NickDG 23 #1 September 18, 2010 I was 13 years old and living on Lincoln Street in Riverhead, Long Island, New York in 1967 and it was my very first real job. Delivering fifty-five copies of the Suffolk Sun newspaper on my trusty Schwinn Stingray bicycle. My alarm clock would go off at 4:45 AM but I was usually awake already as the bundle of papers landing heavily on our front porch was enough to rouse me. Depending on the weather it would take me anywhere from 45 minutes to two hours to complete my route. But today would be the latter as it snowed heavily during the night and I'd have to walk the route as no way could I ride my bike through the deep snow. Sometimes when the weather was really extreme (like during a blizzard) Dad would drive me but today wasn't bad enough for that. Before setting out I'd have to drag the bundle of papers inside and put inserts, if there were any, inside each copy of the paper. Then fold the paper into thirds and put a rubber band around it. You couldn't just throw the Suffolk Sun as they advertised "door knob" delivery so each paper had to be hung on the customer's door knob via the rubber band. And that's what made the route so time consuming. One day last summer I was hanging the paper on a new customer's screen door when a killer dog bounded right through the screen and bit me a half dozen times before the homeowner pulled him off. The homeowner took me to the hospital where I got stitched up and nothing was ever said about it. It was just the chances we newspaper delivery boys took. I had to be finished with my route in time to make it back home, have breakfast, and catch the school bus. If not I'd have to ride my bike to school, if the plows had made it through by then, or just walk it. This morning it was probably in the thirties temperature wise but when you're 13 years old you don't much notice things like that. So I bundled up and threw the canvas bag full of papers over my shoulder and set out. I didn't even make it to the end of my driveway before falling down. The first of about a dozen times I would do so. Today would be double duty as it was the dreaded collection day. Customers were supplied with envelopes they were supposed to leave for me with the money in it. But if they didn't I'd have to go around the route again after school to collect in person. "I'm sorry, my husband didn't leave me the money this morning, can you come back tomorrow?" Was the most popular excuse I got. I had three days to collect all the money before having to turn it in and woe betide the kid who was short. And yes, any shortages came right out of our pay. There was always some new kid who'd lament, "Hey, it's not my fault they didn't pay up!" But it was our fault. According to the Suffolk Sun they were selling the papers directly to us and what we did with them after that was our own lookout. It was the first and probably most important lesson in "business" I ever learned. I didn't have a wrist watch or anything, but I could judge my progress along my route by the things I observed. Mr. Pulaski always left for work promptly at 5:30 AM, the milk delivery was or wasn't at a particular house yet, Mrs. Pike's kitchen lights were on. My best gauge though was when I ran into my classmate Daniel who's route bumped into mine along Roanoke Avenue. If he was just turning the corner when I was halfway down the block I was ahead of him or vice-versa. It was a good-natured rivalry I looked forward to every morning. It also meant bragging rights the rest of the day in school. This morning I was way ahead of him. But I quickly saw why. Daniel was small for his age and had trouble carrying that canvas bag chock full of newspapers. So he had the bag on his bike and because of the snow was struggling to push the bike along. Sometimes, on those rare days when Dad would drive me we'd both see Daniel out there and Dad would offer to drive him too. But he always politely refused. Sometime later I learned Daniel didn't have a father (the first kid I ever knew without one) and although I haven't seen Daniel for over 40 years I'd bet my last dollar he made a good success of his life. The end of my route was easier of course. As I went along the bag became lighter and lighter until it was almost empty. It was never completely empty though. They always gave us a few extra copies as it wasn't too unusual for a car to stop with a, "Hey kid, got an extra paper?" And we were allowed to keep that money for ourselves. As I turned the corner on Osbourn Avenue I could already smell Mom's pancakes. I'd collected from all but about ten people so after school today wouldn't be so bad. I shook off the snow on our porch and unbundled myself in the mud room. "How'd it go this morning, Nicky?" Mom always asked, "Where you ahead of Daniel?" If I still had an extra paper I'd break it out and read it over my