tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3479178080500206440.post1291360186402786973..comments2023-11-05T05:14:04.834-05:00Comments on Chattering Teeth: Newspaper memories, from an ex-tree killerDaBladehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16160781062081889980noreply@blogger.comBlogger6125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3479178080500206440.post-12597363490978257262015-01-04T12:47:17.885-05:002015-01-04T12:47:17.885-05:00Jared, I believe you're right. That was as goo...Jared, I believe you're right. That was as good as it gets. I got to visit with Zeeb and some of his loose change at the card game. I asked about Barry. Glad to know he's still around and shooting fowl no doubt. Good to hear from you too.DaBladehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16160781062081889980noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3479178080500206440.post-51702771649400409602015-01-04T09:56:28.953-05:002015-01-04T09:56:28.953-05:00I reminisced about the old days with a friend rece...I reminisced about the old days with a friend recently. We both did multiple paper routes for many years while we were teenagers. By the time his son is old enough to have a paper route (10 years or so), print newspapers will no longer exist. <br /><br />I ran into Mark Zbiciak this summer and Barry Pratt just a few weeks back. I often think that FJ, back then, was about as good as it gets for a working environment. The fact that so many people were able to land on their feet after such a terrible last few years, speaks volumes. Jarednoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3479178080500206440.post-1845986592259249662015-01-03T20:23:56.804-05:002015-01-03T20:23:56.804-05:00Uh oh! Ed, the trickster, scamming Money Joe out o...Uh oh! Ed, the trickster, scamming Money Joe out of his illegal numbers game loot! The Edmeister! Glad you returned it and kept your health! I never retrieved my money. I made change out of the window of my car from my big bag of route cash. I knew something was wrong immediately, when this individual sprinted away. I gave chase for about 60 seconds but gave up when I realized #1 I wasn't catching them, and #2 I was in a very dangerous area. Lesson learned.DaBladehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16160781062081889980noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3479178080500206440.post-86801512605944856252015-01-03T20:15:17.038-05:002015-01-03T20:15:17.038-05:00I used to do drops on Sundays.
Drug stores, Cathol...I used to do drops on Sundays.<br />Drug stores, Catholic Church steps, etc.<br />I pulled that $20 trick once.<br />I found a corner of a $20 at my work station at GM and glued it to the corner of a one and asked Money Joe (the guy who ran all the numbers runners in the plant) down the line for change.<br />He fell for it.<br />Then I asked for the $20 back and he was perplexed when he couldn't find it. He had a good laugh, and didn't have my legs broken!Ed Bonderenkahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03724552853113809036noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3479178080500206440.post-78915428127671361252015-01-03T20:15:08.402-05:002015-01-03T20:15:08.402-05:00Jess, our house was almost directly in the middle ...Jess, our house was almost directly in the middle of our route, which was comprised of relatively modest city lots, and 9 out of 10 houses received the daily paper. I also had porch or newspaper box deliveries, so my bike would have been counter productive. I bet you have more than a few good memories of delivering with your brothers, as I do. <br /><br />Other memories I have from my time with the paper have to do with some of the individuals I managed. Some of the names I can recall, others long since dissipated from recollection. There was one young black teenager who delivered approximately 60 papers per day for me in a semi-rough neighborhood. He was very soft spoken, yet polite, and he always had his weekly bill money ready for me on our Tuesday pick up day. We would sit on his porch and count it out, while I asked him about his route and whether he had any collection problems or other issues I could help him with. He rarely admitted to any problems and was usually self sufficient. He kept his route for several years, right up through high school, while routes on either side of his turned over numerous times per year. I often wonder what happened to him, but have resolved myself into believing this young man made something noble for himself. Don't get me wrong, I had more than a few "crash and burns" along the way, but it is this young man and others like him who were responsible, honest and hard working, against peer pressure and all odds, who persevered and took care of business whom I choose to remember. That's one of the reasons I disagree with your last point. I believe we've lost too much. Sure, the medium, quantity, accessibility and price is better, but I'd rather be ankle deep in Perrier than neck deep in bull dookie.DaBladehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16160781062081889980noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3479178080500206440.post-43441895999162552132015-01-03T19:21:56.442-05:002015-01-03T19:21:56.442-05:00I delivered papers with my brothers for years. We ...I delivered papers with my brothers for years. We had bicycles with a special rack to hold the paper bags we draped over our shoulders. <br /><br />The local paper didn't allow throwing, so we delivered each paper, and placed it in a special box, or under a brick on the front porch. Rainy days required wrapping each paper in a plastic bag, which added more time and sometimes angry customers, if the paper was late. <br /><br />The local rag we used to deliver is pathetic compared to what it once was. The large building it occupied is now closed, and part of the urban blight of the downtown area. <br /><br />In a way, it's saddening, but in another, it's a sign of progress. Where we were only allowed pieces of information in the past, it's now available at the end of our fingers; and the once selective source of information is now forced to adjust, or disappear. Jesshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15969361446367636746noreply@blogger.com