I have done many things as a kid that I’m sure others can relate to, such as mowing or shoveling an elderly neighbor’s lawn or pavement, and running errands. However, I would like to share two things about myself that not many people know.
When I was 4 or 5 years old, before starting kindergarten, most of my friends were actually my older brother’s age, as he was two grades ahead of me in school. I would walk to the bus stop at the far end of our street in Southwest Philadelphia and wait for people to get off the bus. I would politely offer to walk with them the length of our block to keep them company for a nickel. That was quite a lot of money for a kid in 1960 and 1961.
After all, the big candy bars of today, which are almost $2, seem appalling to me because they were just a nickel when I was a child. If I walked with two people or more, I could earn a dime, which could buy you a bottle of soda, too, or a water ice, and a pretzel from Tom’s. I considered myself a young entrepreneur!
I was considered a big kid by my mother, who referred to me as “husky.” Between the 5th and 6th grade, a neighbor’s husband passed away. Her name was Mrs. Krakovitz, and they owned an oriental carpet business. She would pay me $5 for each rug to help her camphor, roll, tie, and hang them in the basement of their home as part of the process to winterize rugs for their customers. After all, wool rugs shed and need to be kept free of moths.
Also around the same time as above in the early Spring ans Summer months a neighbor by the name of Mrs. Brophy who lost her husband asked me to do their lawn. I would mow the back but she would call me into the house beforre doing the front lawn. I might add that we lived in a twin house in the city, and the back yards weren’t anything like those of single houses in the suburbs. She would already have made me a sandwich with a bottle of soda or another drink, and she loved speaking with me on just about any topic. We would just sit and talk sometimes for over an hour. She paid well in spite of my trying to convince her the sandwich and drink were plenty, but she would have none of that.
Around this time, after the following summer and heading into 7th grade, I wanted to hang out with the so-called cool kids. A friend on our street was hanging out with someone I wasn’t particularly fond of, and the two of them made me feel ashamed for not mowing her lawn or spending time with the older ladies, saying it wasn’t cool. Ugh!
As a result, I became a real jerk and did some of the most foolish things of my life, which culminated in me punching the one with the big mouth and quitting the group to return to my old childhood friends. My relationships were never the same after that, and the girl I had a conflict with moved away or passed away about five months later. To this day, my kids and grandkids alike know that their Dad/Pop-Pop hates bullies, and for them to question everything that so-called friends try to get them to do, especially if it’s trying to impress a girl, but getting them in trouble.
Point to Ponder: Be kind but firm, stay true to yourself, and don’t let others sway you. Strive to be a leader rather than a follower, so you can wake up every morning feeling proud of the person you see in the mirror. Remember, attitudes are contagious—make sure yours is worth catching!
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