pancakes. I'd seen the headlines while folding them up earlier in the morning and would be somewhat curious. I never completely understood what I was reading but it began a lifetime love affair with reading a daily newspaper. But I'll admit, even to this day, I still don't understand everything I read in the newspaper. Nowadays no milk gets delivered, but my morning paper still comes. I have to walk down the driveway to get it (which bugs me to no end) and it's delivered by a man in a car. And I don't understand that either. "Another pancake," Mom asked. "No thanks, Mom, I can just make the bus." "Okay then, have a good day at school." Oh yes I would! I was going to get to bust Daniel's chops all day! NickD Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites JENNR8R 0 #2 September 18, 2010 A good read, as usual. What do you call a beautiful, sunny day that comes after two cloudy, rainy ones? -- Monday. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites Flyerer 0 #3 September 18, 2010 Great story. I'm not sure, but I think your story contains the secrets to repairing much of what's wrong with our nation / economy... Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites masterrig 1 #4 September 18, 2010 Boy oh boy, does that bring back memories! In the summer, some of my customers would offer me lemonade or a soda. In the winter, it was hot chocolate. I had one customer, who had a mean-assed German sheperd he'd turn loose on collection day. I let the jerk go about a month and finally, I figured-out how I could get past that damned, nasty dog! I brought some hot dogs with me and chunked them over the fence for the dog. I worked-up the courage and eased through the gate. The dog started growling at me and I flipped a hot dog to him. He softened fairly quick and I knocked on the jerk's door. His eyes looked like an owl when he saw me. With no words spoken, he handed me the money he owed me and from then on, he'd leave the paper money in the mail box. As for the dog... I hoped, he'd take a big chunk out of his owner's ass for making me go through that! Chuck Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites skyrider 0 #5 September 18, 2010 QuoteGreat story. I'm not sure, but I think your story contains the secrets to repairing much of what's wrong with our nation / economy... True dat...work eithics learn from an early age! You never see a kid pushin a lawnmower around looking for work anymore! Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites theonlyski 8 #6 September 18, 2010 QuoteQuoteGreat story. I'm not sure, but I think your story contains the secrets to repairing much of what's wrong with our nation / economy... True dat...work eithics learn from an early age! You never see a kid pushin a lawnmower around looking for work anymore! Shit, $20 a yard for a couple hours, better than minimum wage! The trick is to get as many lined up as you can, and extra gas cans."I may be a dirty pirate hooker...but I'm not about to go stand on the corner." iluvtofly DPH -7, TDS 578, Muff 5153, SCR 14890 I'm an asshole, and I approve this message Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites SansSuit 1 #7 September 19, 2010 Oshkosh Daily NorthwesternPeace, -Dawson. http://www.SansSuit.com The Society for the Advancement of Naked Skydiving Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites zoobrothertom 5 #8 September 19, 2010 Nice piece Nick. I'm a former paperboy myself. Houston Chronicle - weekday evenings and weekend mornings. During summers I graduated to mowing lawns in '74 When I was 11, my father paid me $2 for the front yard and $2.25 for the back. Mowing and edging took over 2 hours every other Saturday. One Saturday, I complained to him that we had one of the biggest yards in the neighborhood and I was woefully underpaid! My friends would get $10-15 for a yard our size! I have a feeling now that my father was waiting for this moment. He smiled and handed me $4.25 and said, "So? Here's your $4.25 and there's the gas can. Now, go find one of them $10.00 yards." With $4.25 to buy gas, I found that $10.00 yard and many more like it. I earned more money than any kid my age should have! That lesson has carried forward to my own Kids. Thanks, NIck, for the stroll down memory lane!____________________________________ I'm back in the USA!! Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites skyrider 0 #9 September 19, 2010 Our family (for the few years I stayed with them) Cut firewood for extra money every winter ! My uncle had on simple rule, "You don't work, You don't eat"! The yard cutting just kind of came natural, and was money we actually got to keep for ourselves! (The firewood money pretty much went straight to the dinner table) Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites ryoder 1,590 #10 September 19, 2010 Quote When I was 11, my father paid me $2 for the front yard and $2.25 for the back. You had a yard???"There are only three things of value: younger women, faster airplanes, and bigger crocodiles" - Arthur Jones. