I've been asked to write a short story about when I was a teen and delivered newspapers on horseback. I actually lived next door to some guy in Flint who had a couple of horses I would take care of and exercise. There was one horse who wouldn't spook if you lobbed newspapers from its back. I'd even ride him into underground condo parking lots and leave him unattended as I dropped off my papers.
Kids can't get a paper route anymore. Not to say kids can't still deliver papers, it's just that now their mom or dad usually owns the route. And they all have to deliver newspapers via car, not bike with a newspaper bag strung across the handle bars or, in my case, a couple of bags overfilled with folded papers and stuffed into sacks that hang from a horse saddle.
Tell me the last time you saw some kid mowing lawns or delivering papers. I don't mean to disparage a hard-working contractor — I'm just saying, I really miss the opportunity to see a new generation of neighborhood kids who get an opportunity to own something. Kids have fewer opportunities to get a decent paying job before they're 15.
And where do these kids learn how to throw items in the air sideways and still hit the mark? When I was a delivery girl, I had about 70 opportunities to feel good about something as simple as that. Conversely, kids don't know how it feels to smack the window of someone's door and wince as you hope it doesn't shatter.
Nowadays, if you're up early enough, you'll hear somebody's car pull up, the brakes will be squeaking and a soft thump follows if the newspaper hits your porch, which it rarely does. And that's my point! Paper routes are delivered by people who get a stipend for gas and don't even live in the neighborhood half the time. Even the yearly service form from my carrier is mailed to me. I yearn to see some earnest, sweaty little kid knock on the door instead, asking me to pay my monthly subscription. I'd give that kid a tip. I still tip, but it's not the same.
And lastly, where are kids going to get those first jobs that show them how to manage in a diverse world where people think differently and expect different levels of attention? For instance,
"Mr. Jones likes his paper in the door jam so it won't get wet if it rains."
"Ms. Garza wants her paper in a rubber band, but her neighbor, Mrs. Smith, just wants the paper to hit the porch."
The fact is, some people are really cool and a pleasure to work for. They get the best from you regardless if they tip well. And some people are dicks and they want everything perfect, but they tip really well so you learn to just pick battles. A paper route was a safe place to learn these simple concepts, without working at some fast food joint.
