Theft or honest mistake

WARWICK — What Grinch stole the wood?

Devin Pavlick, 7, the son of Robert and Janice Pavlick of Warwick, recently asked if he could sell his dad’s split firewood.

Having his family’s approval, he selected pieces, tied them together to make bundles, made a For Sale sign and a rack and placed them on his lawn.

He used the honor system where people just leave the money when he’s not there.

The display had been set up for several weeks and Devin had sold five bundles at $5 each.

However, on the morning after Hurricane Sandy, the young entrepreneur discovered six bundles were missing and there was only $1 in the cup.

“My son is so upset,” said his father, Robert Pavlick, who works for the Red Cross and has often been away from home during the disaster. “Devin would be OK with this if it was a disaster victim that needed wood to stay warm and stated so in a note. But it’s hard for him to understand why someone would just take it.”

Perhaps this was an honest mistake or the person who took the wood was short of cash.

If so, the wood bundles for sale and the honor system cup are still on display at 160 South Street Extension. The correct amount, $30, can be paid or the wood returned.

If not, a few extra sales might restore Devin’s faith in the honor system.