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites airtwardo 7 #11 September 19, 2010 For me there was nothing worse than getting done with the morning route and having an extra paper or two! We didn't get extras so that meant two things... ~somebody didn't get theirs, and I should really quit sneaking to the TV room and watching 2am re-runs with the sound off! That lesson took me years before finally I DID learn...can't party all night and do a good job at work! ~ If you choke a Smurf, what color does it turn? ~ Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites MikeJD 0 #12 September 20, 2010 Quote Quote When I was 11, my father paid me $2 for the front yard and $2.25 for the back. You had a yard??? "House? You were lucky to have a HOUSE! We used to live in one room, all hundred and twenty-six of us, no furniture. Half the floor was missing; we were all huddled together in one corner for fear of FALLING!" "You were lucky to have a ROOM! We used to have to live in a corridor!" "Ohhhh we used to DREAM of livin' in a corridor! Woulda' been a palace to us. We used to live in an old water tank on a rubbish tip. We got woken up every morning by having a load of rotting fish dumped all over us! House!? Hmph." "Well when I say "house" it was only a hole in the ground covered by a piece of tarpaulin, but it was a house to US." "We were evicted from our hole in the ground; we had to go and live in a lake!" "You were lucky to have a LAKE! There were a hundred and sixty of us living in a small shoebox in the middle of the road." "Cardboard box?..." etc... Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites ryoder 1,590 #13 September 20, 2010 I wasn't sure anyone would get the reference.http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1by0-nkKOTs"There are only three things of value: younger women, faster airplanes, and bigger crocodiles" - Arthur Jones. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites jimmytavino 16 #14 September 20, 2010 WEeeee lived in a brown paper BAG!!!~!!!! jmy Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites turtlespeed 217 #15 September 20, 2010 Quote WEeeee lived in a brown paper BAG!!!~!!!! jmy YOU HAD A BAG?I'm not usually into the whole 3-way thing, but you got me a little excited with that. - Skymama BTR #1 / OTB^5 Official #2 / Hellfish #408 / VSCR #108/Tortuga/Orfun Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites wolfriverjoe 1,511 #16 September 20, 2010 Yeah, when I was young I had to... http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vDcbO2bRxhg"There are NO situations which do not call for a French Maid outfit." Lucky McSwervy "~ya don't GET old by being weak & stupid!" - Airtwardo Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites jimmytavino 16 #17 September 20, 2010 Quote Quote WEeeee lived in a brown paper BAG!!!~!!!! jmy YOU HAD A BAG? YES!!! but it was an old vomit bag from an airliner that me dear ol' Mum had to wash out,,, down by the river.......before we moved in..... .... which reminds me,,,,, about my buddy, from Chicago,,,, who was overweight, always ill, addicted to cocaine, drank too much, chased skirts,,and worked at Chippendales..and HE lived "in a VAN , down by the river" !!!! true .... jmy Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites turtlespeed 217 #18 September 20, 2010 Quote Quote Quote WEeeee lived in a brown paper BAG!!!~!!!! jmy YOU HAD A BAG? YES!!! but it was an old vomit bag from an airliner that me dear ol' Mum had to wash out,,, down by the river.......before we moved in..... .... which reminds me,,,,, about my buddy, from Chicago,,,, who was overweight, always ill, addicted to cocaine, drank too much, chased skirts,,and worked at Chippendales..and HE lived "in a VAN , down by the river" !!!! true .... jmy YOU HAD A RIVER?I'm not usually into the whole 3-way thing, but you got me a little excited with that. - Skymama BTR #1 / OTB^5 Official #2 / Hellfish #408 / VSCR #108/Tortuga/Orfun Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites jimmytavino 16 #19 September 20, 2010 well it was MORE like a stream,, no.. a brook.... no .. a trickle from the neighbors gutter downspout .. well ok... it was runoff from their septic fields.... .. ok Tspeed.. NOW i gotta get to work!!! jimmyt Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites turtlespeed 217 #20 September 20, 2010 Quote well it was MORE like a stream,, no.. a brook.... no .. a trickle from the neighbors gutter downspout .. well ok... it was runoff from their septic fields.... .. ok Tspeed.. NOW i gotta get to work!!! jimmyt YOU HAD SEPTIC?Have a nice day.I'm not usually into the whole 3-way thing, but you got me a little excited with that. - Skymama BTR #1 / OTB^5 Official #2 / Hellfish #408 / VSCR #108/Tortuga/Orfun Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites airtwardo 7 #21 September 20, 2010 Day??? YOU HAD DAYS?? ~ If you choke a Smurf, what color does it turn? ~ Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites Join the conversation You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account. Note: Your post will require moderator approval before it will be visible. 