Working For A Living: Your First Teen Job, And Where Are You On Snow Days?

Remember the snowy days of winter? It seems we don't see them much anymore. This has been a fairly mild season with maybe just a coating of snow on your sidewalk or enough to be brushed off your windshield, but nothing significant. 
      But when the snow does come, what happened to all those boys and girls and teens who should be out there making money?  Yo kids, there are a lot of elderly and disabled people out there along with others who would rather have someone else do the shoveling. Don't you want to make some extra cash? If you hustle, you can bring home a good bit on the right days.
     It wasn't always this way, and the youth of today disappoint me. Ask your dad, grandfather, uncle, or older brother. They were probably like the rest of us. We were those who hit the street as soon as there was a significant snowfall and tried to reach as many homes, looking to shovel the sidewalks/pavements (or as some older South Philly folks say, payments) before the other kids. We were always happy with what we made, going out ourselves or with a buddy or two and splitting the take for the day. Today when it snows, there's hardly ever a knock on the door with someone asking if they can shovel my sidewalk. Hey, what gives?
     Where did things go wrong? What's up with young people today? If someone does come by to shovel these days, they're usually in their thirties or older. Or may be someone trying to supplement income or out of work. Now that more adults are working, it should be young people who are picking up the slack. There should also be more opportunities for teens to earn and to learn the responsibilities of having a job. Back in our day, kids had many different ways of making money to add to their allowances. We worked as paperboys, delivering for corner stores, as busboys or doing the towel drying at the car wash.  It was low-man on the totem pole work, but it instilled character. Those jobs aren't out there today. Where did we screw up? We had the chance to earn & learn and the same generation who did those things have denied younger people the same opportunities. The Inquirer should go back to kids with bags on their shoulders or a boosted shopping cart for deliveries, and you grocers out there should make deliveries available again and hire a neighborhood kid to do it.
     But I'm afraid that some from our era have ruined your chances. For every few of us who did our work, there was a jerk who messed it up for everyone else. Sure, technology advances didn't help. Some of our crew didn't either. I saw it when I worked at a neighborhood pizzeria when I worked there from 15 to 17 making stromboli.  Most of us were good workers, but there were those that caused our boss to fire the teens and hire housewives. Why? Because someone had to spray Mikey M. down with a hose and then coat him with flour, or some sat around while others were cleaning up. The final straw came when someone wrapped a stromboli with a handful of oregano inside, and then later a fistful of pennies. Fun stuff, no? No! Those stooges put someone's safety at risk and they were idiots for doing it. We never found out who. We were told by our boss that we would be called again when we were needed instead of the usual "See you next Saturday" and he never called us back. I found out while watching a fire being fought in a doctor's office just a few hundred feet from that old job. One of my former co-workers was in the crowd and gave me the news. He knew one of the housewives that replaced us and she told him what happened. When you have enough incidents like this, someone's fun becomes costly for all.  To those characters, I say thanks, guys. And yes, those thanks are insincere.
    

This Is Such A Nice Neighborhood...

     At least that's what we've been saying for eons until recently. It still is a great neighborhood, with longtime neighbors being everything you expect from South Philly residents. I have numerous neighbors who show as much concern for my wife and I as we have concern for them. These are people who will pick up a package on your doorstep for safekeeping until you get home, shovel you're sidewalk in the snow without asking or expecting anything in return, prepare a meal for you when you're down or give you a ride somewhere when you need it. We don't care about each other's minor differences such as nationalities, religions, or whatever; we see each other for what and who we are; great people and great neighbors.
     The people from within our neighborhood are great folks. It seems the people from the outside are a problem. Not all of them, just the cretins who prey on the law-abiding. Never in a million years would I have thought I would be writing something negative about this area. At least not until the current District Attorney took his place in that office. Oh, how the dynamics have changed since. The neighborhood where you could once walk safely at almost any hour has suddenly turned into one where your head needs to be on a 360-degree pivot to watch everything going on around you. It's now a place where you're better off carrying a concealed firearm to protect yourself and have it ready in case someone comes through the door uninvited.
     How in this world did we get here? Were people not paying attention to Krasner's campaign ads that showed him to be a leftist radical? Did the families of convicted criminals and those awaiting trial head to the polls en masse, some for the first time ever, to elect someone who they either believed would give their relative a fair shake or have the attitude that they don't care about the safety of all Philadelphia's citizens, only their own?  Never mind the rest of us. I can see those nefarious types out there lining up to vote to put this man into office. Now Krasner has emboldened those from problem areas to come and feast on whatever or whoever they can. This is a prime example of why convicted felons should never have the opportunity to vote.
     I have sympathy for those who have lived here all their lives who are watching in real-time the demise of this area. My fear is that some will seek to sell their homes and move to South Jersey or the burbs. I'm not going anywhere. I sympathize with the newer neighbors who came from other cities or neighborhoods because the reputation of this area. I feel like I almost feel like I have to apologize to one of our newer neighbors who moved to our block; coming from Brooklyn to first rent in the city then buy a home on this street. Wasn't it only about eighteen months ago that I told her that she picked a great block and neighborhood to move to? Okay, so I was right about the block. The people here are awesome, especially those who have been here for decades but also some newer neighbors. They have real skin in the game when it comes to making South Philly and the block a great place. Although I miss them, I'm glad for friends that moved to Texas because I know they would be appalled by the current state of things and heartbroken at the same time. But now this area is swarming with those that need to be wearing an official prison jumpsuit and being fed three square meals of institutional food a day. They can't be allowed to instill fear on our people, yet the longer the situation goes on, the more fear will grow. We've got to fight this mayhem: Fight them with pressure on local government, and fight them when possible with whatever weapon is at your disposal. Not by taking out anyone that even looks funny, but taking down those who are an actual threat. And don't forget to fight at the polls. Your vote does count and you and I can make the difference to bring a new DA to office soon.
     And to those friends who regularly read this blog, you also have my apologies. These issues were never supposed to have a place here but I'm in vent mode with all that's happened. This is a place for happy memories and not this trash.


AND YOU MAY REMEMBER...
   ...Being able to walk freely in the neighborhood, no matter what age you were. I can remember walking down the street with my brother at 4:30 a.m. when we had a few personal issues to talk about. No one bothered us, whether they were up to something nasty or cops who passed by and didn't give us a second thought.
   ...When alleyways didn't have iron gates at the ends of them. Some people would enter their homes through the alley and then back door. Why? I don't know, but they could do it unimpeded. Now when someone can't get into the alley to do work, they change the locks and often don't tell anyone. DON'T DO THIS! Ne neighborly and get a new key made for each neighbor, or at least make a key available for them to copy. Just be sure that the copies go to those with homes on the block and no others.
   ...When a strange face entering the corner store was just a customer. Some stores now operate with security glass and an armed owner.
   ...When the adult neighbor who took an interest in kids did it because he was being kind to kids and no bad intentions. We had one neighbor who used to take a number of us on the block for a ride down behind the airport to watch the planes come in and then for a stop at the Dairy Queen on Penrose Avenue on the way back - with our parents' consent, of course. The man never touched us or said anything even remotely suspicious. That would be unheard of today. That neighbor would have to bring a parent along for the kid's protection as well as his own.