Friends, we all need friends. As people, we are all made to seek friendship. And I am no different than anyone else! I needed friends just like you do. But I had an idea on how I could get and keep friends. I knew where my parents kept the shoe box of Christmas money. I thought that if I took one or two dollars, they would never miss it. This is a story about how one decision affected my life in a way that I could never have imagined. It began in the year that I turned 9, in 1960. When money was worth more than it is now and life seemed to be a little bit simpler. Finally he broke the silence. "You know what you did was wrong?" I nodded. "I think you have decided your own punishment. The money that you took, that was for your Christmas present. Therefore, you will have nothing under the tree, nothing from me, your mother, or anyone else." I was crushed. I didn"t know what to say. Tears began to swell up in my eyes. I couldn"t believe what I had just heard. I looked over at my mom...