I have committed plenty of crimes!  C’mon – I was a hellion until I settled down and had a family!  I did shoplift some when I was in Junior High and I have done my fair share of drug experimentation (the FDA has nothing on me).  I was pulled over once by a cop in a stolen car, but I don’t consider that my crime, because I did not know the car was stolen, I was just a passenger lusting over the guy that was driving it.  Now the worst thing that was ever done by ME would have to be when I was in 8th grade, so I was about 13 or 14 years old.  Now I am not sure that my parents know about this, so if you are reading mom, sorry. 

We were stationed in Newport, RI for one year so that my Dad could attend the War College.  We knew we were only going to be there for a year, so we rented out our house in Virginia Beach and move into Fort Adams, which was an all Officer Navy housing development sandwiched right between the actual Fort Adams, which dates back to 1824 and the Eisenhower House, built in 1873 for the Commandant of Fort Adams and became President Eisenhower’s home between 1958 and 1960.

Fort Adams was fenced off for a long time and considered condemned, but we used to sneak through a whole we cut into the fence and run around in all of the underground tunnels.  One day, while a couple of friends and I were playing there, right outside the fort walls on a large grassy hill that led up to the fort, we found a pack of matches and started flicking them from the pack, igniting them as they went flying.  Each one would start a small fire and we would stomp it out.  Well one of the fires would not go out and once the wind hit it from the Narragansett Bay, the fire took off and was uncontrollable.  It got so big.  I have never been so scared in my life.  We ran for help.  The Fort Adams fire department had to call in the Newport Fire department because it was so out of control and was close to burning down the whole damn fort.  The firemen kept asking us if we knew what happened and we kept telling them no, that we were just out walking and found it.  You could tell they DID NOT believe us at all.

The next day, after the fire was out; one of the girls and I walked to the fire department and told them that we did not want to give names but that we knew who had started the fire and that it was an accident.  The fireman was very understanding towards us, considering the circumstances and lectured us on the dangers of fire and asked if we understood how serious that particular fire was?  He restated that a historical landmark could have been lost.  We were very aware of that!  I never played with fire again, that’s for damn sure!

I feel that age and maturity plays a big role in the answer to this question. 

When I was younger and the smartest, most indestructible person in the world (according to me), I would have stood by my friend, come hell or high water, no matter who took the rap for it in the end.  That’s what friends do.

Now that I am older, I would not want someone innocent to pay for someone else’s wrongdoing.  I guess now I always have a little voice that says “What if it was one of my kids?” Would I want Kaiden to take the rap for someone else?  HELL NO!  I consider myself a very good friend, and I am pretty sure that those who are friends with me feel the same way.  I am extremely loyal and would do anything for a friend.  But if it crossed the line, I would break a promise to save someone innocent from being punished.  I would not flat out tell, until it was a necessity, but when it became necessity, I would.  Mainly because it’s just the right thing to do and I DO know the difference between right and wrong.