Nothing stopped me from making fake baptismal certificates with a typewriter so I could get free Denny's Grand Slam breakfasts daily when I was homeless.
Until I returned to Catholicism & went to confession...
I'm sorry @DennysDiner
Scamming restaurants is NOT the way.
Why? Because scamming weakens you. It makes you callous to others. The scammer thinks he is smarter than everyone else; he gratifies himself with his scheming, and then he is alone with his unscrupulous spoils, thinking he is superior.
I was taking free shit off the backs of guys sweating back there in the kitchen, sitting at my table, doing nothing, getting fed just because I was a moral nihilist with no qualms about exploiting loopholes in corporate policies.
I shamelessly lied to honest waitresses about how I'd "suffered a house fire" that burned up my ID, but the one thing I saved was my old baptismal certificate... and it happened to be my birthday, so maybe I could have this one consolation of a free breakfast at Denny's.
I thought I was so smart. I printed up the certificates on old-looking paper I'd found in an abandoned warehouse. I crinkled it up, made my entries with my old typewriter, and whenever I was hungry I used my typewriter to enter today's date.
It always worked. But over time the meals started to suck. I ate them alone. I watched other families come in and out of the restaurant, paying their checks like normal people. I looked into the kitchen where the staff was working hard slinging plates through the window. Was I really so much better than them?
People make fun of me for having dumpster-dived for years, but it was better than scamming. I eventually learned I'd rather eat day-old pizza from the trash than be a scammer. I'm glad I gave it up, glad I confessed it, glad I moved on from all that.
I sincerely do not recommend getting into scamming, even if it seems "small" or "inconsequential." It really just feels profoundly dirty and spiritually draining over time. Life is way, way better when you just play ball how it's supposed to be played, keep your nose clean, know you're living right, and pay for your breakfast with money you earned.