On The Sly

Hello Foxy,

The "Manchester kids" and their parents smiled when they saw your nod to their lemonade stands of the past. You should know that their earnings that first year ($28.00 in 1 day!) went to a small child who needed heart surgery. The next year they got together with the Creedon-Carey children across the street and sold baked goods to benefit endangered animals. Certainly, children today are much more aware of the world around them.

I think one reason you don't see as many productive children is that they hardly have the time. There are soccer leagues year round, baseball that goes into August, AAU basketball, theater groups, summer camps, etc...

I don't disagree with the lack of a work ethic theory entirely, but children are much busier than they used to be, even the Manchester kids!

We thank you again for your contributions!

(Foxy's note: Rosemary, your points are well-taken and thanks for the update.)

Foxy, there were a couple of kids who had a lemonade stand set up near Richard's this past Thursday and, much like you, I gave them $1 for 2 glasses of what was basically sugary water but the kids thought that the dollar was wonderful and, with the heat, the sugary water actually tasted good. It is sad that you don't see more kids trying to help themselves but, on the flip side, I have hired kids in the past to mow my lawn and felt as though I had thrown the money out the window when I saw the results. Kids don't have the work ethic which most of us had instilled in us at an early age and don't appreciate the meaning of a buck.

Foxy, all those kids who are not out selling lemonade or doing yard work are selling baseball cards on Ebay. I wonder who got them started on that?
i also see that local [paper carriers are older people trying to pick up some extra cash so that their grandkids don't have to.
Able bodied teens are flipping burgers.
Landscaping services abound in this area with trucks hauling big mowers and blowers.
The apple orchards are filled with Jamaicans rather than locals.
Times are changing and attitudes as well. No kid wants to debase himself by doing the menial jobs. The good "ole" days are gone
Skip

Foxy, I'm proud to say that my eleven-year-old daughter, Amanda, regularly holds lemonade stands in Cliff Haven and she donates the proceeds to Meals on Wheels. She also has access to video games, 100-channel HD-TVs and a great swimming pool to occupy her time. So, don't give up hope! Then there's my fifteen-year-old who recently turned down a mowing job because the lawn was too hard to mow, something about too many trees? Sigh. I used to go up and down S. Catherine St. collecting bottles for penny candy down at the S. Catherine St. grocery!

When we were growing up, we heard my father's stories of picking beans as a child. Even though we always laughed at the part about putting rocks on the bottom of the basket to weigh more, this job seemed so "old fashioned" to us. :) Is lawnmowing the new bean picking?

Foxy! I was robbed! One number under 2000! ...1999 .... man, always a day late and a dollar short!

Well, I'll put it this way, if I get back east for a visit in the next year or so, we'll share a wee dram of Glen Livet at Bobby's! Hey, I'm so magnanimous at not making the 2000 mark, I'll even treat!

I know, better luck for the 4000th!

Lynda

hey , hey now...not true the kids are working, now they all have "stay a home jobs" so they can keep an eye on their parents...most just work selling on - line items ...can't have lemonade stands anymore , need a permit from the health department...can't mow lawns...need personal liability insurance for that,,,as a kid I had what I thought was one of the best jobs, although it was a night job, "crawler picking" - not sure but probably need a permit for that today too!...and today ya gotta be careful where you're pickin...trespassing laws ya know!
If you're still looking for someone to mow the lawn, call us Monday .. bullet and I could probably use the extra income...big trip planned for the week end in Saratoga...hookin up with "Fluff" and "Flukie" among others...let ya know if we see any lemonade on the way!

(Foxy's note: You make a lot of good points here, the carver! Also, congratulations! You win! You are the 2000th comment at "On the Sly." You deserve something for that. Ask Bob or Lois if you win a free Press-Republican tee-shirt or something!)

As a little kid, I lived in Gray Gables in Chazy on Route 9 which was the main throughfare from NY City to the border. No I-87 Northway in those days.
I sold lemonade and MacIntosh apples on a little table on the curb on Route 9. All types of cars stopped and bought apples and I sold a whopping .50 worth of lemonade to the workers who were painting the "old lady" teachers' apartments.
I was out all day, going in only to eat and sleep. Can you see parents today allowing 7 and 8 year old kids setting up a stand on a main road, or, outside without adult supervision.
I can drive down the streets here and not see one young child, or group of youngsters, playing outside alone.
The 40s and 50s were the age of innocence. We played and had no fear of abduction, sexual abuse or physical harm.
I know kids today have so many "toys" they sequester themselves with video games and I-Pods, I-Phones that cost more than my father made in a year as a teacher in the 40s.
It's a crazy world. It's a dangerous world. miss d hit it square on the nose. Too many crazy laws ... too many unfocused people. It's tough being a kid today.

Lynda

PS: I saw we lost Gene Pavone. I am very saddened at that. Gene was the best. My condolences to Bertha. Too many old friends now belong to the ages.

PPS: Just an aside. I met a man whose parents owned the Rip Van Winkle Motel near Gus's Red Hots. He and his wife now live in Carson City. Well, we began longing for a good old north country Michigan. Last Sunday, we were invited over to his home and he had made up a batch of authentic Gus's famous Michigan sauce. WHAT A TREAT! We all do miss Plattsburgh and our friends in Clinton, Franklin and Essex counties.

Have you seen the price of gas in the North Country lately - retired people couldn't pay the price a poor kid would have to charge to mow their lawn. Besides - "nowadays" a kid is probably required to obtain a permit and have a certificate of insurance - oh and don't forget claiming the income so someone could collect taxes......... You're right, things just aren't the same - to quote an old favorite - "This is a fine mess we've gotten ourselves into." Always, miss d

(Foxy's note: As always, miss d, you make some good observations!)

You know Foxy, I've lived at the same address for 18 yrs, here in Saratoga and I've NEVER had a kid come to the door, asking to mow the lawn or shovel the sidewalk. Perhaps it's the $10.00 or $20.00 bills that mommie or daddy give them to keep them happy. When we were kids, we worked doing something because we had no money. I don't think today's kids have that problem.