When John was real little, his mother would take him shopping with her. She went through racks of dresses or skirts or blouses and ended up pulling out more than the maximum allowed into the dressing room.

Sometimes she'd hide them under John in the stroller. Sometimes she'd sweetly explain to the sales clerk that she got carried away and if she would let her, just this once, take all the items in with her to try on, she'd leave John and his stroller as collateral.

Baby John didn't understand the whole deal, but he did learn his value in clothing.