uh, what model is it?

Well, it's a '49, '50, '51, '52, '53, '54, '55, '56
'57, '58' 59' automobile
It's a '60, '61, '62, '63, '64, '65, '66, '67
'68, '69, '70 automobile

-- Johnny Cash (of course) 'One Piece At A Time'


hi bob,

i don't know if this counts, and technically i'm diagnosed as combined, but i've found myself standing outside, having not paid for some random thing (not anything embarrassing, per se, stuff like shampoo or a bag of grapes), and just kept walking.

i guess you'd classify it as stealing since i recognized the action (sometimes i don't realize until i get home and i have the actual basket with stuff in it) and did it anyway. there is a sense of embarrassment because i feel like i can't go back in and explain that paying really didn't cross my mind. i can't even imagine what their response would be... i have gotten 'caught' on my way out and that's humiliating enough without my actually initiating the awkward conversation.

upon re-reading your post, though, i think you're referencing a somewhat different phenomenon, though, because i'm definitely not shy and would have no qualms purchasing something...um...more graphic in nature... maybe that's the 'h' of adhd in me:)

best,

When I expropriate goods, I am very aware that I am doing so --I am not doing so because I am embarrassed or ashamed. Often I will go about acquiring an item or items simply because it's a challenge. I am not alone in this, it's simply part and parcel of blue-collar life...

By "expropriate", you mean to steal or shoplift? Part and parcel of blue-collar life? I cannot agree with that last part...

Fine. Don't look in your buddies lunchpails and toolboxes -- you might get a shock...

By "expropriate", you mean to steal or shoplift? Part and parcel of blue-collar life? I cannot agree with that last part...

Fine. Don't look in your buddies lunchpails and toolboxes -- you might get a shock...

Ah, tooboxes and lunchboxes... You mean specifically stealing from the COMPANY? The MAN, so to speak?

OK, yah. There's a lot of that. But that, I would argue, is not limited to blue collar life at all. So-called 'professionals' steal from their workplaces everyday.

Just looked at your profile. I guess you don't bring a toolbag and lunch pail to your job... :D

Fine. Don't look in your buddies lunchpails and toolboxes -- you might get a shock...

Just looked at your profile. I guess you don't bring a toolbag and lunch pail to your job... :D

Fair enough. But don't make too many assumptions about my background. I only found my current career path quite recently.

Yep, some of us use lunch boxes and some of us use spreadsheets...

Ah, tooboxes and lunchboxes... You mean specifically stealing from the COMPANY? The MAN, so to speak?

OK, yah. There's a lot of that. But that, I would argue, is not limited to blue collar life at all. So-called 'professionals' steal from their workplaces everyday.

Yep, some of us use lunch boxes and some of us use spreadsheets...

Well, the really skilled and well-paid use spreadsheets, sure. But there are also the usual forms of petty crime in briefcases, purses, and backpacks. Office supplies, inkjet toner, computer equipment, even telephones.

Ahh backpacks WITH wheels. Talk about enabling...

Well, the really skilled and well-paid use spreadsheets, sure. But there are also the usual forms of petty crime in briefcases, purses, and backpacks. Office supplies, inkjet toner, computer equipment, even telephones.

Fair enough. The population on this Forum is by default a narrow demographic section. The worst workplace accident most here face is a paper cut...

Fair enough. But don't make too many assumptions about my background. I only found my current career path quite recently.

Fair enough. The population on this Forum is by default a narrow demographic section. The worst workplace accident most here face is a paper cut...

Those hurt! But seriously, in my past career I've been to the emergency room at least three times with injuries. Now I only need to worry about college students that go berserk and shoot the campus up.

That's not really funny, I realize.

Now a massacre on a golf course... Why oh why doesn't anyone loose it at a shareholders meeting?

Those hurt! But seriously, in my past career I've been to the emergency room at least three times with injuries. Now I only need to worry about college students that go berserk and shoot the campus up.

That's not really funny, I realize.