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JENNR8R 0 #2 September 18, 2010 A good read, as usual. What do you call a beautiful, sunny day that comes after two cloudy, rainy ones? -- Monday. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Flyerer 0 #3 September 18, 2010 Great story. I'm not sure, but I think your story contains the secrets to repairing much of what's wrong with our nation / economy... Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
masterrig 1 #4 September 18, 2010 Boy oh boy, does that bring back memories! In the summer, some of my customers would offer me lemonade or a soda. In the winter, it was hot chocolate. I had one customer, who had a mean-assed German sheperd he'd turn loose on collection day. I let the jerk go about a month and finally, I figured-out how I could get past that damned, nasty dog! I brought some hot dogs with me and chunked them over the fence for the dog. I worked-up the courage and eased through the gate. The dog started growling at me and I flipped a hot dog to him. He softened fairly quick and I knocked on the jerk's door. His eyes looked like an owl when he saw me. With no words spoken, he handed me the money he owed me and from then on, he'd leave the paper money in the mail box. As for the dog... I hoped, he'd take a big chunk out of his owner's ass for making me go through that! Chuck Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
skyrider 0 #5 September 18, 2010 QuoteGreat story. I'm not sure, but I think your story contains the secrets to repairing much of what's wrong with our nation / economy... True dat...work eithics learn from an early age! You never see a kid pushin a lawnmower around looking for work anymore! Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
theonlyski 8 #6 September 18, 2010 QuoteQuoteGreat story. I'm not sure, but I think your story contains the secrets to repairing much of what's wrong with our nation / economy... True dat...work eithics learn from an early age! You never see a kid pushin a lawnmower around looking for work anymore! Shit, $20 a yard for a couple hours, better than minimum wage! The trick is to get as many lined up as you can, and extra gas cans."I may be a dirty pirate hooker...but I'm not about to go stand on the corner." iluvtofly DPH -7, TDS 578, Muff 5153, SCR 14890 I'm an asshole, and I approve this message Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
SansSuit 1 #7 September 19, 2010 Oshkosh Daily NorthwesternPeace, -Dawson. http://www.SansSuit.com The Society for the Advancement of Naked Skydiving Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
zoobrothertom 5 #8 September 19, 2010 Nice piece Nick. I'm a former paperboy myself. Houston Chronicle - weekday evenings and weekend mornings. During summers I graduated to mowing lawns in '74 When I was 11, my father paid me $2 for the front yard and $2.25 for the back. Mowing and edging took over 2 hours every other Saturday. One Saturday, I complained to him that we had one of the biggest yards in the neighborhood and I was woefully underpaid! My friends would get $10-15 for a yard our size! I have a feeling now that my father was waiting for this moment. He smiled and handed me $4.25 and said, "So? Here's your $4.25 and there's the gas can. Now, go find one of them $10.00 yards." With $4.25 to buy gas, I found that $10.00 yard and many more like it. I earned more money than any kid my age should have! That lesson has carried forward to my own Kids. Thanks, NIck, for the stroll down memory lane!____________________________________ I'm back in the USA!! Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
skyrider 0 #9 September 19, 2010 Our family (for the few years I stayed with them) Cut firewood for extra money every winter ! My uncle had on simple rule, "You don't work, You don't eat"! The yard cutting just kind of came natural, and was money we actually got to keep for ourselves! (The firewood money pretty much went straight to the dinner table) Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
ryoder 1,590 #10 September 19, 2010 Quote When I was 11, my father paid me $2 for the front yard and $2.25 for the back. You had a yard???"There are only three things of value: younger women, faster airplanes, and bigger crocodiles" - Arthur Jones. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
