Hard Work (how I got that $5k)

I'm a fairly hard worker. In fact, I have to work at not being a workaholic. I blame my parents (and grandparents, it can't be my fault). My dad kept me plenty busy digging ditches, cutting down trees, building sheds, etc., etc. (there was always a project)--and then there were the routine chores and helping in my grandmother's store. I never received an allowance, but that is not unusual. However, sometimes I needed money. So I found time and ways to make it.

In the 2nd grade I sold Fireballs @ school with ridiculous mark-ups (my grandmother made me stop). When I was 9 I sold fresh ears of corn door-to-door using my little red wagon (the police made me stop--something about needing a license). The summer I was 13 I found old railroad ties and dragged them home one-by-one to sell as landscaping timbers--this was one of my favorites. I'd wrestle the old ties up onto the tracks (they're heavy) and drag them over the rails using a rope. Technically I was tresspassing on railroad property and, again, the police told me to stop (which I did after I got them all home). I even tried my hand at babysitting. The parents really liked my German methods (the kids not so much).

The summer after 5th grade I started a handyman business--I wanted to make sure I had money to pay for a class trip to Williamsburg, VA the next year. My parents said they couldn't afford it, so I decided to fund it myself. I typed up flyers using an ancient typwriter I found in our attic and I got a LOT more work than I expected (from households that didn't have the benefit of free child labor--LOL). I made more than I needed for the trip, all tax free (the good old days). But when it came time for the trip, my folks wouldn't let me go--money wasn't their only concern. So what I made went in the bank.

When I started working fast food @ 16, I was a dull boy--all work. My co-workers tried to get me to relax. But I was getting paid, I didn't want to mess that up. I'd heard we were entitled to a .25 raise after six months, so when the time came I asked the manager about it. He said he had something else in mind for me and asked if my birthday was coming up. I told him it was, in March (did you get that everyone, my b-day is in March). I didn't know what he meant, but the something else turned out to be a promotion to assistant manager. That violated company policy--you had to be at least 18 (I was turning 17). But everyone thought I was older (and I didn't know the policy). That caused me some troble later.

Anyway, I worked a lot of hours, so I was fortunate to have money for necessities (dating) and still be able to put money in the bank. Thank goodness I didn't need time to study.

This all explains how I was able to loan my older brother $5,000 when I was 18 (and then make his wife cry). Of course, eventually I blew all my savings on something frivolous (tuition) and I've never fully recovered. ;P