THE GREAT EASTER EGG THEFT OF 2012
This Easter Mrs. Cranky, the two step-cranks and I celebrated with an all-day series of feasts and merriment at Mrs. C’s brother’s house. All of Mrs. C’s immediate family, aunts, uncles, nieces and nephews were present.
The food was great and the company was great. One of the highlights of the day was an Easter egg hunt planned and organized by my Sister-in-law. Over fifty plastic eggs filled with candy and cute Easter promises were hidden in the back yard. Eggs had to be found and returned to a “home base” one at a time on a spoon to a bag clearly marked for each participant.
I immediately got into the spirit of the hunt and found and deposited three eggs in my bag. At one point I got into a fight over an egg with my eleven year old niece Carli. Fortunately I came to my senses and let go of the head-lock hold I had on this cute young lady and let her win the egg. I returned empty-spooned to my bag content with my three egg conquest.
My bag was EMPTY!!
This was a family-only event. The eggs held only candy. There was no money involved and yet it became so competitive that someone, I assumed a youngster, actually stole all three eggs from my bag.
What the thief didn’t know was that one of the eggs was unique from all the eggs hidden. It was the only egg that was not a solid color.
Of the nieces and nephews present, only Carli was under 21. She was my first suspect. Carli is very competitive. She is also very honest and fair minded. I was somewhat relieved when I checked her bag and did not see the multi-colored egg.
I knew the step-cranks well enough to be sure they would not stoop to egg thievery. That left a nephew and a niece as my primary culprits. Both were clean.
I was shocked to realize that it was someone in the older generation that slunk to an egg stealing low.
We all proceeded to the dining room to open the eggs and read our Easter promises. I had no egg. I was handed two promise notes. I had to promise not to fall asleep during family events (I had my fingers crossed on this one) and to refer to Mrs. Cranky as “My beautiful goddess that I worship the ground she walks on” for one day.
As we went around the table I watched intently for the owner of the stolen multi-colored egg. I was shocked when I spotted it. It was in the possession of the person I would have least expected. I thought it might have been stolen as a gag, but the possessor of the egg was not a joker.
Maybe the egg was stolen and planted on this person. So I will not reveal their identity. I can only wonder about the possible motive for this scurrilous act of egg thievery.
What is it about Easter Egg Hunts that brings the competitiveness and larceny out of honest people?
