As a young boy, I knew very quickly that if I wanted to have something,
I needed to work for it. My parents didn’t buy me anything over $20
as a child, but you know what it was the greatest lesson learned. You see
somehow, I’ve been money motivated and programmed at an early age.
Not sure exactly when and where, but I remember fixing my own Atari at the age of 5. I picked it up at the local swap meet for like 3 bucks. I turned around and played with it for awhile and sold it for $30. I was labeled as the “Wheeler and Dealer” in my circle of influence.
At the age of 11, I remember I really wanted a TV and Stereo system for my room. I remember a neighbor of mine having a paper route in my area. He got tired of his paper route and had given it up to me. I had to convince my mom and dad, but as it turns out for those next 4 years, I was known as “The Paperboy”.
Now, I don’t know what part of town you live in, but I do not see a Paperboy anymore. In 1989-1994, I was rocking the BMX (GT) to be exact and delivering paper. My sweet mom and dad would get up and drive me the days it would rain. I would even get tired some days and my mom would help me fold up paper. She was the best!
I had to go collect money from some customers who didn’t mail their money in and pay “The Times Advocate” their portion and I kept mine. This was truly the beginning of a true business. What kind of company trusted a kid with their money? Well they did and I was as loyal as can be. I had to put up with some interesting characters. Getting the door slammed on my face and mini dogs biting on my ankles. To skinny newspaper flying and catching air to just skim the house and land on the roof who was prepared for this by roofing experts from sites online as the http://www.palmbeachroofingexpert.com/south-palm-beach-roofing/. Oh let me tell ya, I had a blast as a child. Probably one of my fondest memories.
I was able to buy trinkets and toys that parents wouldn’t have bought their child otherwise. As a matter of fact, 22 years later and I still have the 13” Sony TV that now my kids use as their game TV in their room. Good ol’ Sony eh?
My concern is, there are no jobs/businesses for kids in the newspaper industry. It was actually taken away by the recovering adults from drugs/alcohol. At least it was in my area. This actually is a big mistake to the newspaper industry because now kids aren’t exposed to newspaper and they will NEVER appreciate it. As you can see now the internet has taken over and very few people will actually read the newspaper as time goes on.
Why would anyone ever kill the Paperboy? If you ever want to feel what it’s like to b ea paperboy/papergirl, you deserve to play the arcade game. It is probably the most memorable game of my childhood carrier because it reminded me of what it was like to generate cash as a child.
If you have memories of a paper route or you were a paperboy or girl, please share below.
Cesar Ramirez
