JR. HIGH SCHOOL

I don't remember ever going in Middle School.  Back then in the '70's, we went from Elementary School to Jr. High School.  Jr. High School sounded very grown up, even though we were just 13 or 14 years old!


When we weren't in school, we played all kind of games around the neighborhood, like Capture the Flag, and we also worked around the neighborhood.  Part of our growing up was learning responsibilities from delivering newspapers and mowing lawns.


I never remember my parents saying that I had to go to work, but I followed my two brothers' paths of paper routes and lawn mowing.  My older brothers had morning paper routes, but for some reason, I ended up with an afternoon route.  


I have distinct memories of riding my bike to the "paper stop" and loading the papers in my bicycle basket.  The papers were packed in a plastic band that I cut and then put in the basket.  Every paperboy with an afternoon route also had to deliver the Sunday morning papers, which had bigger sections of papers that we had to put together as a bundle.


That was one thick paper to fold, rubber-band, and throw on every porch!  I remember sometimes folding and rubber-banding at the paper stop, and sometimes folding and rubber-banding as I steered the bike. I think I had over 100 houses to deliver the paper to, so that was a lot of folding and rubber-banding!


Going to Jr. High School and delivering newspapers were just a natural part of growing up as a kid back in the 20th Century!  We were the young Boomer generation growing up and learning how to work!  It was a natural!

THE BLACK GLOVE THROUGH THE WINDOW

Growing up as a kid, my 2 older brothers and I shared one big bedroom (that was actually the den).  My oldest brother Freddie was a paperboy at the time and he slept on one end of the room, and Robbie and I slept in bunk beds on the other side.

One time in the middle of the night, Robbie and I were woken up by something at the window right next to our bunk bed.  We looked over and saw the big Venetian blinds moving, and then saw a black glove come right through the window just inches from us!

So Robbie and I did what any kid would....we starting screaming, hoping maybe somebody would hear us!  I remember we starting screaming for Daddy, but the first voice we heard was Freddie's.  But then Daddy came in and starting fussing at Freddie.

It turns out that it was Freddie's black glove that we saw, and that he had been delivering papers before dawn, and had locked himself out.  So not to knock on the door, he decided to sneak in the window so he wouldn't wake up anyone!

That story has stuck with me for over 40 years and is evidence of just one of the many hazards of working a paper route as a kid.  I don't think Freddie ever locked himself out again!

COCA-COLA

I remember mowing Mr. Johnson's yard one summer.  He was the postmaster at the Churchland Post Office in Portsmouth, VA where I grew up.  


Mr. Johnson lived about 4 blocks away, and had a pretty big yard.  I was about 14 or 15, but don't recall too much about that yard, but I do remember the incentive! Almost every time I finished mowing his yard, he would bring me a nice cold Coca-cola!  


I don't know how much he paid me, or how long it took to finish, but I had the reward of a cold drink when I was done, and I'm sure it made me work faster and hurry up to finish. It's things like that ice cold reward (just as much as the cold cash) that instilled self-motivation in my work ethic.  


I also remember Mr. Johnson had a police radio in his garage, and we would listen to it while I was cooling off after I was done.  


Those were the simple days of working:  Get the job done, drink a Coke, spend some time talking, and get paid.  Work Ethic 101!

BOOMER STORIES: Paper Routes and Lawn Mowing

‎"From Paperboy to Boomer" is a 64-page quick-read that is an illustrated paperback, and tells the stories about the 10 Skill Sets we all learned as kids.  


It describes work standards, people practices, business basics, and leadership skills that we Boomers learned while we were only 13 & 14 years old, and defines the foundation of the Boomer Work Ethic: Self-discipline, self-initiative, and self-motivation!


I've started this blog to accompany my new book, and want to hear your stories of the lessons you learned while you delivered newspapers and mowed yards.  


My book also includes a "Tool Kit" appendix for business owners to use to interview, train, and evaluate their employees, based on the 10 Skill Sets.


The website for the book is BoomersBook.Biz and on Facebook at "Boomers Book."  The new book will be released nationwide in mid-August 2011.


This blog will be the starting point for lots of memories and stories for you to continue telling.  Let's start collecting our thoughts and maybe it will become the follow-up book!