< by JHK >

“I think we should do a series of stories about breaking rules.”

When I first pitched this idea, most people gave a tepid response — either “I’m not really a rule-breaker” or “I haven’t done anything that bad.”

Then, I got a flood of e-mails.

Lo and behold, everyone’s got a naughty streak. At some point in life, most of us have reached for the forbidden fruit and taken a big ol’ bite.

In fact, I confronted this exact temptation Saturday afternoon at the Jonamac Orchard. Upon reaching the U-pick booth, the cashier handed me a map, highlighted with these words: “Please ONLY pick from rows marked with blue ribbons.”

Well, you know where this is going.

We reach the first blue-ribbon aisle — a row of golden-delicious trees. In the adjacent, non-blue-ribbon aisle, Fuji apples rustled in the breeze. The slightly flushed fruits looked ripe to me, and boy, they sure smelled sweet.

I looked at Nate, biting my lower lip. Please? I pleaded, attempting puppy eyes.

“No,” he said, reading my mind. We moved on, plucking golden-delicious apples and enjoying a virtuous day at the orchard.

Ok fine, I ate one forbidden apple, but it was on the ground so I didn’t technically pick it.

I digress: This week’s stories are all about breaking rules and learning lessons. The forthcoming stories, written by 5 different authors, will curl your toes, cause fits of laughter, and make you feel connected to your fellow misbehaving human being.

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If any of this week’s stories trigger a memory, type it out! Then, share it with the world. E-mail it to abreakfastserial@gmail.com for your own byline and a chance to connect with hundreds of equally bad apples 🙂