Throwing Money at the Problem
Fun, Stuff I don't hate, suburbia, work February 22nd, 2008All too often I’m complaining about something. If you heard that’s what happens here, sorry to disappoint you for today.
The thing is it snowed last night. Not a blizzard, but enough snow to make the prospect of shoveling it unappealing to my husband Dave and me. We’re off work today and really wanted to kick back and relax. The more it snowed, the more our backs instinctively started hurting.
The plan was to watch the forecast and estimate the best time to go out, between when the snow was expected to stop and when the sleet was expected to start. We had another hour to complain about work neither of us wanted to do.
Just then Dave heard some kids walking up towards the house. Kids with shovels. Five of them. In the ten years we’ve lived in this house, we never had kids come by to offer to shovel for us. I figured that was an activity today’s youth wanted no part of, or their parents were afraid to send them out the door to strangers’ homes. I thought what a sad sign of the times. As kids, Dave and I shoveled for money. All our friends shoveled for money. Doesn’t anyone want to shovel for money anymore?
Before the kids even rang our doorbell, Dave handed me 25 bucks. “Here, this should be enough for the driveway.” I opened the door and before the kid could even say anything, I thrust the money at him and said “Is this enough for the driveway?” The look on his face was priceless. Red-cheeked from the cold and eyes wide open, he said “Yeah!! Thanks!!”
When he turned around, he waved the cash at his buddies and their faces lit up. They got crackin’ immediately.
Before they got halfway done, Dave asked me “Do we have any more cash laying around? We should ask them to do the back sidewalk.”
I frowned. I only had about three bucks in my purse and he only had eight more singles. I cursed the fact that I almost never have cash on me, since I prefer to use my debit card at stores. I considered writing a check. Dave and I discussed how stupid it would be to write a check to a child. I suggested we write it to one of the kids’ mothers, but then that seemed too weird. Dammit!!! We need more cash! And, hurry! They’re almost done with the driveway!
After nixing the check idea, we did the only thing we could do. We raided the change jar for quarters. There we stood, counting out enough quarters to round out to 20+ more bucks. As dumb as it felt to give them a pound of change and some bills, money is money. I hardly think they would care. They didn’t.
I opened the door and yelled “Hey guys? Is twenty good for the sidewalk?”
They shouted back, “Yeah! Cool!” And off they went. We had ourselves our own little snow-shoveling chain gang and now we didn’t have to get bundled up, get wet and cold or break our backs on what looked like very heavy snow.
When they were done, the leader of the group returned to tell me they were finished and to thank me for the money. No, thank you!
God bless you, Chain Gang. Your parents should be proud that you’re not afraid to sweat for a few bucks. I didn’t think I’d ever see that sight for the rest of my life. I hope I see them again next year. I’m pretty sure after making almost 50 bucks for a half hour’s work, those kids will remember our address.
“Y’all come back now, ya hear!”
So do any of you see kids shoveling for money (or maybe for nothing) in your neighborhoods? Or do I just live in a really lazy section of town?
Stumble it!
May 6th, 2008 at 9:09 am
Wow! Having lived in Los Angeles my entire life, the snow issue is something baffles me. I have relatives in NYC and hear about it all the time, have seen pictures of relatives with the snow shovels in hand, etc. — but cannot imagine having to go out in the cold and do the work every day!
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May 6th, 2008 at 6:44 pm
Easy Ways to Go Green — Ah, shoveling. It stops being fun when you have to shovel yourself out to get to work. Now if someone paid me to do it, I’d be happy to oblige. I don’t know why I keep living in the northeast!
June 17th, 2008 at 11:30 am
i tried it… i finallly got my dad to snow blow it
June 18th, 2008 at 4:03 am
brooke — Aw, too bad. You could have earned some money. That is, if he planned to pay you for your work!
June 20th, 2008 at 5:56 pm
I shoveled as a kid but I don’t see any kids around here doing so now. I think kids are just so spoiled overall the idea of working is beyond many (not all I know). We rightfully got rid of crazy things like kids working in factories and sweatshops but somehow some have gotten the idea that kids working at all is now wrong.
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June 20th, 2008 at 7:41 pm
Lindsay — You’re absolutely right. We’ve done away with working children to the bone in jobs they have no business doing, but they also don’t want to work at good old fashioned, roll-up-your-sleeves kind of stuff. There is a small glimmer of hope, though. My neighbor is teaching his 12 year old son how to mow the lawn. It’s good to see that.
December 13th, 2008 at 3:51 pm
Why don’t kids shovel driveways? It’s a simple answer: It’s not worth it. You won’t pay them $25 next time it snows and you know it.
December 13th, 2008 at 4:01 pm
James — That’s too bad. I’d say an hour’s worth of work is worth it to a kid to make $25. And would I pay them that again? Absolutely. Totally worth it to me.
April 29th, 2009 at 6:04 pm
I think that’s a smart idea. Hand the job to those who have more energy to do so. In the end, you’ll save yourself a broken back, energy, and hospital bills. Oh also now you are free of snow!
May 21st, 2009 at 7:38 pm
If only we can find some kids like that next year. My husband worked like crazy with a decomposing garden shovel this past winter to desnow our waist deep driveway.
May 22nd, 2009 at 6:15 am
Commercial Ice Removal — And worth every penny!
misspiggytoes — Ugh. You gotta a least get a lighter shovel, my dear. But a chain gang would be even better. We keep saying we’ll get a snow blower, but we never do. If we still don’t get one this winter, I’m keeping my eyes peeled for shovel-toting kids.
April 2nd, 2010 at 1:05 am
The kids had a good time shoveling..That is what our problem is every year. But we always get away with it by uniting and shoveling altogether.
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August 31st, 2010 at 11:53 am
This is great. Too often I see kids not willing to work for money unless it’s basically handed over. And I must say, I know plenty of adults like this too. 🙂