airtwardo 7 #11 September 19, 2010 For me there was nothing worse than getting done with the morning route and having an extra paper or two! We didn't get extras so that meant two things... ~somebody didn't get theirs, and I should really quit sneaking to the TV room and watching 2am re-runs with the sound off! That lesson took me years before finally I DID learn...can't party all night and do a good job at work! ~ If you choke a Smurf, what color does it turn? ~ Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
MikeJD 0 #12 September 20, 2010 Quote Quote When I was 11, my father paid me $2 for the front yard and $2.25 for the back. You had a yard??? "House? You were lucky to have a HOUSE! We used to live in one room, all hundred and twenty-six of us, no furniture. Half the floor was missing; we were all huddled together in one corner for fear of FALLING!" "You were lucky to have a ROOM! We used to have to live in a corridor!" "Ohhhh we used to DREAM of livin' in a corridor! Woulda' been a palace to us. We used to live in an old water tank on a rubbish tip. We got woken up every morning by having a load of rotting fish dumped all over us! House!? Hmph." "Well when I say "house" it was only a hole in the ground covered by a piece of tarpaulin, but it was a house to US." "We were evicted from our hole in the ground; we had to go and live in a lake!" "You were lucky to have a LAKE! There were a hundred and sixty of us living in a small shoebox in the middle of the road." "Cardboard box?..." etc... Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
ryoder 1,590 #13 September 20, 2010 I wasn't sure anyone would get the reference.http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1by0-nkKOTs"There are only three things of value: younger women, faster airplanes, and bigger crocodiles" - Arthur Jones. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
jimmytavino 16 #14 September 20, 2010 WEeeee lived in a brown paper BAG!!!~!!!! jmy Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
turtlespeed 217 #15 September 20, 2010 Quote WEeeee lived in a brown paper BAG!!!~!!!! jmy YOU HAD A BAG?I'm not usually into the whole 3-way thing, but you got me a little excited with that. - Skymama BTR #1 / OTB^5 Official #2 / Hellfish #408 / VSCR #108/Tortuga/Orfun Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
wolfriverjoe 1,511 #16 September 20, 2010 Yeah, when I was young I had to... http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vDcbO2bRxhg"There are NO situations which do not call for a French Maid outfit." Lucky McSwervy "~ya don't GET old by being weak & stupid!" - Airtwardo Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
jimmytavino 16 #17 September 20, 2010 Quote Quote WEeeee lived in a brown paper BAG!!!~!!!! jmy YOU HAD A BAG? YES!!! but it was an old vomit bag from an airliner that me dear ol' Mum had to wash out,,, down by the river.......before we moved in..... .... which reminds me,,,,, about my buddy, from Chicago,,,, who was overweight, always ill, addicted to cocaine, drank too much, chased skirts,,and worked at Chippendales..and HE lived "in a VAN , down by the river" !!!! true .... jmy Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
turtlespeed 217 #18 September 20, 2010 Quote Quote Quote WEeeee lived in a brown paper BAG!!!~!!!! jmy YOU HAD A BAG? YES!!! but it was an old vomit bag from an airliner that me dear ol' Mum had to wash out,,, down by the river.......before we moved in..... .... which reminds me,,,,, about my buddy, from Chicago,,,, who was overweight, always ill, addicted to cocaine, drank too much, chased skirts,,and worked at Chippendales..and HE lived "in a VAN , down by the river" !!!! true .... jmy YOU HAD A RIVER?I'm not usually into the whole 3-way thing, but you got me a little excited with that. - Skymama BTR #1 / OTB^5 Official #2 / Hellfish #408 / VSCR #108/Tortuga/Orfun Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
jimmytavino 16 #19 September 20, 2010 well it was MORE like a stream,, no.. a brook.... no .. a trickle from the neighbors gutter downspout .. well ok... it was runoff from their septic fields.... .. ok Tspeed.. NOW i gotta get to work!!! jimmyt Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
turtlespeed 217 #20 September 20, 2010 Quote well it was MORE like a stream,, no.. a brook.... no .. a trickle from the neighbors gutter downspout .. well ok... it was runoff from their septic fields.... .. ok Tspeed.. NOW i gotta get to work!!! jimmyt YOU HAD SEPTIC?Have a nice day.I'm not usually into the whole 3-way thing, but you got me a little excited with that. - Skymama BTR #1 / OTB^5 Official #2 / Hellfish #408 / VSCR #108/Tortuga/Orfun Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
airtwardo 7 #21 September 20, 2010 Day??? YOU HAD DAYS?? ~ If you choke a Smurf, what color does it turn? ~ Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
